Taking Geranium Cuttings

geranium pelargonium cuttings

At the end of September I decided to take a few Geranium cuttings, or as they are more correctly known – Pelargonium cuttings.

Here is how I do it:

Seek out some nice non flowering side shoots and make a clean cut somewhere below a leaf joint.

If you are taking quite a few cuttings at once it’s a good idea to keep them in a plastic bag while you take more cuttings so as to avoid them drying out.

Once you have a few cuttings, it’s time to trim them up.

Using a sharp pruning knife (or in this case, a floristry knife) trim the main stem to just below a leaf joint.

geranium cutting 2

Trim away any excess leaves at the bottom of the stem so as to leave, just 2 or 3 leaves at the top.

geranium cutting 3

You should be left with a nice clean stem with just a few leaves left at the top.

geranium cutting 4

Next, fill a pot with some compost mixed with a good amount of gravel to aid drainage.

geranium cuttings soil 6

Make a hole against the side of the pot using a dibber.

geranium dib a hole

Pop your geranium cutting into the hole and gently firm down.

geranium cutting 7

Continue adding cuttings. I would suggest 2 or 3 per pot.

pelargonium cutting 6

Don’t forget to label your cuttings.

pelargonium cutting label

Finally, give your pots a good watering and pop them on a window sill or in a greenhouse.

Once the cuttings have rooted, transfer each cutting to a 3″ or 4″ pot of their own and pinch out the growing tip to encourage side shoots.

2 comments

  1. I took a few cuttings last year; about half of them are viable. I’ve had them out in the garden in their containers for about a fortnight and already two of them have got a stalk and flower buds growing. I’m very[pleased with my efforts.

    1. Hi Lee. That’s great news. Think of the money you have saved and not only that, but a great head start on this years flowers.

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