How to Propagate Geraniums

Geraniums are beautiful, drought resistant, easy-to-grow flowers for porch planters and patio pots, and it’s so easy to make more plants if you know this little trick. Here’s how to propagate geraniums.

Right now, at the time of writing, it’s currently March and definitely still too early for filling porch planters in my USDA hardiness zone 6b/7a garden. Despite this, my geraniums are growing, thriving, and some are even blooming. How is this possible? Because last fall, before the first frost, when my geraniums were big, and full, and at their absolute peak, I didn’t want to say goodbye to them, so I decided to propagate them and make more plants for next year. And they’ve been growing happily in a sunny window in my mudroom ever since. When the weather warms up in May, I’ll plant them back outside, and they’ll be just as beautiful as they were last year, but this time I’ll have even more. I thought I’d tell you about this now so that you can keep it in mind for this upcoming growing season if you’ve never tried propagating flowers for your planter boxes before. This worked so incredibly well that I’ll definitely be doing even more this year. Here’s how to propagate geraniums.

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When to Propagate Geraniums

You can propagate your geraniums at any time during the growing season as long as your plants are big enough to take cuttings from. If you have larger geraniums growing inside as houseplants, you could even take cuttings from those to start your propagation during the winter or early spring months.

I took my cuttings in October and November last year when my blooms were still looking absolutely beautiful on my back deck and I couldn’t bear the idea of just letting them die. Any time before the first hard frost, when your plants are still growing happily, is the perfect time.

If you’d like to get started with propagating right away during the spring garden season, you can take cuttings from any large nursery plants that you buy for your porch pots, propagate those cuttings, and be ready to plant them within a few weeks before summer really gets underway, essentially doubling your plants. 🙂

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How to Propagate Geraniums in Water

To get your new baby geraniums started in water, you’ll first need to take your cuttings. Find a non-flowering stem that’s about six inches long and has at least three to four fully-developed leaves near the top of the stem. If you can’t find a non-flowering stem, simply cut off the flower and the little branch that it’s growing out of before continuing with the process. Make a clean cut using sharp pruning shears and remove any leaves on the bottom half of the stem. Submerge the stem into a small bottle, vase, or jar with clean water, making sure that no leaves fall below the surface of the water.

Keep the water in your jars replenished during your regular weekly plant watering and make sure that the water level doesn’t fall too low. You can place two to three stems in the same jar of water, but if you do more than that, you may find that the water level falls quite quickly, making it a bit difficult to stay on top of.

Roots will develop on your cutting within a few weeks and you can plant your cuttings into small planters filled with potting mix once you see that the new roots are at least one inch long.

How to Care for Geraniums Indoors

Caring for geraniums as houseplants while they wait out the winter in your home is super easy, and they absolutely thrive on my simple weekly plant care routine. Geraniums are drought tolerant, so they don’t require any kind of special watering schedule, but a small amount of liquid plant food added to your watering can may help them bloom more frequently while indoors, which is always so lovely.

Geranium plants prefer good drainage, so make sure that you use planters with drainage holes, and place saucers under your plant pots to avoid leaks and damaged surfaces. Since these are full-sun-loving flowers, definitely make sure you put them in your sunniest window so they can absorb as much light as possible during the short winter days.

I have my geraniums in a window that gets the afternoon sun, and they have absolutely loved it. If you’re used to growing geraniums outdoors in window boxes and porch pots, you’ll notice that they do grow significantly more slowly indoors compared to when they’re outside, but they’re still quite fast-growing compared to most regular tropical houseplants, which is so delightful during the cold, grey winter and spring.

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Replanting Propagated Geraniums Outdoors

When it comes time to replant your geraniums outdoors (usually in early-to-mid May for us), follow the same steps you would to acclimatize and harden off new seedlings that you’ve started from seed. Once the danger of frost has passed, move the plants outside on mild day, and leave them there for a few hours. Make sure you place them away from direct sunlight the first time you bring your plants outside.

Over the next few days, gradually leave your plants out for longer, exposing them to the elements like sun, wind, and rain in increasing amounts. After a week or so, your plants should fully acclimate to the outdoor conditions, and you can pot them up in your flower pots outdoors, or as bedding plants in your gardens in front of your foundational plantings.

More gardening guidance for beautiful flowers: How to Fix Leggy Geraniums and Keep Them Looking Full

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