As of: February 15, 2024, 7:30 p.m
By: Ines Alms
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From February it is time to prune overwintered geraniums.
You don't have to be reserved at all.
The right method promotes flower formation.
The cold months are coming to an end and with spring just around the corner it is time to take care of the plants in their winter quarters.
With their joy of blooming and their robust character, geraniums are one of the favorite flowers in gardens and on balconies for good reasons.
They can easily be overwintered indoors, but from around the end of February they need special care and targeted pruning so that they produce lots of strong flowers and grow bushy in the summer season.
Prune geraniums generously after overwintering
In order for geraniums to develop strong growth and produce many flowers, targeted pruning is important in spring.
© Panthermedia/Imago
The right time to prune geraniums after winter is crucial to promote their health and flowering.
You should gently wake the plants from their hibernation when the first signs of spring appear in February or March and the geraniums are no longer in hibernation.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter from our partner 24garten.de.
The following care steps are important in early spring:
Remove horny shoots: In winter quarters, the plant's shoots may have shot up due to a lack of light or too much heat.
These horny shoots are thin and pale, they will not produce flowers and unnecessarily rob the plant of nutrients - so they are cut off.
Clean out leaves and flowers: If they have formed in winter, cut them off except for a few leaves, even if they look healthy.
Removing dead shoots: Inspect your geraniums carefully and remove any dead, diseased or damaged shoots.
Some are brown or black and feel dry and brittle.
Cut them right at the base.
Thinning out the plant: Slightly shortening new shoots to around four leaf nodes per shoot promotes bushy growth in the plant.
Make the cut a finger's width above a leaf node.
New side shoots will sprout from the dormant buds at the leaf node.
Remove old roots: Dead roots and thin root fibers are removed and the root ball is slightly shortened all around.
Fresh soil: Replace the geraniums' soil so that the plants receive enough nutrients.
Care after cutting: From now on, the geraniums should be watered regularly again, but avoid waterlogging.
Allow the plants to become more accustomed to the light over about three weeks before placing them in full sun.
After about three weeks in the new soil, you can feed your geraniums with fertilizer.
Even if severe pruning has been carried out, the robust plants will soon sprout again.
After the Ice Saints from mid-May, the plants are finally allowed outside on the balcony or in the garden.
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