How to Take Geranium Cuttings - Save Money and Get Free Plants!

[@beckykelley8726]

Fun to see you get just as excited as I do repotting cuttings. Gardening is awesome.

[@DavidMFChapman]

I’ve kept a couple of geraniums alive summer and winter for so long I can’t remember. In summer they live on the deck; in winter in a sunny window. In the spring I take them out of their pots and trim the roots back (as you would a bonsai) and replace them in their pots with a bit of fresh potting soil. I also start cuttings like you. I root them in water before transplanting.

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Nice one, you can't beat a few free plants :)

[@denniswood231]

Hey Steve, Dennis from Saskatchewan, nice to see your video. I don't claim to be an expert but would just like to make one comment that may help you...apparently if a cut is not clean on the stem....meaning the stem being crushed a bit or a lot instead of being cut cleanly... I understand that can cause enough damage to result in rooting failures. I just noticed that your knife did not seem too sharp( I notice those things since I used to be a knifemaker) and that you had to apply quite a bit of force to cut the stem and I suspect it may be crushing it a bit before it cuts it. I happen to have a surgical scalpel which I had for another project(available fairly inexpensively on Amazon) and it is very sharp and cuts very easily and cleanly with very little force. When propagating cuttings there are any number of small details that can contribute to individual cuttings failing to root...even minute details such as where the cut is made, how it is made and and what part of the plant is cut and on and on and any of these small details that can result in rooting failure that we can eliminate will contribute to higher rooting percentages. It appears you had good success with these.. congrats! Will watch more of your videos since I am always learning and wanting to pick up tips and tricks to be more successful in my plant endevours.

[@markklunis403]

Yep. Dead roots on my Mrs. Pollock. Changed soil, pot and just did save some live cuttings! Thanks. Bravo!

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Excellent!

[@GrannysGarden]

Five out of five. No complaints there!

[@murielleyoung5542]

Thank you. I am glad that you are in the Maritimes, since I am in New Brunswick. I will now endeavor to do as you have shown me.

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

The pressure is on then 😀

[@warrenharnish110]

Sup my grandfather is the one who supplies your manure reg I love your

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Nice one Warren, your Grandfather is a great fella :)

[@kevinkelley7489]

In the past, I was told to let the cuts callous-over, and very few ever rooted for me; so I gave up on it. Thanks so much for this video, you’ve shown us the way!

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

I believe that method is more for your succulent type plants. Hopefully you will have success now!

[@jimwalsh2269]

Like your video. Noticed your sharp knife. Do not see many of those around. I got mine 30 years ago in the RAF. and brought it with me to Canada.

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Thanks, yes a relic of my Naval days 😀

[@sammy4395]

if you push the bottom of the planter sections the whole little plantlet will pop out and you don't risk damaging the roots with the pencil .

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Thanks Sammy, I always find my fat fingers end up breaking the pots when I do that :)

[@susannaylor451]

Love this video Steve, no nonsense, just pure down to earth. This is what to do kinda video 👍 I'm now subscribed. Here in UK it's September and I've taken some geranium cuttings but will be kept in coldish room indoors. With any other of my plants that I over winter. Will cuttings be ok or should I left it until spring ?

[@veronicasherwood1168]

Glad I found you as I am also in Nova Scotia!

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Welcome aboard Veronica :)

[@deborahlloyd]

Great instructional video. You have given me confidence to try this. 😊

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Go for it!

[@lraston26]

Hi Steve, I am new to your channel. I love your enthusiasm 🥰. I am learning how to propagate and I am loving it.

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Welcome aboard Lasanya, any questions don’t hesitate to ask 😀

[@briansomes6023]

So cool too see you again and like Christmas lol nice job

[@jeffreyoneill2625]

Just watched your video for the first time I have now subscribed to your channel and look forward to watching plenty more with you cheers 🍻

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

And cheers to you for subscribing Jeffrey 😀 Welcome aboard and any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

[@bctrapper1]

My problem is rotting. I have tried dirt with and without hormones. I have tried watering them well and also not watering them. I get about 1 out of 20 that don't rot.

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Maybe be some good good grit or sand in the mix, it's definitely a bit tricky sometimes!

[@bctrapper1]

@@TheOptimisticGardener Thanks.

[@mayarada2059]

Wow , great idea , would try to do that with my geranium plants .

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Go for it. All those geraniums have grown fantastically this year :)

[@dashulamite]

In Centra Alberta and today I'm going to cut up my geraniums that have been growing indoors since last fall. They decided to flower 3 weeks ago but their leggy sprawl is kind of awkward 😏. I'm planning to keep the Mother plant inside year round. 🤞

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Great idea :)

[@robinhazeslip1800]

Thnk u for this! I am wanting to save my geraniums/bring then in from outside and make starts from them!❤❤

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Go for it!

[@8a17adityajoshi4]

happy easter man hope you have a great easter

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

You too :)

[@cbjones2212]

There is a difference between the two - The flowers of geranium and pelargonium are not the same. Geranium flowers have five similar petals; pelargonium blooms have two upper petals which are different from the three lower petals. Both belong to the same plant family, the Geraniaceae, and both have the same long, narrow, beak-shaped seed capsule that springs open when ripe and casts the seeds far and wide. In fact, the botanical names both refer to this phenomenon. Pelaragonium is derived from the Greek for stork, because the seed capsule is said to resemble a stork’s bill, while Geranium means crane, because it’s supposed to look like a crane’s bill. Honestly, you’d have to be a fairly serious birder to be able to tell a stork’s beak from a crane’s beak… especially if you removed the rest of the bird! The seed capsules, therefore, are essentially identical.

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Thanks C&B :)

[@sherrytevis9610]

Is this the difference between "seed" geranium and "zonal" geraniums?

[@lovedoingcraft2266]

Hiya,,,,thanks a mill,,,,enjoyed your vid,,,,stay Safe ,,,,new subbie now,,,Cheers,,,,From Ireland,,,,😀

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Thank you and welcome aboard :)

[@dlillianb1368]

Very helpful, thanks

[@chevyvantravel9735]

hi.. can i grow them in water? i am still in winter here in the US and growing them indoors. keep my place in the low 70s day and night. also no direct light, correct? and why can they get sun?

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

You can try them in water at least to start. The no direct light is so that they don't dry out too much before rooting well.

[@Maviel85]

Geranium is what ignited my passion for gardening back when I was 16. I am now 36 years old and my neighbors call me "that crazy Geranium guy". I have a vast collection of the fragrant ones, Coca-Cola, vanilla, chocolate, cotton-candy, all sorts of varieties, and I am struggling to find enough neighbors to give cuttings haha.

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

That is awesome!

[@AVoiceInHisGardenMinistries]

Terrific, thanks so much ... that is exactly what my technique is!

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Great minds think a like :)

[@AVoiceInHisGardenMinistries]

@@TheOptimisticGardener T'is true! Take care and keep growing!!!!

[@helennoble8785]

Great video ~ I’m definitely trying that. I imagine it would be the same for scented geraniums. Happy Easter 🐣

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

100% yes Helen :)

[@emma__cc]

Woow, those plants are expensive over there. I paid like $5 for 10 pieces of those “babies” over here in Bucharest, this past week.

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Indeed plants are expensive here!

[@brunabrizzi8365]

I’m new to your channel,what I’ll like to know When would be the best month to take geranium cutting ? Looking forward to seeing your answer. Thank-you

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Geraniums don't have a dormant period during winter, so can be taken any time during the season, but April/ May is the best time to take geranium cuttings.

[@Hello-guys.548]

Hi mate I've got some plant of fig, Apple, pear and a plum trees I'm interested into grow some cuttings when is the best time to grow these and which month. Thanks mate

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Normally the best time to take these types of cuttings are in Spring time. The trouble with taking cuttings from the apple, pear and plum trees is they may be grown on a particular type of rootstock, say dwarf, but your actual tree will be the particular apple, say Sweet Sixteen. Your cutting will be the Sweet Sixteen, but it won't be the dwarf. If that doesnt matter then go for it!

[@paulinejoarnt8525]

I live in Arizona and it is really hot now in July they don’t look to good

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

I imagine not!

[@paulinejoarnt8525]

Can I start them in the house because it is over 100 degrees outside the aren’t looking so good

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Of course, just somewhere out of the sun, not too cool.

[@A1DJPaul]

Hi, I'm in the UK. October 3rd 2021, We have had nice warm Weather until this week in the UK. I have 8 or 10 Various Colours Of Geranium in pots Outdoors & South Facing, Can i take Cuttings in a mild UK October ? My Plan is to Take 2 Cuttings from each Colour & Place them on a UK WINTER Sunny South Facing Window Ledge. Will This work ? Over Winter .

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

You should still be able to take some cuttings. Just bring them into the warm and should have success, no worries :) Good luck and let me know how you get on :)

[@loislai4279]

Some say cutting should be taken before it blooms, will it still work when they are in bloom?

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

You want to avoid taking cuttings with blooms, but if you do, make sure you take the blooms off

[@CC-jy4gr]

GERANIUM IN THE BRAINIUM!

[@dorjeeyouden6757]

Hello sir , do you use some mixing with the soil for cutting

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

I usually use my sieved leaf mould. I don’t normally mix any other compost in.

[@dorjeeyouden6757]

Thank you sir

[@sharonheffernan9551]

Great vlog and very instructive. Do you think I can do that with Geum's as well?

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

So, Geums spread by rhizomes. Their side shoots are easy to dig up and can be replanted in the garden. As they are herbaceous perennials can also be divided in spring and will set seed.

[@sharonheffernan9551]

@@TheOptimisticGardener Thank you. I will check once the weather improves, today we are having snow showers (just south of Manchester, UK).

[@lindsey1051]

Going to try this, never had much luck with geraniums they always seem to rot, how often should I water them?

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Just every few days if the compost feels dry. I put the pot in a tray and water from the bottom.

[@Braedenfish]

Love prop!!!

[@mariahenschel2557]

♥️

[@paulinejoarnt8525]

Can I take them in the house

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Yes definitely, just keep them in a shading place to start.

[@jennyk488]

Nice English accent!

[@TheOptimisticGardener]

Thank you 😊