Growing Geraniums

How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Geraniums

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Age-Old Wisdom meets Modern Tools

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Geraniums are a longtime favorite of gardeners. They are easy to grow, colorful, and emit a lovely scent. Here’s how to grow geraniums in your home and garden!

Note: This page is about plants in the genus Pelargonium, commonly called geraniums or storksbills. Plants in the genus Geranium are also commonly used in gardens, but are typically refered to as hardy geraniums or cranesbills.

Although they may be kept outdoors during the warmer part of the year, geraniums are typically kept indoors to overwinter. Alternatively, if provided with enough light, they can bloom indoors all year long.

Geranium or Pelargonium? A Case of Mistaken Identity

The plants that we commonly call geraniums were introduced in Europe by Dutch traders who brought them from South Africa in the early 18th century. Because these new plants resembled the hardy wild geraniums already growing in Europe, botanists mistakenly grouped them together into the same genus.

In 1753, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus classified them under the genus Geranium. When it was later discovered that these new “geraniums” differed from European geraniums in the shape of their petals, the number of stamens, and other factors, they were reclassified under Pelargonium, meaning “stork’s bill”—a reference to the long, sharply pointed shape of their seedpod.

Their original common name stuck, however, and we still say “geranium” when we actually mean “pelargonium.”

Geranium

Planting

When buying geraniums, pay close attention to color and size. Healthy leaves will have no discoloration on or below them and stems will be sturdy, not straggly. Be sure to avoid any plants with obvious signs of pests as well.
Place plants in pots with drainage holes to avoid root rot.
Use a well-draining potting mixture (not heavy, clayey soil) when planting in containers. Geraniums do not like to sit in soggy, compacted soil.
For maximum bloom, place the plants in an area where they will get 4-6 hours of sunlight.

Care

Allow soil to dry to some extent between waterings, then water thoroughly.
During the winter, water much less, but do not let the roots dry out entirely. Geraniums do best when given a period of dormancy through the winter months, during which they use less water and do not grow much. See below for more overwintering instructions.
To encourage blooming, deadhead spent flowers.
To promote bushiness and avoid legginess, pinch the stems.
During active growing months, fertilize every 2 weeks. Use a water-soluble fertilizer at half strength. Don’t fertilize in winter.
Geraniums can be re-potted as needed during the spring to be refreshed.

Geranium

Overwintering Geraniums

Geraniums that have spent the summer outdoors can be kept as houseplants, provided they get lots of sun. In northern climes, the sun may not be strong enough in late winter to stimulate buds on some varieties.
Before the first fall frost (find your local frost dates), lift the plants and, using a sharp, clean knife, cut the stems back in a shapely fashion to about 6 to 8 inches. They should not have to support great masses of leaves in the low sunlight environment they are about to enter. Save a few stems as cuttings to root, an easy way to multiply your plants.
Transplant the “mother plant” to the smallest pot possible—enough to just fit the roots—using regular potting soil to fill.
Keep the plants in shade for a week, then place them in a sunny spot (they need all the sun they can get) and keep them cool.
During winter, geraniums grow best with night temperatures of 50° to 60°F (10° to 16°C) but will survive if they drop to 32°F (0°C) and/or rise above 80°F (27°C), as long as they are kept relatively dry.
When new growth appears, cut off all the old leaves.

The only thing more difficult than getting the new growth to appear is keeping it. And here’s some help with that:

Water only when the leaves show signs of drooping and provide only small amounts. Do not fertilize or feed the plants. It is critical that these plants get rest.
If you want your overwintered geraniums to bloom for Memorial Day, pinch them back in February. Once warm weather returns and all danger of frost has passed, take the plants outdoors and transplant them to beds or pots, as you wish.

Pests/Diseases

Common problems can be low light or too much or too little water. The leaves will turn yellow as an indication you are watering too little or too much. In this case, try to even the watering out and move the geraniums to a brighter place.

Harvest/Storage

How to Root Stem Cuttings

Most geraniums root easily from stem cuttings in soil, coarse sand, water, perlite, or other rooting material—but nothing with fertilizer.

Using a sharp, clean knife, make a slanted cut 4 inches below a stem tip, above a node where leaves emerge. Trim cutting to just below a node. Remove any buds, all but two or three leaves, and the leaflike stipules at the base of leaf stalks.
Roll the stem cutting in newspaper or put it in the shade for 24 hours, so that the cut end will seal and not rot.
Push the stem into a pot of moistened rooting medium and store it in a warm, shady place for 2 days. After that, give the cutting indirect sun. Moisten the medium only as needed.

Recommended Varieties

The Common or Zonal Geraniums (Pelargonium x hortorum) thrive in containers (as well as outdoors).
Ivy-Leaf Geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum) are very popular for hanging baskets, window-boxes, and containers.

Wit & Wisdom

For minor cuts, apply crushed geranium leaves to stop the bleeding.
In the language of flowers, scarlet geranium means silliness. Find out more flower meanings here.
Geraniums are known to be toxic to Japanese beetles, so you won’t have to worry about those pesky pests.

Reader Comments

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Overwintering geraniums

I have had great success at overwintering geraniums in my Southern window in Michigan,
I have two large, beautiful geraniums, for 38 years, now, that I put outside in Summer and bring in for Fall/Winter Seasons. I just make sure they don't bring in little bugs with them. I spray with insecticidal soap beforehand and deadhead and check the soil.

Rooting in water

It's almost become a joke. A friend has given me cuts off her beautiful healthy geraniums. She kept it this time until it had roots growing so I kept in indirect sunlight and waited for the roots to get a little bigger. The root under water and the cut under water started to get a kind of cloudy fuss on it. So I rinsed it and the next day I planted it in soaked soil Since then all it does is droop and look like it is dying. I do not kill all plants but for some reason these cuts that this lady has given me keep dying. I can't ask for anymore, like I said it'd become a joke and she told me not to kill this one. (She was just playing but now I'm embarrassed) help me. Can I save this or should I just go buy one? :(

Winter geraniums

I'm so sad. I've been practically taking my geraniums to bed with me at yo help them thru the winter here in Montana. They were doing great. About 3 weeks ago I noticed the leaves looked droopy; checked the soil and it was dry so watered them but didn't soak them at all. They perked up for a couple days but now the leaves have turned yellow and are dropping off. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

geraniums failing

We understand your disappointment. They do need a period of dormancy. Did you prune them at all? If not, you may be trying to keep full-size plants going and they just want to be left (almost) alone for a while. If you didn’t prune, do so now, leaving a few leaves but removing any new growth. Water when dry but not to soak. Give them indirect light. Then, when the days get warmer, return to fulltime regular care. Hope this helps!

Leggy

I have had a geranium planet indoors for at least four years. Last June it looked so sad I decided to throw it out. When I went to cut off the stems I saw two shoots reaching up from the soil. I cut off the old and have been watching one of the shoots become “leggy.” It is now five feet tall and has been blooming constantly, once the first bloom appeared. Two questions. Is this height the old, original height of a wild plant, and we have convinced it to be smaller and more appealing? How tall will it grow?

Mary Alice Middletown, DE

new plant..

Don’t question the wisdom and glory of nature, Mary Alice; nurture it. We have no idea how tall it will grow or for how long. It is growing for you now…enjoy it!

I am also a Mary Alice with a leggy 5 foot geranium!

Wow - maybe the name Mary Alice is synonymous with tall indoor geraniums as that is my name as well. I have had mine for 6 or 7 years. I cut it back by about 8” pretty regularly and it has thrived in my sunroom. It is always in bloom. I’m thinking of putting it outside this summer, but don’t want to wear it out. I plan keep it in its current container. So hello Mary Alice! To editor: I would like advice on seasoning it to be outdoors this summer. Happy growing!

Mary Alice

I have just named my 4 geraniums Mary Alice, Maria Alice, Maria Alicante and Mary Ally after you ladies with the 5 foot geraniums. Nicely done!

I live in Austin, TX. My

I live in Austin, TX. My geraniums are potted outside and lately the temperature is over 100 degrees. I water them almost daily. Is that too much? Leaves are turning yellow but not sure if it's from heat or over watering. One of the plants has tiny round brown spots on the leaves. Could that be a fungus?

Geranium leaf spots

It sounds like it could be either a bacterial or fungal issue, which are both made worse by warm, wet conditions. There is no cure for bacterial diseases, but you can mitigate the issue by removing infected leaves and stems and by placing infected plants away from healthy ones. Wash your hands after you touch the infected plant(s). Keep the plants’ leaves dry by watering from the bottom of the pot or from soil level; this can help stop the spread of fungal diseases. Go here for more information: https://extension.psu.edu/geranium-diseases

Wit and Wisdom

Hi everyone! I came to this page for the basic caretaking tips of my geraniums. My mom always loved geraniums (she passed away in February) so I really wanted to keep these thing alive lol! Long story short, the wit and wisdom section was right up her alley...she could've been a contestant on Jeopardy with her love of this type of knowledge! Also my name is Mary Brigid (hers was Brigid Mary) and her mother's name was Alice! Just creeping out a little bit over here with not one but two Mary Alice's and then the naming of the four plants with the same name. SO COOL!! ❤

Geraniums

Was looking for japanese beetle resistant plants. Saw geraniums. So why have they eaten mine to the stem?

Geraniums and Japanese Beetles

Geraniums are often mistakenly listed as “beetle resistant.” In fact, Japanese beetles will happily eat geraniums. However, geranium leaves contain a substance that can paralyze the beetles for up to a day, making them more vulnerable to predators (or angry gardeners). For this reason, geraniums are used as a bait plant to trap and dispose of hungry beetles.

Geraniums

I just planted my first Geranium, a Rocky Mountain Salmon (Zonal Geranium). It's planted in the ground, not a pot. My parents always planted Geraniums in pots, but they were always leggy and tall and never spread out. What is the technique for pinching them back? Do I need to do it with shears, or can I use my fingernails (or should I say what's left of my fingernails since I began spring gardening). Also: When fall comes, can I uproot it, put it into a large pot, and bring it into the house over the winter?

Bud to bloom time?

I am growing a standard geranium for a County Fair submission in mid-july. Up to now I have been pinching off all the flower buds so the plant would get fuller. At what point should I let the flower buds grow in order to get them to bloom in mid-july. The plant is fertilized once every two weeks with a water soluble fertilizer and gets at least 6 hours of Sun a day.

when geariums bloom

Oh, the pressure! We have no direct experience with this kind of timing and can not find it elsewhere, but we learned the following and pass it on in hope that it helps:

• When any given stem is as tall as you`d like or you wish to encourage branching or new basal shoots, pinch out its growing tip but not the flower bud forming alongside. In this way, you allow the terminal bloom cluster to mature and give pleasure while the removal of the growing tip has set into motion the desired activity below. By the time top blooms fade, new growth will be budding.

• If you want a miniature or dwarf geranium to go all to bloom, try potting in a 5- or 6-inch bulb pan or azalea pot (both types are more shallow than the standard, which is as wide across the top as it is tall). This practice allows the little geranium to develop many branches, and when the roots are sufficiently cramped, there will be a profusion of flowers.

• Give the roots a soaking when the surface soil is approaching dryness. If you wait until there is a slight wilting of the leaves, flower buds on the way will wither and die. But never leave a geranium sitting in water.

• Commercial growers have a variety (it seems) of techniques that seem complicated for home growers but you might glean some secrets by reading about this report from Michigan State: http://flor.hrt.msu.edu/assets/PdfAttachments/7Geranium-and-Zinnia.pdf

Good luck in at the Fair!

Dead heading

Where do you pinch them off at? Every time I start to pinch at the bottom where, it seems stem is coming out, doesn't seem to flower as much. Do you just pinch off below the bloom? I love these flowers but can't seem to keep a lot of blooms on them. Thanks!

how to pinch geraniums

Hi, Michelle. You only need to pinch ¼ to ½ inch off the end of the stem.

Geraniums

I buy full geraniums then they start to get leggy. Do I pinch the plant stems from leaf top 1/4 to 1/2 inch. I break the dying blooms down to where the come off of the stem. My question - where and how do I pinch plant to prevent leggy plant

Is there a picture where I can see how to cut the ends off on kn

Is there a picture where I can see how to cut the ends off On these flowers because mine look like they’re dead and I don’t know how to cut them

More detail please

Can you provide more detail on where exactly to pinch geraniums? Or a photo or drawing? I am confused exactly what is meant by “end of the stem”. I bought an entire flat of geraniums in April that were covered in gorgeous magenta blooms. Once the original blooms faded, there have no more blooms or even buds. I can’t figure out why. They have had plenty of sun and water. Thanks!

Deadheading geraniums

Do you pinch or do you cut spent flowers

geraniums

I am planting geranium seeds now and will keep in a green house until May and then want to use them in a wedding in late August. What is the best way to keep small and full of blooms? Zone 5b
Thanks

how to grow small geraniums

Did you seed a dwarf variety? These can be maintained under 8 inches, flower freely, and can be maintained in 4-inch pots. They seem to be more popular in the United Kingdom; you can see mention of them here: http://thepelargoniumregister.com/horticulture-symbols-and-terms/ They might be able to provide some info.

If you are growing standard size, you might need to keep it pruned.

geraniums -- out doors

This info has been very helpful. They bloom several times a year but get quite leggy. I may have watered too often, but what do I do when it rains on them? Something also eats some of the buds. I live in Southern Calif.

leggy geraniums

They usually get leggy while being overwintered. Outdoors, it could be a sign that they are not getting enough light (they like full sun), and they naturally grow leggy during the bloom period. You can rejuvenate them by cutting them back hard. They should be fine if it rains as long as the soil is well draining; they should not be sitting in pools or soggy soil. As for what’s eating the buds…Japanese beetles can cause some damage. Rabbits eat the flowers…it could be that they nibble on the leaves. Deer will eat almost anything.

outdoor geramiums..

They have grown well...but now the leaves are curling does that mean they are getting too much water;...I live in Florida....need help....

Geraniums

Hi Genny,

Yes, the cause could be from too much watering, though it could also be from general inconsistent watering (e.g., too much then too little, too little then too much, off and on watering, etc…). The best way to deal with this problem is to begin a consistent watering regiment. Allow the soil around the plant to dry to 1 or 2 inches deep, and then water well. Wait until the soil returns to the same dryness, and then repeat. Hopefully, the plant will begin to recover over time. If not, the problem may be more serious and be caused by a fungal disease. We hope this helps!

dividing a plant

Hi, I have been asked by a family member overseas to gather some info. She has a Canadian variety of a geranium for a number of years. Her plant is very full and she would like to divide it. Can she do that by just separating the plant itself and re-potting both halves? Thanks for any help :)

Re: dividing geraniums

Yes, you can divide them. They are quite hardy but will recover. I would first trim the plant back by no more than a third and wait a week for it to recover, and then dig it out and observe.
Cut with sharp blade, perhaps many new plants, pot up in good soil or in ground, keep shaded initially and water well. Keep an eye on them!! They will tell you what they need.
Luck