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Geraniums

Why are geranium seeds so dear?  last year I got 96 plugs for £20.90, but the seeds for Moulin Rouge are 6 for £3.69. Last week I cut back all the ones I had to get them ready for the greenhouse for the winter, but I never noticed any seeds.   Didn`t take any cuttings because I was going to buy seeds. Now to buy or not to buy!!!

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Posts

  • DimWitDimWit Posts: 553

    The bees and wasps in my garden are very busy, I have tons of seeds from

    F1 plants. Two so far have grown into plants that seem to flower the same way as

    the original ones.

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,032

    I think cuttings are easier with pelargoniums and are true to type. Moulin Rouge is an F1 hybrid, which means it's unlikely to come true from saved seeds.

    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    Angela - in very early spring repot some of your geraniums and bring them into your house on a bright windowsill.  They'll start into growth and you'll soon have lots of material for cuttings. image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    I think most people use cuttings for pelargoniums, as BL says, and if you follow Dove's advice above, you'll have loads for next year. In fact, the ones you've cut back will probably put on a fair bit of growth in the next month so you might be able to do a few cuttings before winter. image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Thanks folks, will do that.

  • I bought a tray of 18 x 3.5" pots of geraniums (zonal pelargoniums) for £10 back in May at Gardening Scotland. They are still flowering now, but I'm going to dig them up before the first frost and store them over winter.

    I have a good (RHS) book which shows in detail how to do this. But, I don't have a greenhouse yet so where would be the best place to store them ?

    I have a good sized garden shed, a 5 tier mini grow house and a 4 feet wide x 2 feet deep x 6 foot 4 inch tall walk - in mini greenhouse.at the moment. I do have fleece "frost free" covers for both mini grow houses, which I could put on the frames then cover with the plastic covers. Would my winter stored geraniums be okay in either of the mini grow houses if I can protect them from frost ?

  • davids10davids10 Posts: 894

    if you shake all the dirt off the roots and hang them upside down in a dark frost free place you can then repot them next spring-main thing is absence of light. i put mine in brown paper bags so the leaves arent so messy. 

  • Thank you David. So, they would be fine in my shed then ?

    My book, (RHS Encyclopedia of Gardening), has a couple of pages dedicated to zonal pelargoniums. The instructions in this book for over wintering pelargoniums are -

    Lift the plants before the first frosts and shake off any loose soil.

    Cut down the stems to about 10cm (4") and remove the leaves. Trim back the roots to about 5cm (2").

    Half fill a box to at least 15cm (6") deep with seed compost. Put the plants in the compost, spaced so that they do not touch each other. Infill with seed compost, then water and drain.

    Store the box in a frost-free place, where the plants will get plenty of light, until new shoots start to appear, then pot up the plants.

    During winter, only water if the compost becomes very dry. 

    Protect the plants during very cold weather with newspaper, sacking or old carpet.

    Use the new shoots to take cuttings from, as necessary, later in the spring.

    Does this sound ok ?

    Angela 17, I know what you mean about the seeds being expensive. I bought a packet of F2 Super Hybrid Geraniums as a back up plan incase my overwintered ones don't survive.

    The packet contains 25 seeds (average), and cost £2.65. That makes each seed £1.06 image. I take it the germination rate is very high then !

  • Daryl2Daryl2 Posts: 452
    I think 25 seeds at 2.65 is just 10p per seed and 15p for the packet they came in ! image
  • Oops ! image My mistake Daryl2.

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