Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Sterile hardy geraniums... Pruning?

Matt_Matt_ Posts: 49
in Plants
Hi all,

I have a clump of three Geranium Orions and they've done very well this year. However after two months of flowering they have fewer flowers and a lot of old flower heads and tangled mess. I know they will keep going until the frosts if I leave them be but I'm wondering if it would be worth shearing them back to the leaves to clear it out a bit and have a stronger second flush of flowers. Does anyone do this with theirs or other sterile hardy geraniums?




Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Yes, l do, then give it a good watering  :)
    https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/geranium-orion/#:~:text=Grow Geranium 'Orion' in moist,divide large clumps in spring.
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    ..seems a shame to cut those nice flowers off... but it will rebloom in late summer/autumn.. but I can't say a stronger flush, I only got a modest repeat flower from one plant..
    East Anglia, England
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    It is a lovely colour, but it does get a bit out of control around this time. Any extra flowers after cutting it back are a definite bonus. 
  • Matt_Matt_ Posts: 49
    Ok I don't want to do it at the cost of fewer flowers so I might leave it. Maybe if I find a spare hour I'll have a root through and thin out some of the stems that have completely finished. Absolutely love the sweet smell of their sticky stems so there's worse jobs :smile:

    Yes I've learned the hard way about them wanting moist soil. I have another planted close to next door's conifer hedge and it's suffered from bad powdery mildew. I've cut that one back while I think of what to do with it. The 'Patricia' planted with it has done excellently. 

    Thanks both 
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    Don’t be put off by cutting maybe back half down. That way it’s a compromise and the front section will cover/flop over the cut back areas. It’s time consuming to find an hour in the day just to root out some bits that needs removing! 

    I used to do that with many of my geraniums and it worked well. But generally, if you prune back by no later than mid to last week of June, many should give you a second flush. 
Sign In or Register to comment.