Gone Gardenin’ – Seed geraniums help relieve that itchy green thumb

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/03/2016 (3563 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As March rolls on and the weather has been fabulous, we suddenly realize that winter may be on the wane and that the long period of being confined to the indoors will come to an end in the foreseeable future. At this time of year we gardeners develop an irresistible urge to grow things — we long to get our fingers in the dirt.

We are finally able to plant a few seeds and to watch tiny plants develop — what a treat! Although this early in the year, our options are limited — not many seeds need such a long head start — but one that does is the seed geranium.

Many of the geraniums that we see in garden centres during the planting season have huge blooms and are all grown from cuttings by growers. You have to hunt to find seed geraniums, and often the best places to seek them out are at big box stores.

Although not an advocate of buying plants from such places, whose staff often know little about plants and the care the plants get often leaves them stressed, ultimately affecting their summertime performance, if they cannot be found at garden centres, this may be the only option if you want seed geraniums.

Big box stores bring them in because they are small, easy to transport, and relatively cheap. Plant breeders have developed hybrid varieties that are superior older ones. They perform well and are useful plants for home gardens, but perhaps not well suited for use as specimen plants or for exhibition.

Seed geraniums are smaller plants than the zonal geraniums grown from cuttings and they have smaller blooms on shorter stems. The blooms are often not as double or full and the growth habit is compact with abundant branching.

Seed catalogues reveal innumerable seed geranium varieties, ranging from the ‘Orbit’ and ‘Pinto’ series with their intense leaf patterns, to the early-flowering ‘Ringo’ and ‘Sprint’ series and even some varieties that have wonderfully interesting dark foliage, such as ‘Black Magic’ and ‘Black Velvet’. The two latter varieties have striking chocolate leaves with green edges.

Seed geraniums need to be started very early as they will take about 14 weeks from the seeding date until they begin to produce bloom. To have nice-sized plants that are already flowering when they are transplanted out into the garden, the seeds must be planted by at least the beginning of March.

Before you undertake to grow seed geraniums from seed, ensure that you have the proper growing space as the plants will be around for some months and will not do well unless you can give them warmth and good light. Although a south-facing windowsill will suffice as long as you can keep the planting medium warm enough on those still-to-come wintery days, a light garden is the ideal location to grow seed geraniums.

One method used to germinate geranium seeds is to place the seeds between two dampened paper towels, enclose the towels inside a plastic bag, and then place it on a tray in a warm environment where the temperature is in the low 20s C. Geranium seeds do not require light to germinate, so on top of the refrigerator is a good location.

Check the seeds daily and when a seed has sprouted and put forth a stem and a root, carefully remove the sprouted seed from the wet towels and plant it in a container of dampened soil-less planting mix — plant several seedlings in each container to save space.

A second method of planting geranium seeds is to plant them directly into a container of dampened soil-less mix, cover the seeds with about a centimetre of mix, enclose the container in plastic and then place it in a warm environment. When the seedlings emerge, remove the plastic cover and move the container to a well lighted location.

Seedlings should be given as much light as possible — 14 hours a day in a light garden. When the seedlings have two sets of true leaves, begin to fertilize weekly using a soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer at half strength.

Make sure all equipment and containers are sterile so that disease problems are avoided; keeping the planting medium on the dry side will also help to ward off disease.

Be sure to harden off your seed geraniums by exposing them to gradually longer periods of time outside before planting them outdoors. Use them in beds and borders, or in mixed containers and enjoy continuous summer-long bloom (don’t forget to dead head).

Is winter getting you down? Then grow some geraniums from seed. — a project designed to provide your green thumbs with some exercise and your summer garden with some beautiful blooming plants.

Albert Parsons lives, writes, and gardens in Minnedosa.

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