How do I propagate the hardy geranium varieties ‘Rozanne’ and ‘Patricia’?
John Foster, Birmingham
Stefan says: You certainly have two lovely geraniums, ‘Rozanne’ with its glorious deep purple flowers, and the low-growing, deep pink ‘Patricia’. Your conundrum arises because you say there doesn’t seem to be an obvious way to divide them. I’m a little puzzled by this, however, because I’ve grown ‘Rozanne’ myself and also other low-growing varieties similar to ‘Patricia’, and never had any difficulty.
I simply pull the plants apart in the spring, using a small fork if they’re large and tough, trim off any dead or moribund roots and stems, and replant. I’ve also propagated ‘Rozanne’ by cuttings, again taken in the spring, and have no reason to believe this won’t work with ‘Patricia’. Use basal cuttings; these are the new shoots that arise in the spring at the periphery of the clump. Some may already have a small piece of root attached.