Sowing geraniums in peat tablets. Propagation of indoor geraniums. How to root plant cuttings in water or peat tablet. Flower care during and after flowering

They are not cheap. In addition, they are grown from cuttings taken from mother plants, sometimes of an advanced age, and can carry a bouquet of diseases. And from a package, with the right agricultural technology, you can grow several young pelargoniums at once, free from diseases, promising, with extraordinary colors.

Seedlings grown from seeds are able to begin abundant flowering within 5...6 months from germination. Such seedlings, as a rule, are distinguished by their evenness, energy and endurance.

When is the best time to start sowing?

Pelargonium seeds can be sown throughout the calendar year. But experienced flower growers, in order to get strong plants by June, sow seeds in November. Beginners need to take into account such important points as lighting, maintaining humidity and temperature when sowing in the dark winter months (January and early February).

Sowing pelargonium seeds

Pelargonium seeds are medium in size and easy to sow.
For better germination, seeds are immersed in a solution of epin or zircon (2...3 drops per 50 ml of warm water) for several hours. It is more convenient to sow in a small food container with a lid. For ventilation, you need to make several holes in the lid measuring 2...3 mm. Loose nutritious soil is poured in a small layer and moistened. It is convenient to sow seeds in peat tablets.

Another thing is important: the soil should be disinfected in advance from fungal infections, especially from “blackleg”. Potassium permanganate, phytosporin, alirin or gamaira tablets are suitable. You should not use several of these drugs at the same time.

Pelargonium seeds germinate in light at room temperature. They are simply laid out on the surface of the ground and pressed lightly, without sprinkling on top. It is unacceptable to either over-moisten or over-dry the soil. Seeds may die.

The first shoots “pop up” on days 3...7. Now they need good lighting. To avoid steaming the container and ventilation, if necessary, the greenhouse is slightly opened. When pulling out seedlings, add soil under the cotyledon leaves. As the seedlings grow, they are accustomed to indoor conditions by opening the container more and more.

When the third true leaf appears, the seedlings are planted in separate small pots and begin to be fed with liquid fertilizers for seedlings in weak doses.
For better compactness and bushiness of pelargonium on seedlings, remove (pinch) the crown after 5...6 leaves.

Pelargoniums with different flower colors. Terry varieties and large-flowered species appeared. I bought seeds of several colors of zonal pelargonium.

It is zonal pelargonium that is found most often of the five main names of the pelargonium group, which differ in their structure and appearance. Typically, packages of geranium seeds contain 3, less often 5, pieces. Seeds germinate quickly, although not all of them. It is very good to use peat tablets for these purposes. After germination, the seedlings grow strong and they grow quickly. Flowering of pelargonium grown from seeds begins approximately 12-15 months after sowing the seeds. Several years ago I bought 4 packets of zonal pelargonium seeds. I grew the seeds in peat tablets. Seeds are not cheap. The number of seeds of each variety is limited. Therefore, you approach sowing seeds more responsibly. It is very convenient to grow geranium seeds in peat tablets at the initial stage. Geranium seeds are not small. You can press them a little into the peat tablets. Geranium seeds begin to germinate in 7-10 days.
At least that's how it was for me. Zonal pelargonium has beautiful inflorescences.

Flowering is long and abundant. You can choose seeds of very beautiful varieties of pelargonium. These are the varieties that can be grown from these seeds.

Pelargonium or geranium is a perennial plant that is usually grown as an indoor flower and is not particularly difficult to care for. Previously, geranium could be found in almost every house on the windowsill. Nowadays, planting pelargonium in open ground has become very popular, because in the fresh air you can create much more lush flower beds that will look very beautiful and rich. Our article will discuss how to grow pelargonium for seedlings, successfully care for it at home, as well as when and how to plant it in open ground.

Naturally, the most common way to propagate pelargonium is to grow it from cuttings.

For detailed and visual information on how to propagate geranium from cuttings, see the following video.

Video: propagation of geraniums by cuttings

Now on sale you can find truly a huge number of varieties and hybrids geranium seeds, variety of colors and sizes which can satisfy any desires and needs.

By the way! If you are going to grow geranium in open ground, then it is better to buy special varieties that have medium-sized, strong and hard leaves, and these are zonal geranium, ivy-leaved geranium, etc.

When to sow pelargonium seeds for seedlings

Theoretically, you can sow geranium seedlings all year round, but it is more practical to sow pelargonium seeds in the second half of winter, since as your seedlings grow, the daylight hours will increase.

Thus, the optimal time for sowing pelargonium seeds for seedlings is January-February (maximum in March), because It will begin to bloom only after 5-6 months, just in time for summer.

Worth understanding! For growing indoors, if you have the opportunity to provide additional lighting, then, of course, you can sow pelargonium seeds at any time. But if you are planning to plant in open ground, then in winter or, at most, in early spring.

In principle, you can sow even in November-December, then it will bloom in the spring - in April-May.

Important! If you sow in winter or early spring, then seedlings are a must add additional illumination, because she needs 12 hours of daylight.

Video: when and how to sow pelargonium (geranium) with seeds

How to sow pelargonium seeds correctly

In order for the growth and development of pelargonium seedlings to go in the right direction, it is necessary to select the appropriate container, suitable soil and properly prepare the seeds for planting.

Selecting a landing container

Planting containers are selected based on your capabilities and needs, as well as the number of seeds of future seedlings.

If you plan to pick, then you can sow in common containers, for example, in the same plastic containers (5-6 cm high).

If it is more convenient for you to grow without picking, then pelargonium seeds can be immediately sown in individual and relatively deep containers, for example, pots or cups (8-10 cm high). Naturally, they must have drainage holes to drain excess liquid so that the water does not stagnate.

Important! If you take shallow cassettes, you will still need to transfer the seedlings from them.

If you want your pelargonium to bloom in a pot, then it must be at least 1 liter in volume.

Suitable soil

The soil for growing pelargonium seedlings should be loose and nutritious, as well as neutral in acidity. Therefore, any universal soil for growing flowers will suit you perfectly, but in general, it is ideal to take a special soil for geraniums.

It is very good if you prepare your own substrate, which will consist of turf soil, peat and sand in a 2:1:1 ratio. Instead of sand, you can use perlite or vermiculite.

Advice! To make the soil loose and soft before sowing, it can be passed through a sieve.

Seed preparation

Many gardeners quite successfully sow their seeds without any treatment, simply dry them in moist soil. But to increase germination, they should be scarified or soaked.

Pelargonium seeds can be scarified with sandpaper, in other words, slightly damage the shell so that the sprouts can easily adhere. However, this must be done very carefully, otherwise you will easily spoil your seeds.

Or you can simply soak them in cotton pads in a solution (some soak them in a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution) for 20-30 minutes, in addition, this will also disinfect them.

Interesting! Pelargonium seeds come in 3 types - already scarified (i.e., cleared of the hard shell), coated and regular. Naturally, the first 2 types do not need to be prepared in any way; they can be sown immediately.

Direct sowing

Step-by-step instructions for sowing geranium seeds for seedlings:

• Fill the containers with soil.
• Make grooves (at a distance of 3-4 cm) or shallow holes (0.5-1 cm).
• Moisten the soil with a spray bottle.
• Place the seeds at a distance of 2-3 centimeters from each other.

Advice! It is convenient to spread the seeds with a toothpick.

• Sprinkle the grooves or holes with soil.

Or you can fill it with river sand.

• Moisten with water from a spray bottle.
• In order for the seeds to begin to actively germinate, you need to create greenhouse conditions, in other words, achieve a greenhouse effect, which means you should cover the container with cling film or a transparent lid (if you have a food container).
• Place in a dark and warm place (above +20 degrees, according to some sources - +24-28 degrees).

Video: correct sowing of geraniums for seedlings

By the way! There is a rather interesting method of sowing, which gives earlier and higher germination: after you spread or sprinkle the seeds, you will need to pour boiling water over them. It's that simple!

You can also sow geranium in peat tablets.

Video: sowing pelargonium in peat tablets

Caring for geranium seedlings at home

As soon as friendly shoots appear (scarified seeds germinate within 3-4 days, just like soaked ones, but on average, most of them sprout after 7-14 days), the shelter must be promptly removed and the planting container moved to a well-lit place, but where the temperature is already lower - about +18-22 degrees during the day and +16-18 at night.

Further care consists of only moderate watering when the top layer of soil dries, using slightly warm, settled or filtered water.

Remember! Pelargonium does not like excessive watering and too wet soil.

Picking

The first picking of geranium seedlings is carried out when it has 2 true leaves. The procedure is quite standard. To do this, you will need individual containers (0.2 cups) filled with peat-based soil mixture (or, again, ready-made soil for pelargoniums), a spoon or other tool that will be convenient for you to carry out the picking procedure - remove the seedling from the common container.

Note! When picking pelargonium, it is very important to carefully take the seedling, and always with a lump of earth, so as not to damage the roots of the young plant, in other words, use the transshipment method rather than picking (when the roots are exposed).

Video: picking pelargonium seedlings

In the future, most likely, you will need another transplant into a larger pot (0.5-1 liter), this time exclusively by transshipment.

Important! The day before transshipment, do not forget to water your seedlings well so that the earthen ball does not crumble when it is moved.

Video: transshipment of geraniums a month and a half after sowing

Top dressing

Advice! After picking or transferring seedlings, it is advisable to immediately water the transplanted plants with some special fertilizer for better rooting, for example, you can use “Ukorenitel” or “Kornevin” so that the root system of the seedlings takes root better in the new place.

During the initial period of growth, pelargonium seedlings can be fed with nitrogen fertilizers, for example, ammonium nitrate or urea, and then (when the plants already have more than 5-6 true leaves) complex mineral fertilizers such as nitroammophosphate can be used. Also at this time, you can begin to perform foliar feeding (by leaf) with calcium and/or magnesium nitrate.

Pinching

It is not necessary to pinch pelargonium, because many varieties are genetically designed in such a way that they themselves form beautiful branched bushes.

Advice! However, if you see that the plant is reluctant to branch, then for more powerful tillering you can pinch the geranium over 5-6 real leaves.

When and how to plant geraniums in open ground in a flower bed

Certainly! Everyone is accustomed to the fact that geranium is a home potted crop, but this does not mean that it cannot be grown in open ground.

As for the timing of planting geraniums in open ground, first of all you should monitor the weather - it should already be quite warm during the day, naturally, the return of spring frosts should pass, which means that pelargoniums should be transplanted into the garden from the second half of May.

Planting pelargonium in open ground is more than simple:

• chose and prepared a place;
• dug a planting hole slightly larger than the size of the pot;
• they pulled the seedling out of the pot (and didn’t forget to spill it first) and put it in a new place of residence;
• sprinkled with fertile soil on the sides, compacted around the seedling;
• spilled copious amounts of water.

As for the planting location, the plant should not be planted in an area that is too open, otherwise the sun will burn the leaves and the plant will have an unsightly appearance and poor health.

For geraniums it is optimal to find place in light partial shade.

However! Pelargonium will bloom most profusely in a sunnier area.

It also needs to be planted in places in the garden where there is no stagnation of groundwater or rainwater.

Video: planting pelargonium in open ground - when, where and how to plant

Care for geraniums in open ground

Pelargonium tolerates drought very well - it remains green for a long time and does not fade, and it also reacts normally to high humidity (rainy weather). However, this does not mean that it does not need to be watered at all. But you need to do this in moderation!

Note! Royal pelargoniums are not very suitable for open ground, because... Their flowers deteriorate greatly when it rains.

If you want your pelargonium to stand beautiful and bloom continuously, then be sure to get rid of faded flower stalks so that the plant does not waste its energy on ripening the seeds.

Advice! And for the winter, you can transplant geraniums into pots and bring them home.

Video: transplanting geraniums from the garden in the fall and further care

In order for positivity to be observed in the growth and development of pelargonium seedlings, it is necessary from the very beginning to choose the right planting container, suitable soil, correctly prepare and sow the seeds and responsibly care for them at home. By taking a serious approach to planting flower seedlings in open ground, you are guaranteed to achieve beautiful flowering.

How long does it take from sowing pelargonium seeds to flowering? As you know, flowering pelargonium plants grown from seeds usually bloom six months after sowing - more precisely, on average, five to six months pass.

It's easy and simple to create a collection of geraniums! If you sow pelargonium in February and keep it under lamps for the first time, then put it in a well-lit place, then flowering will occur in June. When the active growth of seedlings begins, daylight hours have already increased sufficiently.

If sown in summer, geranium flowers can only be seen the next year - 10 months after planting. However, you can sow geranium seeds at any time of the year, but it should be taken into account that in the fall the daylight hours decrease and the seedlings will need to be illuminated with lamps.

Growing pelargonium from seeds of different varieties.

Flower shops sell a lot of hybrid pelargonium seeds of various colors and varieties...

The zonal varieties of the Agrosucpe company are very interesting:

• "Stella F1" with beautiful deep pink flowers (with a white spot in the center) and dark velvety leaves with a green border along the edge,
• "Jacqueline F1" with the same leaves and bright red inflorescences;
• "Rosita F1" - bright red flowers,
• "Diana F1" - bright salmon-colored flowers,
• "Snezhana F1" - with snow-white inflorescences, etc.

The bag contains only 4 large seeds, covered with a dense leathery shell. For pelargonium this is a normal number; there are 5-6, rarely 10 seeds per package.

Sow pelargonium seeds in the second half of February or March according to all the rules to a depth of 1 cm, moisten and cover with glass. Keep at a temperature of 20-25 degrees. All seeds sprouted (on days 5-7) with an interval of 2-3 days. After germination, you need to move it to a cooler and well-lit place.

When sowing pelargonium in peat tablets, the task is greatly simplified!

Flat peat tablets are placed in a tray into which warm water is poured, after which they expand several times, turning into small barrels. The seeds are laid out on the surface of wet peat, press them a little into a small depression for better contact with it... There is no need to bury it. Cover the top of the tray with polyethylene. They germinate much better when exposed to light.

There were no big problems with them, although they made me worry at first; the geranium seedlings developed amicably. After the second leaves appear, transplant the pelargonium seedlings into pots. Growing plants are planted directly in peat tablets in separate containers, having first removed the mesh.

After 2 months, geraniums already look like small, strong bushes. At a height of 8-10 cm, the seedlings are pinched. It remains to wait for flowering, which should occur in June. Leaf color usually appears later.

I also bought geranium (pelargonium) seeds from Aelita “Palette of Colors” mixture. There are 10 seeds in one bag. Quite amicable germination!

I sowed pelargonium in a small bowl to a depth of 1 cm, moistened it and covered it with cling film. The sprouts began to appear on days 3-5, the rest with an interval of 2 days, almost all of them sprouted. When 2 true leaves appeared, I planted each sprout in small pots.

Pelargoniums grown from pelargonium seeds are unpretentious in care, light- and moisture-loving, and love fertilizing - this makes them bloom better.

In summer, pelargonium feels good in the open ground, it pleases with large inflorescences, especially if you feed it, take cuttings and plant them in pots before frost. Cuttings bloom within 2.5-3 months.

Important points in the care and maintenance of pelargoniums (geraniums)…

Growing geraniums, as practice shows, is not at all difficult. With some care at home, pelargonium can bloom almost all year round with large flower inflorescences. And if you take it out into the garden or plant it in the garden in the summer, amazingly large, juicy, long-lasting and beautifully flowering plants will grow.

If a flower grows in the shade of other plants, it will inevitably lead to a lack of flowering. Place it in the brightest place, without direct sunlight. Don’t forget to pinch the tops before the buds appear to make them bloom more luxuriantly.

Homemade geranium loves to be fed with potassium fertilizers - once every 2 weeks, but it does not tolerate organic fertilizers and does not tolerate excess water.

You should also know that geranium blooms better in small pots - 8-9 cm in diameter. Do not use pots “for growth”, as they are easy to fill, there is a high risk of weak roots rotting, and in a larger container the seedling will be lost.

In winter, if a houseplant is resting, it should be kept in a cool room with a temperature no higher than 16-18 degrees; for ampelous species, reduce the temperature to 12 degrees, but this will require lighting for about five hours a day, and water very moderately.

Pruning may be necessary - an old geranium bush is pruned in early spring and only one or two shoots with eyes are left - this will also stimulate its flowering. Well, we must remember that young geraniums bloom better, so you need to renew the plant from time to time.

If pelargonium bushes have been growing on the balcony or garden all summer, bring them back into the house for the winter - just first treat the flower and replant it in new soil. You can renew the plant by cuttings and in winter, with additional lighting, get flowering geraniums in pots.

Most often, of course, indoor geraniums are used for propagation. It guarantees full compliance of new plants with the mother variety. When geraniums are propagated from seeds, varietal properties are almost always lost. And the seedlings are obtained - with other decorative qualities. They may have different colors of leaves and flowers, differ in height and bushiness. In a word, we are getting completely new varieties. And this is already selection. Sometimes you can find geranium (pelargonium) seeds on sale that are of hybrid origin. Such plants produce very beautiful flowers and have very attractive leaves. One bad thing is that they are not cheap.

Sowing geranium seeds

If you are not yet very experienced in this matter, start with the cheapest varieties. At first there may be failures.

To sow indoor geranium seeds, prepare loose, fertile soil. If possible, add sand and humus to it.

You can sow geranium seeds from the beginning of March. Earlier sowing requires additional, artificial lighting. Although, if it’s early spring in your region...

Sow the seeds of each variety of geranium separately. They emerge at different times. If you sow in one pot, not all seeds will be able to germinate.

Soil - pour into small, shallow containers. Be sure to make drainage holes - excess water needs to drain somewhere.

Carefully water the entire surface of the soil with a red solution of potassium permanganate. Moisten the soil and protect future geranium shoots from blackleg.

Spread the geranium seeds over the surface of the soil. Press each seed, just a little, into the soil. This is convenient to do with an ordinary match.

Cover the pots with seeds with transparent film and place them in a warm, moderately lit place. But - not in direct sunlight (geranium seedlings can burn.