Following Becky Lang?Äôs talk Thursday evening, March 30, Master Gardener Donna Christian gave a talk and demonstration on how to successfully raise geraniums.
She has two cardinal rules: (1) Don?Äôt overwater, it?Äôs fatal. Feel the soil and, if it?Äôs still moist, don?Äôt water. (2) Don?Äôt over-fertilize. Stop fertilizing by Aug. 1. Fertilizer will give you a lot of foliage, but not much flowers.
Christian had lots of other helpful tips for geranium-lovers:
Bugs: If left outdoors, they will take care of themselves. Aphids can attach to leaves, especially new growth, when brought indoors. You can: blast them off with water outdoors before bringing them in, cut off any affected parts, use insecticidal soap or insecticide. DO NOT use systemic insecticides as this goes into the flowers and harms pollinators. For white mealy bugs (they look like the fuzzy end of a Q-tip), wipe the affected parts with a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol. Spider mites: spray with water and insecticide.
Disease: today you can research a diseased leaf online or in the library to see what it is. If the plant is really bad, just throw it away.
Bloom booster: feeds the flowers and roots. She uses Osmocote because it?Äôs slow-working. Just follow the directions! Fertilizer won?Äôt hurt pollinators.
Christian brings her geraniums indoors in the fall, putting them in paper bags. She cuts them back around Valentine?Äôs Day, as it takes about three months to re-bloom.
Master Gardener Donna Christian demonstrates how and when to water, fertilize, deadhead, prune, and propagate geraniums successfully. Above, she shows hot to make a 4-inch cutting to propagate. Staff photo by Jean Doran Matua.
She demonstrated how to make cuttings to propagate geraniums. Ideally, a 4-inch cutting is enough; remove bottom leaves. She lets them dry for 2-24 hours. A light coating of rooting hormone may be used, but is not needed for geraniums. (Remember that patented plants cannot legally be propagated at home.) Use a good potting soil with pearlite added. Clean used pots thoroughly, then use a 10-
percent bleach solution to sterilize.
Don?Äôt forget that plants can sunburn too. They need to be hardened off. Lighter-colored leaves are especially susceptible to sunburn.
Christian brought a number of varieties of geraniums for her presentation. These included scented varieties like lime, and chocolate-mint. At the end of her talk, she gave away most of these plants to audience members drawn at random.
Christian?Äôs talk coincided with the season opening of the Seed Library at the Eden Valley Area Library. Stop by the library to check out heritage seeds or to learn more.