Cultural info for Pelargoniums

The genus pelargonium is a group of plants which are tender perennials i.e. they are not frost hardy, so must be protected from English winters preferably under heated glass or on a sunny windowsill in a heated room of the house.Pelargoniums need not rest unlike many other plants. In fact if we can provide them with adequate heat, light and water they will continue to flower all the year round.

Once a young plant is acquired check the plant for being pot bound, gently knock it out of its pot, look at the roots, if they are wrapped around the pot, it is time to move the plant on into a larger pot. We would recommend our PELARGONIUM MIX COMPOST (specially formulated by us) as it is loam based and is free draining, a must for pelargoniums. Usually a plant will grow quite happily in a pot for about 5 - 6 weeks before it requires potting on again, but I would recommend regular potting on. Along with the potting on, pinching of the growing points is very important to maintain a good shape to the plant. Ideally the stopping (pinching) programme should begin with a rooted cutting or at least as soon as you get the plant, then stop each side shoot and as the plant grows keep up the pinching process to build up a tight network of branches each producing a mass of buds and flowers. It pays to sacrifice the first flowers of a young plant to build up a branch structure and neat shape - this will later reward you with many more flowers than those first few early flowers which tend to drain the young plants energies.

Feeding is very important - a spring feed should be of high nitrogen to encourage good leaf colour and general plant growth, as the buds form and develop (April / May) go onto a high potash feed then as the season lengthens (June / July / August) feed with a balanced fertilizer. By the autumn the feeding can be decreased or the strength of feed weakened to half.

The position of the plant is also a very important factor as to how well the plant will do. All varieties and groups of pelargoniums can withstand early spring sun and tricolours especially will benefit from the high light intensity, however the strong sun of June through to August is usually too hot for many of the more tender leaved pelargoniums. It is mainly the golden leaved and pale edged tricolour and bicolour varieties that suffer from burning up at the edges of the leaves and in intense heat will look unsightly with brown edges to most of the leaves. Once the weather has cooled down the plants will soon recover and regain their colour and freshness.

Position these varieties in a cool shady place, ether indoors or out, if grown in a greenhouse place plants on the floor near a door under the greenhouse staging. Advice can be given on individual varieties on request. During the late autumn months plants grown outside should be brought into either the house and grown as a house plant on a sunny windowsill or in a heated greenhouse preferably at 42 degrees F or higher if possible. If heat can not be given the plants should be kept on the dry side but should be given some water maybe once a week on a sunny morning so that they drain off before the night temperatures drop. Also these plants should be covered on a night with fleece, newspaper or bubble polythene e.t.c. and uncovered the next morning to give them light.

Ventilation is also important for plants grown under glass, give as much ventilation as possible all the year round - weather permitting.

Cuttings can be taken from April until September without bottom heat. Angel and Regal varieties are the exceptions and need to be taken when the temperatures are cool ( October to April) but bottom heat must be provided.

Detailed advice can be given on any propagating problems on request.

Happy Growing,

Helen Bainbridge