Geranium has long been loved by flower growers. She is unpretentious in content. Almost all types of plants delight with long and colorful flowering. The vast majority of pelargonium species necessarily require shortening of stems and pinching. This is the key to their luxurious flowering in the coming season. When and how to prune geraniums for the winter, the flower itself will tell you. As soon as it throws off the last faded buds, you can start. Properly pruning geraniums for the winter is not difficult at all.

Autumn formation of the bush

Summer is behind us with wildly blooming geraniums. It's time to rest and help the plant regain its strength. Removing excess shoots, pruning the main branches and pinching the tops will help give necessary forms plant and normalize its further development.

The essence of circumcision

Pruning geraniums for the winter means freeing them from a third of the bush’s volume. Unnecessary shoots are mercilessly removed and all stems are shortened by a third. There's nothing wrong with that. Behind winter period, provided the plant is well cared for, the bush will grow a new lush crown.

Along with the cut branches, the need to spend energy on feeding them also goes away. The plant has the opportunity to regain its strength for the next season. This necessary operation will serve as the basis for laying the optimal volume flower buds and a guarantee of healthy flowering bushes next spring.

What goals are being pursued?

After the pelargonium has faded, you can and should prune the bush. The procedure for shortening branches and cutting off excess shoots will allow you to:

• awaken the development of side shoots and the formation of future inflorescences;
• create the desired bush configuration;
• achieve abundant and long-lasting flowering;
• prepare excellent raw materials for breeding your favorite species.

It follows from this that autumn thinning is very beneficial: in the spring, young plants grown from cuttings are added to the mother bush.

Technique for proper crown design

There are many types of pelargonium. There are indoor and garden, bush and hanging, tall and dwarf. The formation of the crown for each of them has its own characteristics. But the main requirement for all varieties of them is timely pruning. A good appearance and the subsequent wild flowering of the plant.

Care indoor gerbera at home

Therefore, it is advisable to cut off unnecessary shoots and shorten the main branches with a clean and very sharp knife. A blade or utility knife is ideal. You should not do this with scissors, because there is a danger of injuring the epithelium on the cut.

The branches are shortened by about a third of the length or after every fourth node. To do this, find a dormant nodal bud located on the outside of the bush and cut it off. top part branches at an angle of 90°, 0.5 cm away from the leaf node. Damaged or dried stems, dried flowers and leaves are also removed. To avoid covering the root zone, branches growing inside the bush are cut out.

After cutting, there should be from 2 to 7 leaves left on each shoot. In no case should you cut off all the leaves when pruning pelargonium in the fall, since these are the main participants in photosynthesis and without them, the roots of the plant simply will not receive the microelements necessary for life.

Young shoots can simply be pinched with your fingers. It is important that they are dry and clean. To avoid infection, cut branches are sprinkled with ground charcoal or cinnamon powder. Finally, the plant needs to be fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizer to speed up the forcing of new shoots and good tillering of the flower.

Activities for the autumn decoration of pelargonium bushes last throughout the autumn until the onset of winter. During this period, additional shortening or pinching of missed stems is allowed without harm to the bush. But with the onset of winter, work stops. Now until spring the flowers need rest. The temperature drops to 10-12 degrees, watering is reduced and fertilizing the plants completely stops. And the lighting remains at the same level. For good health, pelargoniums need good lighting all year round.

Spring, autumn pruning and care of grapes in the Moscow region

Specifics of the procedure for some species

How to prune pelargonium for the winter depends on the desired result. If you want to get a flower in the form of a standard tree, you need to remove all the side branches, tie the main branch to a support, and pin its crown. This will cause new branches to appear. Subsequently, the crown of the tree is formed on 5-7 strong branches. The shoots are pinched after every fourth leaf.

Royal geranium is somewhat more demanding of physical intervention. Unlike zonal pelargoniums, it blooms for a very short time - only 3-4 months. But no other type of this flower can boast of such flowers. They are very large, painted in the brightest colors in incredible combinations. The short flowering period requires only autumn pruning. If you touch the plant in the spring, then most likely it will not bloom.

Ampelous, or rather, resembles bindweed. It looks great in hanging flowerpots. But to give shape and volume to the bush, regular shortening of the stems and pinching is required. The rules for carrying out such work do not differ from the manipulation of zonal pelargoniums. For this type of plant, autumn pruning is also preferable. It is also aimed at removing a third of the plant’s volume, removing branches directed towards the center.

Variegated geraniums are very difficult to tolerate any intervention, so it is best to leave them alone. Moreover, unlike zonal varieties, they do not stretch much. Bush for a long time kept compact . Mini-pelargoniums also almost do not need to form a bush. Whether this geranium needs to be pruned for the winter is decided depending on the circumstances.

Modern varieties of geraniums (pelargoniums) are incomparable to those that our mothers and grandmothers grew on windows. These flowers have not become more capricious at all, but now they bloom much more spectacularly than their ancestors. Terry varieties are especially magnificent. However, even such beauty can be ruined by improper care. In particular, plants still need pruning. Without it, the shoots stretch out, become bare, and flowering becomes scarce. It is also necessary to support geraniums proper watering, timely feeding. Only a well-groomed and cared for flower will reveal itself in all its splendor.

Pruning young and old plants has different purposes. Newly planted geranium needs to form a proper crown, and mature plant It is periodically necessary to get rid of old woody shoots that do not produce flowering. It is recommended to prune twice a year - in spring and autumn. If necessary, the cuttings remaining after spring pruning are used as planting material.

Young geraniums need formative pruning. If this is not done, the plant will become very elongated and will bloom worse. Pinching the stems in time will cause the growth of many lateral branches and limit the height of the plant. Thanks to this, the bush will be compact and at the same time lush. A geranium bush begins to form after 5-6 leaves appear on the branches.

On each shoot where the fifth leaf is formed, pinch the growth point. This can be done by hand or using small scissors. Soon axillary shoots will appear on the plant. The first flowering on them can be observed within 2 months after pruning. When root shoots appear, they are also pinched - this will give the bush even greater splendor.

Formation of pelargoniums: video

In autumn, geranium begins to fade, preparing to enter a state of biological dormancy. After the last inflorescences have dried, you will need to prepare the plant for wintering. Pruning should not be carried out between December and February - at this time the pelargonium is too weakened. Try to carry out the procedure before winter arrives. First you need to think about how exactly you will form the plant.

First remove yellow leaves and dried flowers, you also need to cut off too old stems. Unnecessary shoots that thicken the crown are cut off below the first leaf node. If you want new young branches to grow from this area, prune the shoot above the node. The main stem is shortened by 1/3 of the length.

Autumn pruning of pelargonium: video

Spring pruning carried out from late February to mid-March. The procedure promotes the formation of a large number of new buds and the growth of vegetative mass. Trimming geraniums at this time of year results in flowering occurring later; this must be taken into account. However, the results of such a procedure will be impressive. The bush will be able to form more flowers, they will be larger, and the flowering itself will last longer than usual.

When starting pruning, you should consider the size of the geranium. . Large specimens will have difficulty recovering after radical shortening of the branches. Plants may simply not have enough strength to flower and actively grow new shoots. The stems of a small bush can be shortened quite significantly, giving it the desired crown shape, but you need to take into account the genetic characteristics of the variety.

Trimming scheme

To form a large number of buds, it is important to adhere to the rules of shortening shoots. Carrying out pruning for lush flowering, you need to proceed according to the following scheme:

• The cut should be made with a sharp, disinfected knife. Scissors pinch the stem, so they won't work.
• The stem must be cut above the leaf node facing the outside of the bush.
• In order for the shortened cutting to be able to produce new branches in the future, it must be cut above the leaf.
• The cut is made at an acute angle, 3-5 mm above the node.
• Begin pruning from the outer shoots, gradually moving deeper into the bush.
• If you plan to remove half of all branches on a plant, it is better to do pruning in 2-3 stages, taking two-week breaks.
• To increase the number of flowers, you can shorten the branches after 4-5 leaf nodes. This is where young shoots with flower stalks will grow.

On a note! To avoid rotting, all sections are powdered with crushed activated carbon or cinnamon powder. Pinching is carried out with clean, dry hands, without pulling the stem too much.

Trimming Features

Geranium pruning is carried out taking into account its variety. Today, about 100 varieties of geranium are successfully cultivated in Russia, and almost 400 varieties are known in total.

On a note! According to the method of growing, plants can be divided into indoor and garden subspecies. Indoor geranium is especially capricious and heat-loving, under unfavorable conditions street conditions she will die.

Royal geranium has gained a reputation among flower growers capricious plant, which does not always bloom readily. This pelargonium has a short flowering period; it fades already in the second ten days of July. If you cut royal geranium in spring, flowering will occur only in the next season. For this variety, it would be correct to trim in late summer or early autumn. The plant is pruned in two stages with a month's break.

After the first shortening of the shoots, the bush should come to its senses and gain strength. Pruning at this stage comes down to removing old flower stalks and yellowed leaves. The second stage consists of pinching out many new shoots that have appeared after the formation of 4-5 pairs of leaves. This approach will help the plant look more decorative in the new season.

How and when to prune royal geranium: video

For ivy-shaped geraniums (also called ivy-leaved geraniums), it is advisable to carry out radical pruning in the spring. In autumn, you can limit yourself to only removing yellowed leaves and dried inflorescences. Over the winter, the plant finally loses its attractiveness, the vines dry out, and are left almost without leaves, so in the spring all stems are shortened to a height of 10-12 cm.

After this, the bushes begin to produce many young shoots and actively branch, and then bloom. Experts advise spraying woody old stems with Epin's solution after pruning - in this case, more dormant buds are awakened. You can pinch the ends of young branches, then flowering will be more abundant, but will come later.

Trim hanging varieties pelargonium annually is optional. The procedure is carried out less frequently than for other varieties of geranium and only when the plants lose their decorative properties. Pruning of hanging varieties can be called sanitary.

Yellowed leaves and parts of the stem, dried flowers, diseased and weakened shoots are removed from the plant. You also need to get rid of branches growing inside the crown and bare branches. The ends of young lashes are pinched for more luxuriant flowering. The same is done with shoots growing sideways.

How else to help geraniums for lush flowering

Except for pruning. To form buds, geraniums must receive enough moisture, light and nutrients. From time to time, even homemade varieties of geraniums need to be displayed. Fresh air, This good for the plant for good.

It is necessary to water geraniums on the windowsill all year round, despite the fact that it has a period of relative rest in winter time. The features of its watering are as follows:

1. The water should be soft, with a minimum content of iron, salts, lime and other impurities.
2. The plant prefers thawed or rainwater room temperature, but if this is not possible, you can improve the properties of water by settling for 1-2 days.
3. It is not recommended to water geraniums during the winter months. warm water, this may stimulate it to grow, which is undesirable.
4. The amount of moisture received by the plant must be sufficient. In hot weather, the earthen ball is moistened abundantly, but stagnation of water should not be allowed.
5. The pot must have a drainage layer and a drainage hole.
6. At moderate air temperatures, the top layer of soil is allowed to dry slightly before the next watering.

On a note! Young plants with insufficiently strong roots are watered after the soil dries 1 cm deep. You can check the soil moisture with a match or toothpick.

Watering should be uniform, without sharp alternation of drought and abundant moisture. It is better to water the plant more often, but little by little. In autumn, the amount of moisture introduced is reduced, and in winter the plant is maintained with infrequent, scanty watering, just so that its roots do not dry out.

Feeding for pelargoniums is used during the period active growth- In spring and summer. Fertilizer is applied to the soil twice a month, an hour after watering. It is impossible to apply fertilizing to dry soil, otherwise the roots will burn. After flowering is completed, geraniums are no longer fertilized until early spring.

Nitrogen fertilizers are used at the beginning of the growing season to produce a large amount of green mass. During the budding period, the plant needs to be given potassium and phosphorus. The nitrogen content in fertilizing should be reduced from this point on. It is best to use complex mineral fertilizers, in which, in addition to the main elements, there is:

• manganese;
• iron;
• magnesium;
• calcium;
• zinc;
• copper;
• sulfur;

All drugs are applied in liquid form, the solution is prepared according to the instructions. Fertilizer is excluded 2 weeks before transplantation and for 1 week after. You cannot fertilize sick plants; their roots cannot fully absorb nutrients, the condition of the flower will only worsen.

How to feed pelargonium for lush flowering: video

The best place in an apartment for geraniums is a southern window sill, where there is always a lot of sun. However, the plant does well in partial shade. You need to pay attention to the appearance of the flower and its condition.

If during the summer heat the leaves of a geranium turn yellow and wither, it means it is hot. Move the flower pot deeper into the room at midday, and then return it to its place. If you are not at home at this time, simply shade the pelargonium with two layers of gauze or a piece of white paper attached to the glass.

If you decide to decorate your garden or city flowerbed near your house with pelargonium, choose unpretentious varieties that do not require special growing conditions. For planting, it is recommended to select a well-lit area with light, well-drained soil. Clay soil is not suitable for geraniums, nor are wetlands. IN middle lane You can plant pelargonium outside in early June, when the threat of frost will probably disappear.

While creating suitable conditions the geranium in the garden is transformed, becomes healthier and stronger, and blooms well. Its leaves and flowers acquire a rich color.

1. To make geranium bloom more luxuriantly, plant it in a tight pot. In a large container, the plant devotes all its energy to the formation of roots to the detriment of flowering.
2. To create a beautiful composition, you can place several plants in one pot at once. They look especially impressive in common potty hanging varieties of different colors.
3. It is better to use a not too fertile mixture of sand, leaf and turf soil, and humus as soil. In oily soil, geranium will grow stems and leaves well, but flowering will become worse.
4. Pelargonium does not need to spray the leaves; such a technique is more likely to harm it.
5. In winter, daylight hours for geraniums should not exceed 5 hours. This is one of the rules that must be observed for subsequent lush flowering.
6. Iodine is an important element for lush flowering of geraniums. You can add it additionally by adding 1-2 drops of iodine tincture from the pharmacy to 1 liter of water and watering the plant along the edge of the pot. After 2-3 such procedures, you can notice the result in the form of the appearance of many new buds.

Take care of your pelargoniums, give them love and care, then the flowers will definitely delight you with lush inflorescences. The beauty of this plant is unpretentious, but very touching. In addition, scientists have long proven the ability of geranium to improve the health of indoor air by releasing phytoncides into the atmosphere. Get geraniums in your house if you haven't already, and you will never regret it.

Any type of geranium delights gardeners with its flowers, aroma and simply lush bush. But the flower is capricious. The plant can grow a branch of unnecessary length, or, having grown in height, forget about the splendor of the crown, so it needs pruning. Geraniums also need sanitary pruning to prevent diseases. Experienced gardeners say that pruning geraniums in the fall is most important for the plant. They recommend how to perform this procedure correctly.

Rules for autumn pruning of geraniums

Autumn pruning of geraniums is carried out in compliance with certain rules. It is used for plants grown:

• in the open ground or on the balcony for wintering indoors and for preserving the queen cell;
• V room conditions for rejuvenation.

Tools for cutting

Geranium is not resistant to putrefactive processes. When you do pruning, your tools should be disinfected to avoid introducing infection to fresh cuts. To do this, just wipe the tool with alcohol, just like your hands or gloves. For this process you need to stock up on tools:

• a sharp knife - kitchen or stationery, or a blade;
• pruning shears or sharp cutter.

A cut from a dull blade heals and becomes covered with a film worse than from a sharp knife.

The purpose of autumn pruning

With help autumn pruning geraniums, the gardener can solve many problems of this plant. Before the onset of winter, pelargonium needs to remove excess branches:

• for lush flowering, since this plant blooms at any time of the year;
• to prepare the bush for winter by reducing its crown, improving air exchange and leaf nutrition;
• to speed up metabolism;
• so that with the onset of spring new branches and shoots will form.

The ultimate goal of this procedure is to make the geranium lush and beautiful, as well as to improve its health.

Time spending

Each variety of pelargonium has its own time for autumn pruning; it begins around August and lasts until the end of September. To determine the correct timing, experienced gardeners focus on the condition of the plant. There are no flowers left on the bush, and the last ones have already withered, which means it’s time to start trimming the plant. Geranium itself will tell you when it needs to be freed from excess vegetation.

Features of the procedure for different types

Not all geraniums need pruning for the winter. There are varieties whose bushes are so compact and neat that it is better to postpone the pruning procedure until spring. So, mini-pelargonium rarely undergoes this procedure.

• the stress from pruning the variegated geranium is so great that, if possible, it is better not to perform the operation;
• overgrown royal pelargonium is reduced to a small shoot with buds;
• for a zonal type, pruning is a joy, as well as for an ivy-leaved flower;
• ampelous pelargonium must be pruned if it has faded.

Particular attention must be paid to pruning royal pelargonium– grandiflora. Form a bush of this large-flowered plant only possible in the fall.

Scheme of work

Advice: “It is better to trim geraniums according to the lunar calendar, during the waning moon.”

The cut is made in a straight line, this promotes the formation of a film that tightens the surface of the “wound”.

Step-by-step instructions for autumn pruning of geraniums

1. We carefully examine the geranium and imagine what it should look like after the procedure.
2. First of all, we remove damaged and yellowed parts of the plant.
3. We prepare instruments, not forgetting about their disinfection.
4. We cut off branches that:

• weakened;
• grow inside the bush;
• cross.

We make an incision above the leaf node.

1. Pruning in the fall begins with the outer branches, then moves on to the inner ones. If we remove half of the bush, then we do it in several stages every two weeks.
2. When cutting the tips of the stems above the location of the fifth leaf node in the spring, shoots with peduncles will form at this place.
3. We treat the cut areas with disinfectants, for which we use ash, cinnamon, alcohol solution and charcoal.
4. Circumcision - as preparation for winter, should end with the application nitrogen fertilizers and creating appropriate conditions of detention.

When caring for indoor geraniums, pruning is necessary, just as for outdoor plants, which must acclimatize before pruning.

Features of caring for geraniums after pruning

Pruning geraniums in autumn and Not proper care behind it can lead to blackening of the cut and rotting of the plant. In this case, you should renew the “wound” and thoroughly disinfect it.

Caring for geraniums at home in winter after pruning includes the following actions by the grower:

• placing pots with plants in a cool place until February;
• maintaining the room temperature from 5 to 15 degrees Celsius;
• providing intense lighting using supplementary lighting;
• maintaining moderate watering;
• use of nitrogen fertilizers immediately after cutting;
• maintaining normal air humidity: due to increased moisture content in the room, geraniums may develop the disease “black leg”;
• bringing in plants in January warm room, increased watering.

Important: “Before January watering earthen lump pierced through several times in different places.”

Crown formation

When forming the crown, it is necessary to pinch the shoots correctly, not squeezing them, but cutting them with a sharp tool. The health of the plant depends on this.

1. If you immediately cut off geraniums brought in from the street, they will turn yellow. She was not given time to adapt, which takes place within 14 days.
2. If tools, especially cutting ones, have not been disinfected, the plant will get sick. With pruning, its immunity decreases and it may become infected.
3. If the “stump” remaining from the geranium is intensively watered and kept in a well-lit place, the plant will simply rot from excess moisture.

To understand what kind of care is needed for geraniums in winter, remember the customs of our ancestors. Their favorite plant, pelargonium, after pruning, was placed under the bed until January. It's cool and out of the light.

Advice: “Spare no effort and attention in caring for this beautiful plant, and it will delight you with many months of flowering.”

Cottage, plants, cooking, health, do it yourself

As a rule, manipulations associated with changing the shape of the plant and removing excess parts are carried out after the plant has overwintered or before this period. Geraniums are pruned late autumn, early spring or winter. Yes, that’s exactly how it’s carried out winter pruning flower. Here it is important to simply know when to prune geraniums in winter so as not to harm them.

For pelargonium, the winter period is a period of rest, but under certain conditions (microclimate in the house, care conditions), preventive pruning is carried out already at the end of February.

However, it will be better if you do this before December or early spring. Before wintering, the shoots are shortened by a third. There is no need to be afraid - proper care and maintenance of the flower will ensure the development of new growth. Pruning before the dormant period is mandatory, but it is important to take care of pelargonium in early spring. You won’t have to shorten the stems so radically, but you shouldn’t hesitate either. Removing old parts of the plant will lead to the inevitable hardening of new buds. A gardening store will tell you how to prune geraniums correctly. But there is nothing complicated in this process. Follow these guidelines and everything will go smoothly. Pruning geraniums at home requires certain preparations

. First, disinfect the tool. Choose any method: calcinate, boil, treat with alcohol. The tool (usually a knife) must be sharp. To avoid the possibility of infection, it is important to wear gloves and wash your hands well with soap. If the plant long time was on fresh air

, it will need some time to acclimatize in the room in which it will winter. After two weeks, pelargonium can be pruned. Pruning geraniums for the winter should be done after the plant has completely bloomed.

This measure will help pelargonium retain vitality and nutrients for the development of young shoots. First, remove the inflorescences and stems that have bloomed and withered. Dried, diseased and beginning to wither leaves are also removed. At the same time, you can shape the crown to your liking. Inspect the pelargonium and trim off any parts that need to be corrected. Remove too long stems from the bottom node. If you want new shoots to appear from a place, you should cut it above the node. New shoots will very soon hide the void near the stem. As noted earlier, in the fall the stems are cut by a third, but since in winter homemade pelargonium

Be sure to note that not all varieties of pelargonium require autumn pruning. Amppel or zonal varieties can wait until spring unless you want to adjust the shape. It is not recommended to prune variegated varieties at all, so as not to provoke prolonged stress in the plant. Miniature pelargoniums require only a little intervention, but royal geraniums are pruned quite boldly. The cuts heal quickly and produce new young shoots.

Pruning geraniums in the spring may be simply necessary if you did not take care of the flower in the fall, or the plant has grown too much over the winter. Proper spring pruning is the key to the appearance of new healthy growth and the formation of flower stalks. Of course, pruning a flower will delay the flowering process, but will contribute to an increase in its intensity. The flowers should be pruned in early March.

Plant big size It is not recommended to cut too much: it takes a lot of time for the growth to recover. You can trim what you think are unnecessary branches so unsuccessfully that the pelargonium will not bloom at all. Limit yourself to removing too long, damaged, diseased shoots. Bush small size shape as desired, leaving at least two buds on the stem. Be sure to inspect the stems cut in the fall.

If the cut areas are blackened, they should be renewed.

Do not rush to throw away the cut shoots. Use them to propagate flowers: healthy shoots will make excellent cuttings. In addition, geranium leaves are often used for cooking folk remedies. It is useful to prepare decoctions and infusions that help with headaches, joint pain, and problems with the digestive system.

After pruning, geraniums should be placed in a cool room. The surface of the cuts is treated with cinnamon powder or finely ground charcoal. Special care is not required for the plant. It is important to reduce the number of waterings so as not to harm the flower. In order for the flower to quickly acquire young, dense growth, the flower needs to be fed with fertilizers containing nitrogen. It is important to take care of good diffused lighting.

Pelargonium should be regularly pruned not only for aesthetic reasons. When excess, dry and diseased shoots are removed, a free space. The thinned bush is well ventilated, the risk of infection with fungal diseases is significantly reduced. The shape of the plant becomes more neat, orderly and attractive. The mass of shoots becomes smaller, but the number of inflorescences and their quality increases.

From this video you will learn about the best time to prune geraniums.

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When is the best time to prune geraniums for lush flowering of the plant?

One of the most important techniques for caring for geraniums - pruning the crown. Shaping the plant by removing excess shoots not only helps to improve the health of the bushes, but also gives them a neater appearance. In addition, without constant pruning of shoots it is impossible to achieve beautiful and lush flowering.
After cutting off the elongated tops, numerous lateral buds appear on the stems, leaves grow on them and many flower stalks form.

The best time to prune geraniums at home

There are many opinions about when to prune geraniums, what time of year is most suitable for this? It is difficult to answer this question unequivocally, since everything depends on many factors: the variety, the condition of the plant, its age, the purpose of pruning. In general, flower growers and gardeners believe that bushes need to be formed regularly, as needed. It occurs especially acutely when the shoots begin to stretch too much, lose their foliage and, accordingly, their visual appeal. Basically, these are cosmetic pinching of the apical parts.

Deeper pruning should be done once or twice a year, depending on how quickly the flower grows. This raises a logical question: when is it better to prune geraniums: in the fall or in the spring, if you plan to radically regulate its growth? The most suitable time for this procedure is autumn. Look at the article about propagating geraniums using cuttings, leaves and seeds.

They lower the temperature to +5-+12°C, reduce watering, stop feeding the plant, but keep it in a well-lit room. If the plant still tries to bloom in winter, the inflorescences are immediately removed. This little trick allows you to get beautiful flowers. The fact is that pruning a geranium in the fall means ridding it of almost half of the shoots that have grown strongly over the summer. She is given a great opportunity to take a break from summer flowering and gain strength without wasting it on “feeding” extra stems. In addition, this procedure will allow the plant to establish large quantity kidneys, of which spring-summer period healthy leaves and flowers will form. Knowing this fact, there is no longer any need to figure out when to prune geraniums so that they bloom in summer, looking for this information on flower growing sites and forums.

Regarding when to prune geraniums and in what month, the answer is quite simple - immediately after flowering. Different varieties stop delighting with flowers in different terms. Therefore, the flower itself can tell you what time to prune geraniums in the fall, having stopped throwing away the inflorescences. But, as a rule, this period lasts from late August to early autumn.

IN autumn time geraniums undergo significant pruning. Before pruning geraniums at home, remove old, dried stems, inflorescences and leaves. Shoots that “look inward” are cut out so that they do not spoil the shape of the flower or shade its basal part. Then healthy branches are cut off by about a third. The minimum number of leaves that should remain on the shoot after cutting is 2 pieces. But it’s better if there are about five to seven of them. You should not be zealous in tearing off leaves, as they supply the root system with a lot of necessary elements. Only completely dried, wilted, yellowed or deformed foliage is removed.

The autumn period is the best answer to the question: when to prune geraniums for seedlings, since seedlings planted for the winter will not only have time to take root well during the snowy period, but will also branch out. Thus, autumn is best time When pruning geraniums into cuttings is doubly beneficial: with the arrival of spring, the young plants will immediately bloom, and the remaining cuttings after spring repeated pruning can be used to further obtain new indoor flowers.

In the fall, geraniums that have grown greatly over the summer are pruned. Before properly pruning an elongated geranium, you need to carefully examine the plant and choose from two options: either remove too long shoots completely, or leave a small part of them at the root. The first option is suitable if there are enough layering for further flower formation. Then the elongated stem is cut out completely near the lower node. If there are too few stems, and new shoots are needed that will begin to grow in place of the cut ones, then the elongated geraniums are pruned just above the very first node from the ground.

Before pruning geraniums for the winter, it is necessary to take into account that they are easily exposed to putrefactive processes. To avoid infection on the newly cut parts, pruning is carried out either with clean gardening gloves or with thoroughly washed hands. The tool must also be processed. Secateurs or scissors are first doused with boiling water or wiped with alcohol. The cut is made at an angle of 90°, at a distance of at least 0.5 cm from the internode.

After pruning, the shoots are treated with ground charcoal or activated carbon.

There is a lot of disagreement about whether geraniums should be pruned in the spring. But the controversy boils down to the following: each gardener must decide when to prune geraniums in the spring, and whether it is worth doing it at all, individually for a particular flower. During the winter period, the plant could grow greatly, especially if the conditions necessary for “rest” were not met.

If this happens, then the plant requires spring pruning. True, after it flowering will begin later, but will not be inferior in quality. For experienced florist is not big secret when to prune geraniums in spring - the timing suitable for this operation - last days February – first two weeks of March. This is the period when in the spring it’s time to cut geraniums into cuttings, since it is not recommended to carry out activities to trim the shoots later.

Pruning in the spring is not as radical as in the fall. Basically, overgrown shoots are pinched so that the plant spends its energy on laying lateral buds, from which new stems and peduncles will later grow.

If everything necessary requirements to ensure winter rest have been observed, then deep autumn pruning will be sufficient. In spring, the plant will wake up from its winter sleep and begin to actively produce buds. All the rules for carrying out spring pruning completely coincide with the techniques for forming a plant in the autumn.

The pruning technology described above is suitable for most varieties of unpretentious zonal geraniums. But there are flower varieties that are more demanding to care for, including pruning. These include grandiflora or royal geranium. It blooms unusually beautiful, and most importantly big flowers, which is why it is often called grandiflora geranium. One flower in diameter can reach from 5 to 7 cm. But their decorativeness does not end there, since the petals are often corrugated, and the colors are simply amazing in their diversity. You will not find monochromatic flowers on this type of plant. They are always decorated with some kind of spots, rims, or stripes. Outwardly they strongly resemble petunia.

But such beauty does not come without drawbacks. The main ones are demanding care and a short flowering period. If ordinary, zonal geraniums can bloom almost all year round, then grandiflora will delight with its inflorescences only 3-4 months per season. This will happen only if proper care is provided for her. Knowing its capricious nature, flower owners are interested in how to prune royal geranium so that in the spring the wayward beauty will fully demonstrate all the varietal qualities inherent in it. The first step is to decide when to replant and prune large-flowered geranium - in autumn or spring. In this case, only the autumn period is suitable for pruning. Two problems are solved at once - the bush is preparing for wintering and material is being collected for further breeding of the variety - cuttings.

Procedure for pruning geraniums

Before pruning geraniums so that they bloom, it is necessary to disinfect the tool that will be used to cut the stems. Scissors, garden knife or pruning shears must be sharp to get an even cut. Next, all dead parts of the plant and leaves are cut off. Leafless shoots are removed at the root, just before the very first node from the ground. The same should be done with shoots that are too long. Then they begin to trim the main shoot. It is cut by a third, since pruning geraniums for abundant and lush flowering can only be done by sacrificing exactly this part of the stems and leaves.

In winter, it is advisable to provide the grandiflora with rest. Under no circumstances is it recommended to prune during the period December-January. But sometimes it grows in winter. Faced with this problem, flower growers are faced with a dilemma: is it possible to prune geraniums in February if they have begun to outgrow? In rare cases, you can prune geraniums in February, but this can hardly be called a full-fledged pruning. Only one overgrown shoot is removed, which spoils the appearance of the flower too much. It is better to pinch the elongated stems rather than cut them off completely. Moreover, the last month of winter - deadline, when they prune indoor royal geranium, since in April it already produces the first inflorescences. Therefore, starting from the second half of March, pinching and pruning must be stopped for a while.

You can determine exactly when to prune geraniums after winter by looking at the flower. As already noted, grandiflora blooms for a shorter period of time than regular varieties. As soon as it fades in the summer, further formation of the bush can begin.

Ampelous or ivy-leaved geranium is distinguished by its unusual type of growth. It belongs to the “creeping” plants, and if it is planted in hanging pot, then the shoots will hang freely from the container, forming a beautiful bindweed with small leaves, shaped like ivy foliage, and with the most beautiful inflorescences, falling down the sides of the container. But in order to achieve a highly decorative flower, you will have to work hard, since it also needs constant pruning and pinching of its climbing stems. Principles of how to prune correctly ivy geranium, largely coincide with the pruning standards for simple, zonal varieties.

The most useful thing for her is also autumn pruning. It also involves cutting a third part of the plant, cutting out dried, wilted and inward shoots. In addition, shoots that have sprouted from the leaf axils are cut off. Healthy stems growing from the root are not cut off.

In the spring, it needs to form the correct crown if the bush has grown and extra layering has appeared. They are cut off, leaving a few buds. Throughout the spring season, the crown is kept in order by pinching the stem after the fifth leaf. This haircut makes the plant more neat and allows new shoots and flower stalks to grow. Often the subject of discussion is the question of whether it is possible to prune flowering geraniums in spring and summer?
The answer is simple: you should cut off only those inflorescences that have already bloomed and lost their visual appeal. The plant does not need any other interventions during flowering.

If you want to get a cutting specifically from a flowering geranium, then this can be done, but only from one shoot. At the same time, we must not forget that both cuts must be treated with charcoal or activated carbon (sometimes ground cinnamon can also help out). The inflorescence of the cutting should be cut off, as it will interfere with rooting. The cut shoot is planted in the ground, without prior germination in water.

Trimming flowering plant, one cannot help but take into account the fact that at this time he is injured, and his beauty and splendor are also lost. Therefore, it is not recommended to cut more than 1-2 shoots. It’s better to wait for the moment when it has completely faded, carry out scheduled pruning and at the same time get a large number of petioles for further propagation. See the article: Why geraniums don’t bloom at home and in the garden: how to fix it?

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Autumn and spring pruning of geraniums for lush flowering

Many people grow geranium (pelargonium) at home in pots, and outside in containers or in the ground. Caring for each has its own subtleties and secrets. One of these secrets is the correct pruning of geraniums for lush flowering and a healthy appearance of the flower. Pruning is carried out both in autumn and spring, depending on the goals pursued by the gardener or his capabilities.

My mother told me that in her childhood, geraniums were cut in the fall and placed under beds. It was a very long time ago, because now my mother is over 80 years old. The beds were equipped with lace valances covering pots of flowers. There the plants remained until February without watering. So this type of flower care has quite deep agrotechnical roots.

In winter, it is difficult for geraniums to maintain their beauty. For beautiful full flowering in winter on the windowsill they simply do not have enough light. And if they are not illuminated with special lamps, they will turn into long bare stems with stunted leaves at the top and one or two flowers. I don’t have lamps, nor do I have room for a winter garden, so I’ll agree with my great-grandmothers and give the flowers a rest.

So that the plant has a beautifully formed lush bush and bloomed profusely, it must rest.

The meaning of autumn pruning is to prepare for winter holidays. In winter, geraniums will rest from flowering, gain strength and give growth to dormant buds.

What kind of sleeping buds are these? Here is a trunk, there is a leaf on it, it grows from a leaf node. When the leaf dries and falls off, a scar will remain in its place.

Just above this scar is the axil of the dormant bud; it is from there that the bud will hatch under certain conditions.

A young shoot will form from the bud, capable of providing lush flowering of geranium by May–June.

The soil should not be wet before pruning. The plant is left without foliage and will have nothing to evaporate moisture. Wet soil will create good conditions for rot, and the flower can be lost.

1. How and with what to make a cut
2. How high should you trim geraniums?

Correct pruning is done with a sharp tool - a knife, blade, sharp disposable cutter, pruning shears. This is important, since a dull blade of scissors or pruning shears slightly flattens the stem, making it less likely to tighten.

The cut surface should be flat and perpendicular to the trunk, then a film will easily form on it, which will tighten and dry the cut surface.

The cut should be made 5-10mm above the dormant bud.

Trim either to a “stump”, leaving 2-3 dormant buds, or to a height of 10-15 cm. In the second case, you can get more shoots for spring rooting. That is, it is rather a matter of reproduction. And geranium, pruned under the foam, is often used in the future as an independent renewed lush bush.

And so: Autumn pruning is done before bringing it into the cold (basement, veranda). They take it out in January - the buds wake up and begin to grow, they provide material for cuttings, and the cuttings are planted in February. During autumn pruning, geraniums are also cut into pots, in which case they will bloom earlier.

Pots with trimmed geraniums are stored until January or February in cool places, with watering severely limited or not watered at all.

Why until January or February. December is the month when the light duration of day and night are compared, this is the time of astronomical winter. Geraniums of natural light in such short period not enough and they sleep. After the winter equinox, daylight hours begin to increase. By January daylight hours will be enough to awaken dormant buds. Therefore, the pots are brought out into the light and into the warmth and slowly begin to be watered. Water moderately, remembering that there is no large leaves, the plant will not be able to evaporate moisture.

• In a dark, cold basement at a temperature of 0-10 degrees, without watering
• On a cold veranda without watering
• In the room, on the cold windowsill. In this case, you need to water a little, because the air in the room is very dry. Once a month is enough.

Trimmed cuttings can be rooted in pots, simply placed in water to take root (you won’t believe it, but this method works; by spring many cuttings will have excellent roots), or placed in vases at home for beauty, especially since pruning occurs on still blooming roses.

In January, when the day lengthens, the pots are brought into a warm place and begin to be watered, after first piercing a lump of earth in several places.

This geranium was brought from the basement in January

The shoots of such overwintered geranium (it is called a mother plant) are used as cuttings for propagation or left to bloom on their roots.

Preparing ground, balcony and indoor geraniums for pruning

Now it’s Indian summer, and the geranium is blooming magnificently, blooming so much that you don’t even want to think about pruning. Such a beauty.

Geraniums that grew in the ground are usually dug up and transferred to pots or containers. Before pruning, she is given a week or two to get used to the new place. As a rule, only those plants are replanted whose variety or color the gardener wants to keep. next year. The rest flourish as annuals.

If the geranium grew on an open balcony or terrace in containers

Geraniums from the balcony can be transferred into one large container in the same way, or you can bring separate pots, if there is somewhere.

Homemade, indoor geranium there is no need to transfer anywhere. You need to prepare for pruning those specimens that you want to rejuvenate.

The result of any autumn pruning will be the production of new strong young shoots for lush flowering in late spring and summer.

In the spring, you can plant the resulting shoots in pots or leave them on the mother plant, adjusting the shape of the bush by spring pruning.

Alla Sivak has an excellent video of radical pruning of geraniums for lush flowering under a stump and what to do after pruning. In winter, her flowers stand at home in the light, in the warmth.

The video is not long, but if you need it faster, then there is such an opportunity. There is a wheel icon in the bottom right corner of the video. Click on the wheel and find the word “speed” in the drop-down menu. You can select speed 2 and watch the video twice as fast.

My way to keep balcony geraniums in the house in winter

Every year before the onset of cold weather, and here it happens in October or November, I bring my geraniums into the house. This is not easy, because I have about 40 bushes. Therefore, I bring them in not for flowering, but for wintering.

They overwinter in a compact form. I'm moving several bushes into a couple of three large pots so that they don’t take up a lot of space and I put them “in the far corner.” Previously, the far corner was a wide window sill behind a curtain. And now it’s a large shelf in the corner of the insulated balcony. It's not very light and not very warm there.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a cold, dark basement and I don’t have wide, illuminated window sills. But I don’t want to put it under the beds, as my great-grandmother did, and the beds themselves have changed a lot since then J.

Since there are a lot of flowers, I don’t bring in all of them, but only those that I definitely want to leave as a mother plant to obtain planting material for spring. And from the rest I take cut cuttings and distribute them to neighbors, or simply put them in jars of water. It sounds rather strange to leave the shoots in water until spring, but it works for me. By spring, some shoots produce large roots, and I plant ready-made cuttings with roots.

In the “far corner” I water the plants once a month. And so on until January. In January I start watering once a week. Young shoots become plump, I use them as cuttings for seedlings, later they will give good lush flowering. And also the whole long stem I divide them into cuttings and root them too. Read more about this in the article Propagation of geraniums.

Essentially, I practice spring pruning of geraniums.

There are three options for pruning geraniums in spring

• Form indoor plant, stretched out after winter from lack of light
• Take cuttings from a plant that has overwintered in the house.
• Take cuttings from a mother plant that has rested in the dark in the cold.

Due to lack of light, any geranium will lose its appearance by spring. Cosmetic pruning of elongated stems will help shape the bush. Pruning is carried out in the same way as autumn pruning, above the leaf bud, only cut off the upper stems.

Friends, do not forget that the video can be watched in accelerated mode. Click on the wheel icon in the lower right corner of the video and select a speed.

Method for trimming geranium stems and roots - storing in the refrigerator - review:

And so: Spring pruning of geraniums is done to take cuttings from the mother plant for propagation. To form beautiful bush after winter torment of plants in warmth without light, to stimulate the growth of side shoots.

Friends, pruning geraniums for lush flowering is a creative process. Natalya decisively proved this with her extraordinary reading of an English book on gardening. You can equally get excellent results by pruning geraniums in the fall, storing them in the refrigerator, in the basement or on a cool windowsill, or leaving them in the “far corner” to take cuttings from unpruned geraniums that have overwintered in the warmth.

Guided by common sense, taking into account the length of daylight, taking into account that stems without leaves do not evaporate moisture, and therefore do not require watering, and knowing what a leaf node and a dormant bud are, pruning geraniums for lush flowering will become a simple and understandable process.

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Geraniums conquered best places on window sills in the garden thanks to the abundant and long flowering. This unpretentious plant, but needs annual pruning twice: spring and autumn. The first is a light corrective one, and the second is a drastic one. Without proper fall pruning next summer abundant flowering will not come.

Why prune geraniums in the fall?

Pelargoniums bloom continuously all summer. But by autumn the shoots stretch out and become bare, and buds appear less frequently. The period of rest is approaching. Now you need to prune the geranium so that it survives the winter well and blooms magnificently in the spring. Pruning stimulates the awakening of dormant buds and the development of side shoots, each of which will subsequently bloom.

Without human intervention, almost no branching occurs and pelargonium forms few inflorescences.

By autumn, geraniums often lose their decorative properties.

Timing for pruning geraniums From September to November is a favorable time for shortening shoots. Starting in December, the flower goes into a dormant state, and it is too late to prune it.

In winter, geraniums become sensitive to injury and may die. If you didn’t have time to carry out the procedure in the fall, form the plant at the end of February. In this case, flowering will occur later.

If the geranium stayed in the garden or on the balcony in the summer, it is given 2 weeks to acclimatize indoors before pruning.

All indoor pelargoniums can be taken out into the garden for the summer, planted in flower beds, but for the winter they are returned to the house

Autumn pruning of geraniums To shape geraniums you will need a sharp knife with a thin blade or a high-quality pruning shears that will not crush the shoots. The tool is disinfected before work so as not to cause rotting of the stems. Pelargonium is not watered two days before pruning and the same amount after.

This way the wounds will heal quickly. The most accurate cut is obtained when trimming garden knife

with thin blade

The pruning height depends on the shape of the bush that you want to achieve in the future. The longer the shoots are left, the taller the plant will be later. If you need a compact bush, the stems are cut to a stump, leaving 2-3 dormant buds.

There are slow-growing varieties that require virtually no pruning: variegated and mini. It is better for them to simply pinch off the tops in the spring.

Variegated geranium does not tolerate radical autumn pruning.

Before the procedure, remove all inflorescences, yellowed leaves, and diseased shoots to the base to expose the plant’s skeleton as much as possible.

Don't leave diseased leaves in geranium pots

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Retreat above the leaf node 5 mm for thin shoots and 1 cm for thick shoots and make a straight, even cut. The upper sleeping bud should be directed towards outside bush so that the future crown does not thicken.
2. First, shorten the stems along the perimeter of the crown, gradually moving to the center.
3. Sprinkle the sections with crushed activated carbon or ash.
4. Leave the flower to overwinter in a bright, cool room.

A new shoot will appear from the leaf node in the future

Ampelous pelargoniums Angels eventually grow long lashes that become bald at the base. To get a flowering ball, only 1-2 dormant buds are left in the fall. In March, the plants will bloom, but without additional lighting, some of the buds will fall off. To shift the timing of flowering, Angels are rejuvenated at the end of February. Then the plants will bloom in June.

Pelargonium Angels are also called violas because their flowers resemble pansies.

In addition to pruning, for lush flowering of pelargonium Angels need a cold wintering

Many varieties of ivy-leaved pelargoniums grow very quickly. They are greatly shortened in the fall and the length of the shoots is normalized in the spring.

Ivy-leaved pelargonium has leaves like ivy

After shaping, reduce the watering rates, since the crown of a trimmed bush evaporates less moisture. Trimmed stems are used to propagate the variety you like.

For quick rooting, the ends of the cuttings are dusted with Kornevin

How to prune geraniums in autumn - video

I grow Scarlet Rambler bush pelargoniums. They winter in the room, and in the summer they are taken out into the garden. Previously, in the fall, I only cut cuttings and threw away the “stumps” with roots. But one day I saw my neighbors’ two-year-old bush of this variety, more than a meter tall, strewn with flowers. Impressed, I also began saving pelargonium roots for the winter, cutting the stems in half. Such specimens are good, if necessary flowering tree near the porch or in the background of a flower bed. When more is needed low plant, I shorten the stems to two buds.

If you want to get a large bush next summer, cut off a third or half of the bush

Before pruning your geranium bush, think about what shape you want to achieve. In accordance with the decision made, shorten the stems above the dormant buds by a third, half or to a “stump”. Until the cuttings are dry, do not water the plants. In spring, be sure to pinch the tops of young shoots if they are stretched out.