What is summer without a patch or pot full of geraniums ? They ’re so bright and cheerful , not to cite pretty well-fixed to deal for .
But it ’s painful to toss them out at the remainder of the twelvemonth , is n’t it ? Perhaps amazingly , these plant are actually perennial – even though many gardeners handle them as yearbook .
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That means you do n’t have to toss them in the methamphetamine when winter comes knocking at your door .
There are plenty of other options uncommitted so you could enjoy them year after twelvemonth . If you hold up in a warm clime , you may even leave them in the background for years to come .
So how farseeing do geranium ( aka pelargoniums ) live ? And what should you do with them after they give up blooming ? That ’s what we ’re about to discuss .
Here ’s everything we ’ll go over , coming right on up :
What You’ll Learn
Geraniums are aboriginal to parts of sub - tropical Africa , and they live gayly there for a long time . There ’s no ground they ca n’t do the same in your garden , even if you have a invertebrate foot of snow in the winter .
How Long Can Geraniums Live?
Most of us grow these plants as annuals because they die when it becomes too cold . But in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 to 12 , they can be grown as perennials .
They do n’t have long lives , however . You wo n’t find any 100 - year - old geranium trees out there .
As the plants age , they become woody and leggy , and the prime are more sparse . This happen after two or three years of growth .
While they may not be as pretty as they once were , they can live for several more long time beyond that . There ’s no need to chuck out out your plants after a growing season because they can keep on blooming for year to come .
Overwintering
If you do n’t live in Zones 10 to 12 , you are n’t condemned to a life of buying armfuls ( or is that just me ? ) of genus Pelargonium at the store each spring .
you’re able to actuallyoverwinter geraniums quite well , and our guide can serve you do that .
By overwintering , you keep the flora in a state of dormancy so it ’s quick to burst forward with flower next year , and it does n’t take much work or blank space at all .
Not only does it save you money next spring , but your geraniums will be much large than most any you’re able to buy at the computer memory .
The downside is that they might be tall-growing and have fewer blossom than in the first year , but I usually find they remain beautiful for at least a year or two before they jump to worsen .
Pruning for a Second Flush
If it ’s still summer or early fall and your plant have stop flower , it might simply be that too many flowers were capable to go to seed and your pelargonium think its job was done for the year .
Get out there with your pruners and cut each stem back by about a quarter . So long as there is still enough sentence left in the growing season , you should see a second round of flowers .
Next class , be certain to deadheadas soon as the flowers get to look spend . That ’s the best way to ensure long - lasting , robust blossoms .
Taking Cuttings
Once your plant has been around for several years , it ’s go to turn woody and part to look a spot leggy . The flower wo n’t be as profuse or as big as they once were either . Aging can be tough !
At that point , you ’ll either want to start fresh with fresh buy plants or take a cutting and propagate a new industrial plant – or several ! – from the original one .
Taking cuttings allows you to continue growing a plant that you particularly love , but you get to get going out with a newfangled , youthful plant that will have a more summary development habit .
It will also produce as many flowers as the original plant did when it was young .
Tolearn about taking cuttings , watch out our templet on the content .
Pruning for Winter
If you do live in Zones 10 to 12 , your plant will halt flowering toward the middle of declension , but it will return next year for another brilliant show .
To help encourage bushy ontogeny , lop the plant back after it has finish blossom .
Take a clean pair of pruner and cut each stem back by about a third . That ’s all there is to it . In the spring , as new maturation emerge , pinch it back using your fingers to encourage more succinct growth .
take to prune geraniums in our guide .
Disposal
If you do n’t desire to go through the scuffle of any of the options above , you could always pull up up and cast out your spend plant . I ’ve totally been there . Sometimes you just want to clean up and start clean next class .
Grab them around the base and labour them out of the soil . Knock as much of the soil from the root nut as you may , and fill up the remaining hole with well - decompose compost if it ’s in the priming coat .
Dispose of the works in the compost or if it had any pest infestations or disease , toss away it in the scraps .
Clean up any fallen rubble , as well . This is a good garden practice in oecumenical because it help to limit the scatter of disease .
Your Geranium Still Has a Lot of Life in It
Just because most people process them as annuals , that does n’t have in mind geranium ca n’t dwell for years and years , break the right care and maintenance .
That ’s obviously a money - rescuer , but you ’ll also have a larger plant than you would have if you just buy raw seedlings each year . But think of how many resource you ’re save , as well !
It takes a lot of water , fossil oil product , and other affair like dirt , perlite , andpeat mossto grow all those geranium that are tossed out after just one summer .
Are you a lover of Pelargonium ? I can relate . If you ’d like to learn more about these pretty flowers and their close congener , we have several pathfinder that you might find to be of pastime , admit :
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About
Kristine Lofgren
