Royal geranium is a justified name for a plant, with beautiful, variegated, large flowers, from which it is impossible to look away. The leaves, jagged and rough, make this royal person beautiful even in a dormant period.
Knowing the features of care, cultivation and reproduction of this flower does not represent a great complexity even for an inexperienced grower. From the article you can learn how to propagate the plant at home with appropriate care, as well as see it in the photo.
The main difference between the royal geranium - on every petal of a flower there is a dark speck.
A photo
Below you can see in the photo what this indoor plant looks like.
How to breed?
The breeding patterns of royal geraniums are that the plant does not tolerate pruning, and often there are problems with rooting. It will help to avoid trouble compliance with certain conditions, time of year and temperature.
Attention. You can not propagate cuttings lush flowering plant - cuttings are unlikely to take root, and geranium after pruning can lose flowers.
How to multiply at home?
Growing royal geranium, the question arises how to organize reproduction at home competently, and decide which method is the best:
- simple - division of the bush;
- common - cutting, acceptable even for beginners;
- fascinating - seeds, but this method is long and recommended for breeders.
The easiest way is to divide a bush only when a few geraniums grow in one pot. Cutting is the most common way due to good rooting, if the florist observes the rules. But breeding seeds, you can never predict exactly what flowers and what colors of leaves will be in royal geraniums.
How and when to chop?
The most favorable period for grafting is after the decline of summer heat, the end of August is the beginning of September, when the temperature does not exceed 25 degrees, or in February-March. The plant must be healthy, you must carefully examine the foliage for the absence of pests and diseases.
- Preparation of cuttings.
Before you take the cuttings, the plant is kept at a temperature of about +8 degrees. The cut is made at an angle of 90 degrees (not oblique), the cutting should have from two to three nodes. Blanks need to wrap up (let it wind down) for several hours. The lower leaves on the cuttings are removed, and the cut is sprinkled with crushed coal.
- Rooting.
The royal geranium is rooted in wet sand, peat-sand mixture or greenhouse soil, in separate pots with a diameter of 7-9 cm. The plant must be covered for several days with non-woven material. The temperature should be about 10 degrees Celsius.
It is also possible for rooting to plant royal geranium cuttings in wet peat tablets.
Attention! Royal geraniums cannot be rooted in water, its stems will soften and rot.
Cuttings must be watered with heteroauxin or root. Further care is watering as it dries, and you should not spray it - its plant does not like. If the cuttings were cut in the spring, then rooting occurs in 1.5-2 weeks, and if in the summer - in 3 weeks.
If the cuttings are very short, they will stretch out if the pot is placed below the light source. Then the leaves will reach for the light, and the cuttings will be longer.
Planting in the soil.After rooting, a seedling of the royal geranium is transplanted into a soil spilled with boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate with the following composition:
- 1 part peat;
- 2 pieces of turf;
- 0.5 parts of coarse sand.
The pot must be taken small, in large plants it begins to actively build up the root system and greens, forgetting about flowering. After planting in a permanent place, over the third pair of leaves pinned escape. After this procedure, side stalks will appear on the bush.
If the reproduction of royal geranium cuttings was successful, then next spring you can wait for the first inflorescences.
Planting in the soil.Royal Pelargonium cuttings - more details in the video below:
Seed breeding
Growing seeds is a very exciting way but to beginners it may seem problematic. Seeds can be bought, but you can collect yourself.
Important. When seeds multiply, maternal attributes are not always transmitted; royal geranium, which differs from the parent plant, can grow.
Seed collection:
- It is necessary to take a healthy flowering plant.
- Dust (take it outside to attract insects or pollinate yourself).
- Immediately after ripening - collecting seeds in dry sunny weather. You can not hesitate, because they can fall and get lost.
A plant with seeds can be closed with a cloth so that after shooting the grains are not lost. After ripening and drying, the seeds should be removed from the chaff and stored at room temperature.
The seeds of the royal geraniums have a dense and hard shell, so that they quickly hatch, spend scarification. Without this procedure, seedlings will be in 3 months, and with scarification - in 3 weeks.
Planting Royal Geranium Seeds:
It is best to plant the seeds in March-April, then the length of daylight is sufficient for the quick spelling of seeds. When planting in the winter you need to arrange highlighting.- After disinfecting the ground, the seeds should be placed in a pot or in a box with a soil mixture at a distance of 5 cm. Sprinkled with a thin (5 mm) layer of soil on top. For royal geranium, three soil options are suitable:
- the first - 1 part of peat, 2 parts of sod, half of coarse sand;
- the second - 1 part of perlite, 1 part of peat;
- the third - 1 part peat, 1 part sand.
- Future plants are watered with boiled water at room temperature. It is important that the soil is always wet.
- Grains are covered with glass or film.
- The seed container is placed in a bright place, but not under direct sunlight.
- After some time, sprouts will appear (the rate of appearance depends on whether the seeds have been scarified).
- After the appearance of the first four leaves, the royal geranium is spiked by the method of transshipment in different pots, with a diameter of 8 cm.
It is best to plant the seeds in March-April, then the length of daylight is sufficient for the quick spelling of seeds. When planting in the winter you need to arrange highlighting.Important! When planting the royal geranium on the bottom of the pot must be laid drainage layer.
Possible problems
A young plant can become infected by maternal various diseases. or harmful insects. To avoid this, you should carefully examine the flower before cutting the cuttings.
If the royal geranium does not take root for a long time, the reason may be in the high temperature of the air (+25 or higher).
In order royal geranium to quickly take root, the ground must be taken dense and not too nourishing.
Royal geranium does not want to bloom even a year after planting, the reasons may be:
Geranium is planted in a too large pot, it will not bloom until the roots have mastered the whole space.- Cold air.
- The plant does not have enough light.
- Improperly matched.
Geranium is planted in a too large pot, it will not bloom until the roots have mastered the whole space.Due to excessive watering in the royal geranium rots leg. The plant is removed along with the soil so as not to infect other plants with a black leg, since rotting products may remain in the ground.
Royal Pelargonium is well propagated by cuttings and seeds. If the process is approached responsibly, namely: to ensure optimal temperature, good lighting, drainage, water the plant in a timely manner, but not overmoisten, and protect from drafts, soon young green pet will have inflorescences that will please the eye for many months.
