Geraniums are popular garden plants, cherished for their colorful blooms. To ensure they remain healthy and produce abundant flowers, regular pruning is a beneficial practice.
Why Prune Geraniums
Pruning geraniums encourages the plant to develop a bushier, more compact form. By removing older growth, pruning stimulates the plant to produce new shoots, which in turn leads to more flowers and a fuller display.
Pruning also improves air circulation within the plant’s canopy, which helps reduce the risk of fungal diseases. Shaping the plant through pruning allows gardeners to maintain a desired size and aesthetic. Removing dead, damaged, or diseased branches also contributes to the plant’s vigor and prevents the spread of potential issues.
When to Prune Geraniums
The optimal timing for pruning geraniums depends on their type and whether they are grown as annuals or overwintered. For annual geraniums, regular pruning can occur throughout the growing season to maintain compactness and encourage continuous blooming.
If you plan to overwinter your geraniums indoors, a hard prune in the fall, typically around August to late October, prepares them for dormancy. For overwintered geraniums, another hard prune in early spring, as new growth begins, helps remove any leggy, woody stems that developed over winter. Hardy geraniums benefit from being cut back in midsummer after their first flush of blooms to encourage a second flowering.
How to Prune Geraniums
Effective pruning begins with the right tools and technique. Always use sharp, clean pruning shears or scissors to make precise cuts and prevent the introduction of diseases. For smaller tasks like pinching, your fingers can suffice.
Deadheading is a continuous process of removing spent or fading flowers. This directs the plant’s energy away from seed production and towards creating new blooms. To deadhead, snap or cut the flower stem below its node or joint, where new growth typically emerges.
Pinching back is a technique used on younger or actively growing stems to encourage bushier growth. This involves removing the top 0.5 to 1.5 cm of a stem, usually just above a leaf node. This action forces the plant to produce two new stems from the original cut, leading to a fuller plant.
When shaping the plant or removing larger sections, make cuts just above an outward-facing leaf node or bud. This encourages new growth to extend outwards, improving air circulation and maintaining an open structure. Remove any stems that are growing inwards towards the center of the plant, as these can restrict airflow.
Systematically remove any dead, yellowing, or diseased leaves and branches. This not only improves the plant’s appearance but also reduces potential disease reservoirs. For severely overgrown or leggy plants, you can cut back stems by at least half, or even by two-thirds for hardy varieties, to rejuvenate them and promote vigorous new growth.
Post-Pruning Care and Avoiding Mistakes
After pruning, your geraniums will benefit from appropriate care to support their recovery and encourage new growth. Ensure the plant receives adequate light. Immediately after pruning, avoid overwatering, allowing the soil to dry slightly between waterings. This helps prevent root rot, especially after significant cuts.
Consider applying a balanced fertilizer after pruning, particularly in spring, to provide nutrients for the surge of new growth. However, avoid excessive nitrogen, which can promote leafy growth at the expense of flowers.
Common mistakes to avoid include over-pruning, which can stress the plant and delay recovery. Using dull or dirty tools can damage stems and introduce pathogens, increasing the risk of infection. Making improper cuts, such as cutting too far from a node or crushing the stem, can also hinder regrowth. Finally, pruning at the wrong time, especially severe pruning during periods of dormancy or extreme weather, can weaken the plant.