How to Propagate Trailing Ivy Geraniums
With their bright green, ivy-shaped leaves, colorful blooms and easy growing habit, trailing ivy geraniums are a popular annual for hanging containers. Ivy geraniums bloom profusely in shades of red, pink, salmon and white from early summer to autumn with only minimal care. Propagate trailing ivy geraniums from cuttings in late summer or early autumn. Take several cuttings as not all of them will be successful.
Fill a container with a mixture of half perlite and half peat moss. Any container with a drainage hole in the bottom will work. Place the container in a saucer of water and leave it until the potting mixture is damp all the way though.
- With their bright green, ivy-shaped leaves, colorful blooms and easy growing habit, trailing ivy geraniums are a popular annual for hanging containers.
- Any container with a drainage hole in the bottom will work.
Cut a 4-to-6 inch stem tip from a healthy trailing ivy geranium. Make the cut just below a set of leaves.
Strip the bottom leaves from the stem. Dip the stem in powdered or liquid rooting hormone. Plant the stem in the potting mixture, just deep enough that the stem will remain upright. Several cuttings can be planted, not touching, in the same container.
Cover the container with a clear plastic bag and secure the bag with a rubber band.
- Cut a 4-to-6 inch stem tip from a healthy trailing ivy geranium.
- Plant the stem in the potting mixture, just deep enough that the stem will remain upright.
Place the container in bright light, but avoid direct light or sunny windows. Bright light magnified through the clear plastic can scorch the geranium cuttings.
Check the container daily. Although the environment in the bag can stay damp for an extended length of time, the potting soil should be misted immediately if it dries out. The stem cuttings should root in four to five weeks.
Plant each cutting in an individual pot when the roots are at least 2 inches long. Place the pots in a sunny window and keep the soil moist.
- Place the container in bright light, but avoid direct light or sunny windows.
- Although the environment in the bag can stay damp for an extended length of time, the potting soil should be misted immediately if it dries out.
Pinch the tips of the shoots back in January and again prior to the middle of February. Pinching the tips back will create a bushy, compact plant and prevent spindly plants. Don't pinch the plants after the middle of February or blooming will be delayed.
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Writer Bio
M.H. Dyer began her writing career as a staff writer at a community newspaper and is now a full-time commercial writer. She writes about a variety of topics, with a focus on sustainable, pesticide- and herbicide-free gardening. She is an Oregon State University Master Gardener and Master Naturalist and holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction writing.
