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Geraniums

BILLYCBILLYC Posts: 70
in Plants

I am about to plant out geranium bedding plants which are about 3 inches high. Every time I grow geraniums they end up straggly & leggy. Should I pinch out plants now or wait till plants are more established?

Please could someone explain in detail how you actually pinch out geraniums as this is very confusing. Do you pinch out the centre or what & how tall should the plant be be when you do it??????

Thanks 

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Posts

  • Gold1locksGold1locks Posts: 498

    If necessary I pinch mine out when they are about 3-4 inches tall. Seems to work ok. Most times I don't need to do anything. Are you growing them in limited light?

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190

    Unless you live in the south of France, its far too cold to plant geraniums out. At least wait til the end of May

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • BILLYCBILLYC Posts: 70

    Gold1locks

    Thanks for your reply. Grown in pots some in limited light.(but can be moved periodically) What do you mean by `if necessary`? Do I pinch out the main central stem or something else? Sorry I`m a complete amateur. 

  • BILLYCBILLYC Posts: 70

    Lyn,

    Thanks, no intention of planting out at moment. Will wait to end of May or thereabouts.

  • Lupin 1Lupin 1 Posts: 8,916

    I've never pinched tops out of Geraniums. As Goldie said keep them in good light. Mine are now planted up in their final containers and sitting in a cold greenhouse, I've had them outside in the day when it's been dry and back in at night. Mine are in multi-purpose compost to which I added a small amount of Growmore. 

  • Lupin 1Lupin 1 Posts: 8,916

    p.s. I do remove any flowers that form when plants are small.

  • Gold1locksGold1locks Posts: 498

    Mum in law has hers on a window sill facing north and they can get a bit leggy so nipping out can help. Mine are now in my cold greenhouse, very compact. 

    Although your eyes can deceive you, just moving a plant a few inches from the window can dramatically reduce light level - by a factor of two or more. 

     

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190

    I paniced for a minute when you said you are about to plant out!

    I do pinch out and also remove any flower buds to make a bigger plant.

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • kay3kay3 Posts: 6

    I also get cofused I am afraid its trial and error, but I did ask my plant supplier when to plant out and her answer was to keep them protected until the end of May, so that is what I am doing, Good Luck.

  • BILLYCBILLYC Posts: 70

    Thanks everyone who replied. But unfortunately I still don`t know exactly how to `pinch out`. No worries I will experiment.

    Thanks again

     

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