Well, the beginning of the 2009 growing season began today, sort of. I've been preparing since December by removing the flowers from last year's Geraniums so they would focus on the growth of rooting stems. I fertilized them also, with a slow release mixture so they would grow, despite 12 inches of snow outside. I prepare by making cuttings, by breaking them off about 3-4 inches long. I let them dry for a day, in the shade of the green house. Drying out the cut helps prevent mold from forming at the cut. Prior to going in the rooting medium, which is a coarse sand I purchase from Home Depot, I dip them in water an inch to give the rooting medium something to stick to, then dip them in rooting hormone, then shake off the excess. I use a pencil to make a planting hole, rather than push them in the sand where the powder would come off. I label the cuttings, give them a watering and cover them with a tent to keep the moisture level up. Finally, I put them on my growing bench, which has a heating cable in a vermiculite bed, as well as two florescent lights. This gives them bottom heat to encourage forming new roots as well as sun nourishment on cloudy winter days. I'll keep them moist everyday and occasionally pick off blooms that the cutting seem to create even though they've been cut off at the knees. It will be 6 weeks before they develop good roots, after which I'll plant them in individual pots. Hopefully, by June 1st, I'll have blooming Geraniums to put in the ground.
Well, the beginning of the 2009 growing season began today, sort of. I've been preparing since December by removing the flowers from last year's Geraniums so they would focus on the growth of rooting stems. I fertilized them also, with a slow release mixture so they would grow, despite 12 inches of snow outside. I prepare by making cuttings, by breaking them off about 3-4 inches long. I let them dry for a day, in the shade of the green house. Drying out the cut helps prevent mold from forming at the cut. Prior to going in the rooting medium, which is a coarse sand I purchase from Home Depot, I dip them in water an inch to give the rooting medium something to stick to, then dip them in rooting hormone, then shake off the excess. I use a pencil to make a planting hole, rather than push them in the sand where the powder would come off. I label the cuttings, give them a watering and cover them with a tent to keep the moisture level up. Finally, I put them on my growing bench, which has a heating cable in a vermiculite bed, as well as two florescent lights. This gives them bottom heat to encourage forming new roots as well as sun nourishment on cloudy winter days. I'll keep them moist everyday and occasionally pick off blooms that the cutting seem to create even though they've been cut off at the knees. It will be 6 weeks before they develop good roots, after which I'll plant them in individual pots. Hopefully, by June 1st, I'll have blooming Geraniums to put in the ground.
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