Make the most of spring growth on your pelargoniums
When stopping plants in spring, use the stems as cu ings
I’ve made the most of the colder months by cleaning labels and pots in readiness for the growing season ahead. I clean labels using methylated spirits on a bit of rag as this removes marker pen with ease. To clean pots I remove all the compost in the greenhouse, then I take them inside to be washed up in the sink with disinfectant. I’m allowed to do this first thing in the morning, provided I clean up the breakfast things, too! The pots are then placed on the radiators to dry.
I sowed some ivy leaf and species pelargonium seed in November and germinated them on a windowsill next to a radiator. They’re now growing on nicely in the greenhouses. The seed I collected from P. australe that I grew during the winter outdoors last year now have the makings of being decent plants.
Keeping up a regime
Plants have put on plenty of strong healthy growth over winter. As of yet there are no show dates this year, but I’ve gone ahead and stopped any plants that are good enough to make the show bench as normal, to keep some sort of growing regime going. Whatever happens, I’ll have plenty of plants full of bloom to enjoy by doing this. The date of stopping a plant (removing the growing tips) depends on the date of when you want the plant to be at its best. In normal times that would be for a particular show. I count back from the date of the show and that gives me my stopping date. This is how many weeks I count back:
● Regals: 20 weeks
● Angels: 18 weeks
● Basic, bi- and tricoloured zonals: 16 weeks
● Ivy and hybrid ivy leaf, species, scented leaf and basic stellars: 16 weeks
● Dwarf, miniature and angels: 12-14 weeks. This is a rough guide as the number of weeks will depend greatly on the climate where you live.
Using cuttings
When I’m stopping plants, I use some of the stems I remove as cuttings. I choose stems that are strong, compact and showing no signs of flowering buds and 5cm (2in) or under. Once rooted this will give more compact growth and stops them from having bare stems at this early stage.
I use a mix of sieved coir with medium grade Vermiculite, in 4cm (1¾in) pots for miniatures and dwarfs and 5cm (2in) for all other pelargoniums. I use small pots as I’ve found that once rooted and potted on into their first pot, they grow quicker. Remove any growth from the part of the stem that will go into the compost. I find that brushing the end of a cutting in a weak solution of bleach helps seal the base and seems to root quicker. If you leave a brush in bleach and go for a cuppa and come back to find there are no bristles left on the brush, then your solution it too strong! Once rooted I remove the growing tip at three sets of leaves (four sets on the shorter jointed angels). This promotes lots of new growth at all the leaf joints rather than a tall, leggy plant with no shape. If you want a nicely shaped head and plenty of flowers keep doing this when all subsequent growth has made three sets of leaves, then let plants flower once the time is right to do so.