Growing Geraniums From Seed: How to Do It and Why You Should
Geraniums are, without a doubt, one of the most iconic flowers species. Their classic look and low maintenance requirements make them an excellent houseplant for beginners. They are also a long-time favorite of seasoned gardeners.
They are Native to South Africa and can be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 8 through 11 where mild winters are prevalent. There are over 400 different varieties of geraniums. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and flower colors. Plus, their fragrances are unbeatable.
If you have been wanting to grow geraniums, then you have come to the right spot. Keep reading for a detailed look into the wonderful world of geraniums.
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What is the Secret to Growing Geraniums?
From their fragrant leaves to their gorgeous flowers, these plants are at the top of every gardener's list - and there's no secret to geranium care, either! Here are few simple tips:
Most geraniums grow best in full sun and moist soil
Geraniums will die back at the first fall frost, but you also need to water carefully during hot weather
Water-soluble fertilizer can be applied at half strength to avoid burning your plants
Garden beds should be mulched to help them retain moisture
Choose a sunny spot with well draining soil for your geraniums
Plant seeds or transplants in the spring
Need more reasons to consider growing geraniums - and some helpful tips to help you do it? Check out this video:
Can Geraniums Be Grown From Seed?
Yes, Geraniums can be grown from seed. Geraniums make for excellent houseplants in containers (especially hanging containers) or companion plants in your outdoor garden.
Growing geraniums has many benefits for you and your garden:
Scented geraniums can repel pests
Geranium leaves and flowers can be used to make essential oils and cosmetic creams.
Geranium flowers are edible and have culinary uses like making tea, baking, decorating pastries.
They are relatively fast-growing and add a beautiful aesthetic to your outdoor spaces.
How Long Do Geraniums Last?
Geraniums are annual flowers, not perennial. This means that they do not die back each year and begin new growth in the springtime. Instead, geranium flowers continue to grow from the same plant structure for their lives.
Happy and healthy geraniums can live for about two years. After the two-year mark, it’s possible for geraniums to continue growing; however, their blooms diminish noticeably. They also tend to lose their young tenderness and turn woody.
You do not want to rush the geraniums because they are not cold-hardy. The cold snaps in late winter or early spring may kill them if you plant them too early. The best time of the year to plant geraniums is a full three weeks after the last predicted frost date.
Do Geraniums Prefer Sun or Shade?
Geraniums prefer sun instead of shade. They prefer full sun conditions. In a perfect world, this would mean that geraniums receive 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day.
To accomplish this, we recommend planting geraniums in an area that is not blocked by structures, like your home or gazebo and other plants. We also recommend selecting a south-facing location to ensure the maximum amount of sunlight is available to your geraniums.
The ideal soil for geraniums is loose soil with a lot of rich organic matter. They do not prefer heavier, compacted clay-like soil. If you deal with heavier soil outdoors, you can amend it with peat, compost, or perlite to lighten things up.
Is It Easy to Grow Geraniums from Seed?
Yes, it is relatively easy to grow geraniums from seed. However, it should be noted that growing geraniums from seed is more time-consuming them growing them from stem cuttings. The reason is that these seeds are slow-growing.
Depending on your exact location, seeds can be sown from mid to late February in order to produce flowers by springtime. Typically flowering occurs 13 to 15 weeks after sowing.
Do You Need to Soak Geranium Seeds Before Planting?
It is not mandatory to soak the seeds before planting them. Instead, it’s best to water your growing medium prior before planting the seeds thoroughly. This will prepare the soil for the seed and help it begin to germinate.
How Do You Get Geranium Seeds?
These seeds can be purchased from most plant nurseries or garden centers.
However, collecting and saving your own seeds is also possible. You can stop deadheading your geraniums to encourage them to go to seed at the end of the season.
Once the flowers are completely dry, seed pods will begin to form. When the seed pods ripen, they will burst, and the seeds will be ready to collect. To prevent the seeds from being lost to the breeze, you can place mesh bags around the seed pods to collect the seeds as they are released.
How Do You Plant Geranium Seeds?
Seeds can be sown directly into the soil in the ground or into a container with potting mix. However, the most reliable method is probably to plant your seeds indoors in containers.
Fill a container with a germination medium, such as Jiffy Mix or Reddi-Earth. Leave ½ to 1-inch gap at the top of the container. Firm up the medium gently with your hands, and water it thoroughly. Allow it to drain for a few minutes.
Sow the seeds into the medium. After sowing the seeds, soak the germination medium and allow it to drain once again.
How Long Does it Take to Germinate Geranium Seeds?
With optimal temperature and moisture, it is possible for geraniums to germinate in seven to ten days fully. Use this garden planning chart to time things right!
It’s best to cover the container with plastic food wrap or a clear, recycled plastic bottle to create an environment with the ideal temperature and humidity for your seeds. This will create a greenhouse-like environment for your seeds and encourage them to quickly germinate.
How Far Apart Should You Plant Geranium Seeds?
We recommend you sow your seeds in rows. The rows of seeds should be 2 to 3 inches apart. It’s best to cover your seeds with at least ⅛ inch of soil or potting mix.
How Do You Care for Geraniums?
Caring for geraniums is not overly cumbersome or time-consuming. They are relatively low-maintenance flowers and will be happy to grow for you when given the right conditions.
Below you’ll find some common questions we often hear related to caring for geraniums. We’ve provided brief answers to assist you in becoming the best geranium plant-parent ever.
Should You Water Geraniums Every Day?
The answer is, it depends. Don’t just water your geraniums because it’s a new day. Instead, we recommend you water your flowers because the soil feels dry.
Your watering routine will depend on the climate and the type of soil. For example, watering every day during the colder months may not be necessary. However, during the summer, you may notice that your geranium needs a little extra water.
You can test the soil for moisture by poking your finger into the topsoil. If the soil feels cool and moist, then you probably do not need to water your geraniums.
What Happens if You Over Water Geraniums?
Ironically, too much water is a bad thing for geraniums. When geranium flowers receive too much water, their leaves may begin to yellow. They may also develop pale-looking water spots.
Too much moisture can also create an environment where fungus and bacteria can grow.
When Can You Transplant Geraniums?
If you are worried about the cold weather, geraniums can be transplanted indoors during the fall, sometime before the first frost of the year.
On the other hand, if you are growing geranium seedlings indoors in preparation for the spring, we recommend transplanting them outside three weeks after the last frost. This will provide ample time for the soil to warm up and become a more hospitable home for delicate geranium seedlings.
Should Geraniums Be Cut Back in Winter?
If you want to overwinter your geraniums indoors, you can cut back your flowers to encourage them to go into dormancy. When pruning geraniums for the winter, focus on the older, woodier sections of the plant. When it’s all said and done, you should aim to have ⅓ to ½ of the plant cut back in preparation for winter.
However, you can also keep your geraniums actively growing over the winter as well. In this case, you do not need to cut back your geraniums.
How Quickly Do Geraniums Grow?
When the optimal conditions are provided, geraniums can begin to flower 13 to 15 weeks after germination.
Geraniums can also be grown from stem cuttings. Propagated geranium cuttings tend to grow faster than germinated seeds. Plus, when you propagate from cuttings, you can guarantee that the new plant will turn out just like its parent plant.
As they mature, geraniums can successfully be grown for many years.
How Can I Make My Geraniums Grow Faster?
You can encourage your geraniums to proliferate by providing them with the necessities, like plenty of sunlight and water. However, you can also promote growth by fertilizing them.
Fertilizing geraniums will encourage root growth, bushier leaf development, and blooming. Any store-bought, all-purpose (20-20-20) liquid fertilizer will do the trick. Fertilizer will provide the potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen that geraniums need to grow big and strong.
We recommend fertilizing once a month during the growing season. It is unnecessary to fertilize geraniums during the winter when they are not actively growing.
Can I Keep Geraniums in Pots Over Winter?
Yes, you sure can! Potted geraniums offer a great way to grow these flowering plants year-round, even if growing plants outdoors is not an option.
The process of keeping geraniums in pots throughout the wintertime is called overwintering. It’s a common practice that gardeners use to continue growing their favorite plants indoors despite the cold weather outdoors.
The most effective place to overwinter geraniums for those of us with tons of space is in a greenhouse. However, you don’t need a greenhouse to overwinter geraniums. You can move your geraniums indoors and keep them in a south-facing sunny window instead.
This is especially ideal if you want to keep them actively growing and blooming. When growing geraniums indoors, do your best to keep the soil temperature above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Water your geraniums only when the top inch of the soil is dry, and always keep an eye out for pests and plant disease.
Allowing your geraniums to go dormant over the winter may help you. You can keep them in a cool, dark space and let the soil dry out. Then, when the spring rolls around, you can move them back outdoors and let them soak up the sun. Of course, your geraniums may just bloom indoors, when placed in a sunny window, too!
What Grows Well With Geraniums?
Geraniums are commonly utilized as companion plants. The reason is that geraniums are good at repelling earworms, cabbage worms, and Japanese beetles. Geraniums are grown alongside plants that are prone to these pests, such as corn, roses, grapes, and cabbage.
Scented geraniums are also thought to help repel pests like spider mites, leafhoppers, and aphids. To utilize geraniums as a form of pest control, we recommend you plant them on the borders of your vegetable garden or disperse them amongst the vegetables.
Annual geraniums and perennial geraniums alike are beautiful additions to hanging baskets. You can also plant geraniums in raised beds, windowboxes, and many other settings.
Common Geranium Pests and Diseases
Like other plants, geraniums are susceptible to a variety of pests and diseases. The two most common diseases geraniums suffer from are bacterial leaf-spot and botrytis leaf-spot.
Bacterial leaf spot is a common bacterial disease in warm, overly-wet conditions. Symptoms brown and circular sunken spots on older or lower leaves. Multiple spots on one leaf can keep causing it to drop off.
Botrytis leaf spot is a common fungal disease in cool and damp conditions. Infected flowers will wilt and die off. Over time, brown lesions will form, and a grayish-brown mass of fungal spores will develop. Another common fungal disease to be aware of is root rot. To avoid root rot, water plants carefully, only watering when the soil is dry. Make sure containers have adequate soil drainage (like drainage holes) to prevent waterlogging, too.
Geraniums can also be pestered by insects like aphids, cabbage loopers, budworms, cankerworms, and scaly bugs.
Do Geraniums Reseed Themselves?
Yes, geraniums are able to reseed themselves. Instead of blooming, geranium plants will produce seed pods. When these seed pods ripen, they burst, and the wind spreads the seeds.
However, some hybrid geranium plants will not self-pollinate
Is Geranium Hard to Grow?
Geraniums are not tricky houseplants to grow. On the contrary, they are friendly flowers that many gardeners love to grow.
To be successful with hardy geraniums, all you need to do is make sure they get morning sun (some afternoon shade is okay), plenty of water when the soil feels dry, and fertilizer. And remember, they are not cold hardy, so don’t forget to move them indoors for the Winter.
We hope you found this article helpful. If you can follow the guidelines from above, we are confident you will have happy and healthy geraniums for many years to come.
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