Geranium Cuttings

Geranium Cuttings    
Geranuims -One of the easier plants to propagate is a geranium from stem cuttings. At the end of the summer you can take cutting from the plants that have been in your garden over the summer to produce plants for use next year.
Geranium cuttings stage by stage

1. Remove a cutting with about 2 or 3 leaf joints from the top. Cut the stem just below a leaf joint and remove the lowest leaves to produce a bare stem that can be inserted into the cutting compost.
2. If the cutting has any flower heads on it they should be removed so that the cutting directs its energy into rooting.
3. The compost for the cutting should be a mixture of 50% sand and 50% peat. This will produce compost that is open so as not to rot the stem before it has rooted.
4. Place three cuttings into 75-mm pots and water in. They will need to be placed on a windowsill or in a glasshouse. The most important consideration is to make sure that the temperature is even through the day. I.e. not becoming cold at night and too hot during the day.
5. The cuttings should root in about 10 to 20 days. Once rooted they will need to be transferred into there own pots 75mm to 100mm using standard potting compost.
6. Once the cutting has rooted you will need to pinch out the top to encourage the new plant to produce side shoots. 

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