How to Propagate Geraniums

Geraniums are a genus comprising more than 400 species of flowering plants. They are common garden plants owed to their general hardiness, and they produce flowers in a variety of colors. Geraniums propagate easily from cuttings, which involves planting the actively growing stems.

Things You'll Need:

• Pruning shears


• Planting pot


• Vermiculite


• Rooting hormone

1. Fill a planting pot with potting soil before the first expected frost of the fall. Remove a healthy geranium with plenty of branches from its outdoor location and place it in the planting pot.


2. Bring the geranium indoors and provide it with plenty of light. Fertilize the plant during the winter and water once the surface soil becomes dry to the touch.


3. Pinch the tips of the growing stems to encourage bushy growth. Trim long stems at the growth nodule to prevent leggy growth.


4. Remove the leaves from the adult geranium and cut the ends of the stems with pruning shears, ensuring each end has two to three growth nodules. Perform this step in late February or early March, before the plant begins growing.


5. Fill a peat pot with a light-growing medium such as vermiculite.


6. Apply a light coating of rooting hormone to the cut ends of the geranium stems. Plant the cut ends in the planting pot, and keep the soil moist but not soaked.


7. Move the geranium cuttings to a sunny window once they begin to take root. Keep the cuttings in the window until the last expected frost and plant them in their outdoor location.