new plants: geranium and amaryllis

While I’ve been quiet here, I’ve been very busy in the garden. Some projects, some planting, some setting up new things for future plans.

One of my favorite plants is geraniums. When I was a little girl, I was given a book about Carl Larsson, a Swedish painter. The paintings in the book focused on the everyday moments of the Larsson family. Geraniums were featured in a number of the paintings, though I can’t find online the one that originally caught my eye. I love the sculptural look of geraniums with their woody stems, shaped leaves and vibrant flower colors.

Last fall, I took cuttings from 2 hanging geraniums, plus one I had planted in the front of the house. All rooted, and lived in pots in my south-facing home office. When I took them out this spring, I realized the plants were a bit lanky. After cutting them back, I dipped the cuttings in rooting hormone and put them in 4-inch pots filled with potting soil. If all goes well, I’ll have 7 additional plants to go with my original 5.

Tucked in with the geraniums is a begonia cutting from a friend. I am happy to say it is growing. I’ve not done as well with begonias at my new home. It may be the reduced light; I’m not sure.

The amaryllis seeds I rooted in water germinated, and I put them into potting soil reusing plastic seedling containers from Home Depot and Lowe’s. If all goes well, I’ll have full-size bulbs in about 3 years.

I decided to experiment with getting my old amaryllis bulbs to bloom again. I’ve tried in the past, however, that was more of a fumbling around rather than researching and following through. From what I’ve read, once the amaryllis bulbs are done blooming, they are transferred to pots filled with potting soil and put outside in semi-shady areas during the warm weather. I think the potting soil helps put nutrients back in the bulbs in preparation for a new bloom, especially if one has allowed the bulb to form seeds like I did. The leaves remain on the plant to help with bringing nutrients to the bulb.

In the fall, probably mid-September for me, I need to move them into a cool, dark place, ideally 45-55 degrees Fahrenheit. I’ll probably put them in a plastic storage container in the corner of the basement. No watering during this time. If the leaves are yellow, remove them. Once the bulbs start growing, they can be moved to a sunny window. Hopefully, I can get these bulbs to produce new blooms for the holidays!