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Grow Geraniums From Seed
BY: NHGC
If you love geraniums' bright colors and long-lasting blooms but want something a little more unusual than the varieties sold at garden centers, why not start your own geraniums from seed? They grow slowly, so start now for spring blooms--mature plants will flower about 12 to 16 weeks after you sow seed.
To start geraniums from seed:
- Plant seeds 2 to 3 inches apart and 1/8 inch deep in a seed-starting mix.
- Cover the container with clear plastic and place in bright indirect light at about 75ºF. Keep soil moist but not soggy.
- When the first set of true leaves appears, transplant seedlings into individual containers filled with potting mix.
- Geranium seedlings do best with 12 to 16 hours of light a day. Fluorescent lights placed 4 to 6 inches above the plants work well.
- Water only when the soil is dry. Fertilize every week with a houseplant fertilizer at one-fourth its recommended strength.
- Harden off the plants by placing them outdoors for progressively longer periods of time. This could take seven to ten days.
- Plant geraniums outdoors when danger of frost has passed.
Comments
By
sbattiste
Friday, April 29, 2011 10:17 PM
what does the seed look like?
By
ttammaro68
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 5:58 PM
I am definately going to try this! My sister-in-law actually takes her greenhouse gerniums in the house for the winter and, amazingly, they do quite well for a couple to 3 years worth of showy flowers. They sit in the basement in a south facing window. I tried to do it but my house was too dry I think.
By
lweatherley
Thursday, July 21, 2011 3:37 PM
I love geraniums....where can I find the seed? I haven't seen any locally.
By
MomOfBoys
Thursday, August 04, 2011 2:39 PM
I love geraniums too! I haven't tried to grow from seed but I think I will this coming season. In the late fall I would bring all my geranium containers up north to our cabin, we keep our furnace on low when we aren't there. I was bringing outdoor plants that I had for a few years up there. I was so proud of them. Then once weekend when we went up to the cabin in January we walked in the cabin and the furnace was off! We ran out of LP gas, which shouldn't have happened because we were on the autofill program when they come around and fill us up without asking. Well, they missed us and ALL of my plants were dead. I had geraniums plants that were 4 years old, big and beautiful. I was just sick over it. Not only did my plants freeze, the water pipes burst! Not a happy weekend that was.
By
tmoak1
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 1:05 PM
Did anybody get an answer on where to get the seeds yet please post would love to do this.
By
Windgate
Tuesday, March 06, 2012 11:30 AM
I don't know where to buy the seed. Possibly online. But if you have the actual plant when the flowers go really dead, that is where the seeds form.
By
jswartz
Tuesday, March 06, 2012 11:37 AM
Cut and past the following URL in your address bar or go directly to Burpee.com for geranium seeds...Usually the big box stores carry the Burpee seed line.
http://www.burpee.com/search/search.jsp?pageNum=0&pageSize=6&facetTrail=&question=geraniums&propSel=&sort=default&_requestid=532230
By
gardenfreak-1
Tuesday, March 06, 2012 11:57 AM
I have found that the big box stores don't carry geraniums seeds. You will need to order online from the seed catalogs or go to a garden center. I live only 20 minutes from Jung's Seeds, so I go there to get most of my seeds.
By
Gary Gabel
Wednesday, March 07, 2012 6:22 PM
Geranium seed can be purchased form Park Seed (parkseed.com) or phone 1-800-845-3369
By
busygrdn
Monday, March 12, 2012 11:30 AM
I got my seeds from stokeseeds.com. They have great directions & culture requirement info. I am growing white, red, light & dark pink. I have room to bring them into the basement onto 2 banquet tables under florescent lights for the winter, with the ones in hanging pots by my south/southwest windows.
By
fangerj
Saturday, May 19, 2012 4:04 PM
They usually have them in the stores with the rest of the seed, but I have found that Parkseed.com has a wonderful variety. I have used them the last couple of years, and every seed germinated. I now have so many different kinds of geraniums that I house through the winter then in the greenhouse in spring and outside around the house through the summer.
By
ljboooo
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 10:38 PM
Back in the day..my grandmother would shake the dirt of her geraniums, put in a paper bag and keep them in the basement till spring planting time. I have had some luck doing that, but last fall, when weather said "bring in the plants", my mother gave me one she had in the garden. I put it with my other neglected house plants in the living room, still bloomed some, bless it's little heart. It sit happily in my garden today. It was getting a bit tall, so I took 5 cuttings from the longest stems, put in a flower box near the house, been watering daily and the "slips" are still looking good. I do believe cuttings are the best/fastest way to propagate geraniums. Got to go, raining finally and I am out side. Happy gardening, no time to check spelling tonight
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