Grow winning pelargoniums
Ken delivers a masterclass on growing for the show bench
Growing a show-winning pelargonium starts when you take cuttings. I only select the strongest and shortest jointed growth on a parent plant when taking cuttings, as this will result in a more compact plant that’ll produce more flowers.
I pot the cuttings into a 5cm (2in) pot with a mix of 50 per cent coir and 50 per cent Vermiculite. Once the cutting has rooted, depending on the variety, I take out the growing tip at three or four sets of leaves. I’ll wait until new growth has emerged from each leaf axil before potting on into their first pots. Once potted into the next size pots – 6.5cm (2½in) for miniatures and dwarfs and everything else in 7.5cm (3in) pots – I start to feed a weak solution of Chempak No 3 once the cutting has rooted. When the young plant has started to make plenty of top growth I’ll ll pot it on into its next pot. ot. In my experience, never ever be in a hurry to pot ot on pelargoniums as there’s nothing to be gained by this. I want the plant to make top growth, not lots of root, at this stage.
To keep the foliage looking nice and sharp I add some magnesium in the form of Epsom Salts, now and then, about one tablespoon to a 10 litre can. I also feed with liquid seaweed during the growing period, which encourages healthy growth and helps the plant take up the NPK it needs. I apply both of these as a root drench, rather than spraying on the foliage, as a spray can leave unsightly blemishes on the leaves, which is bad news for show plants.
Once the plants have established and are growing steadily you can stake any wayward branches so they keep their shape. It’s now also time for the plant to have its final stop (pinching out of growing tips) and I’ll do every growing tip even if it only has one set of leaves because any that are missed will come into flower too soon.
The timing of this is a bit of an art form and will depend on what variety you have and the weather. As a guide, where I live in Suffolk, for a June show, I count back 20 weeks from the date of the show for Regals
and Uniques, 18 weeks for Angels and Species, 16 weeks for Stellars, Ivy-leaved, basic Zonals and Scented-leaved and 14-12 weeks for Dwarf and Miniatures.
During the weeks leading up to the show I regularly check the plant for pests and remove any leaves that are too big for its size and any dead or yellow leaves. If there’s not much sun in the final few weeks I’ll switch to Chempak No 4, a high potash feed, to hopefully help the buds all open more or less at the same time.
When the day of the show arrives it’s finally time after two years to see if all the effort has paid off. I make sure the pot and saucer is clean before staging the plant on the show bench, positioning it so the best view of the plant is at the front. Then the rest is up to the judges!