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Johnsons Blue geranium

simmo8simmo8 Posts: 4

Bit of a novice I'm afraid so when I read elsewhere on here that to get a second flush of blooms I should cut it back, does that just refer to deadheading the stalks that once bore blooms? Or are we talking about something more drastic and if so, by how much? Many thanks in anticipation.

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  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904

    Nip off the top of the flowering stalks. Once the flowers on a plant finish it will try to set seed and will put all it's efforts into that so if it can't do that it will put it's efforts into flowering again. 

    Like a boy. It can only concentrate on one thing at a time! image

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,087

    You can cut hardy geraniums right back to the ground after they've finished their flush of flowers.  If they have already started putting on fresh foliage you can just pull out the old stuff at the edges by hand.

    Sprinkle on some fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone or pelleted chicken manure and water well.  In about 3 weeks you'll have a complete new set of fresh foliage and, in most cases, some new flowers later on.

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  • simmo8simmo8 Posts: 4

    Many thanks

  • simmo8simmo8 Posts: 4

    Ah that sounds more like what was meant by cutting back on the other part of the site rather than just deadheading as kindly advised above. I'm sure both sets of advice will provide more of those pretty blooms.Many thanks 

  • pr1mr0sepr1mr0se Posts: 1,193

    In my experience, Johnson's Blue don't actually have a second flush of flowers - well the ones I had in my previous garden didn't.  But take the shears to the straggly growth, and the new leaves will make a lovely, tactile soft mound of leaves in next to no time!

    The alternative is to cut to the ground all the flowering stems - but in both approaches, no second flowering for Johnson's Blue, I'm afraid. 

    I'd love to be wrong, of course, in which case, I had nurtured the wrong cultivar for many a long yearimage

  • simmo8simmo8 Posts: 4

    RHS website says-  Remove flowered stems and old leaves to encourage the production of fresh leaves and flowers.

    Gardeners World Website says - Cut plants back after flowering to encourage a second flush of blooms

    So I'll do what they say and let you all know the outcome. Happy gardening and thanks for your responses.

  • Johnsons blue have very flimsy stems so you can just pull the flowering stems off gently once they are over and the leaves will be left unharmed underneath, no pruners necessary.

    On other types of hardy geranium you usually need pruners, being able to pull off the flowering stems so easily is a characteristic of Johnsons blue and only a couple of other types.

  • I've grown Johnsons Blue for years and have never had a 2nd flush of flowers but yes, I've done both shearing back and cutting off stems to tidy up and had new leaves come on. Not all Geranium will give a 2nd flush of flowers no matter what you do. It's well worth growing 'tho.

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039

    I think that the written advice, applies to Geraniums generically. Some do flower a second time, some don't.

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