How to Prune Geranium Plants

If you don't prune your geranium regularly, they will grow tall and lanky. Trimming helps the plant develop more shoots and encourages flowers to bloom for a longer period, adding vibrancy and life to your garden. The cut branches won’t go to waste—you can propagate them to grow new geraniums. Continue reading below to learn the best time to prune, how to trim, and how to propagate geranium cuttings properly.

Prune your geranium as soon as you bring it home. When you buy a pot or tray of geraniums, you should prune the plant immediately to encourage it to grow lush, round, and full. Make sure to remove any dead flowers and unhealthy leaves.

• There are two types of geraniums: the "perennial" type and the "annual" type. Perennial geraniums are long-lived and definitely worth the effort to prune. Annual geraniums, which only live for one season, will also thrive with pruning, but since they don’t live beyond one season, it’s not as crucial.

Prune your geraniums to prepare for winter. After the growing season ends, it's a good idea to prune your geraniums to help them stay healthy and rest through the colder months. Wait until the flowers have faded and the plant starts to weaken towards the end of summer or early fall. This way, the plant will conserve energy during the winter and revive in spring when the weather warms up.

• In temperate climates, where the winter isn’t cold enough to freeze the soil, you can leave your geraniums outdoors through the winter.
• In colder regions, where the ground freezes due to frost, you should dig up the plant, place it in a pot, and bring it indoors during winter.

Prune your geraniums after winter when spring arrives. Geraniums may continue growing throughout the winter, producing long, dry, unattractive stems. This is why you should prune your geraniums as soon as the growing season begins. Pruning will encourage the plant to grow more rounded and attractive once the weather warms.

• If you left your geraniums outdoors over the winter, prune them at the end of March or early April, once the weather starts warming.
• If you kept your geraniums indoors for the winter, wait until the soil has thawed. Gradually acclimate the plant to the outdoor weather by placing it outside on warm, sunny days and bringing it back inside at night. Once the last frost has passed, you can either plant it in the ground or leave it in its pot outside.

Examine the plant. Take a close look at your plant from all angles to identify any problem areas. Look for spots with sparse leaves, faded foliage, or imbalanced growth. Determine where to prune to help the plant become stronger and more visually appealing.

• Pruning will encourage the plant to sprout new shoots and bloom, so don’t worry about leaving some gaps in the plant.
• If the plant is severely damaged, you’ll need to prune it more aggressively. The plant will survive as long as the main stem remains green, though it may take a few weeks for new leaves and flowers to appear.

Pinch off dead flowers. This is an important step to encourage the plant to produce new blooms. Removing faded flowers allows the plant to focus its energy on growing new blossoms. Additionally, this helps you better observe the plant and makes pruning easier. You can remove flowers at any time after they have wilted; this is a simple and effective way to keep the plant healthy without needing any tools.

• Use your thumb and index finger to pinch the flower stem just below the flower.
• Pinch off the stem and discard the wilted flower.
• You can also wait until all the flowers in a cluster have faded and then cut the entire cluster just above the leaves.

Remove dead foliage. The next step is to prune away any dead or dying branches to prevent the plant from wasting energy on them. Use pruning shears to cut the withered leaves close to the base of the plant. This is a crucial step to take in the spring to encourage new growth for the next season, but you can also trim dead foliage at any time of year.

• Don’t hesitate to remove branches that seem about to die, even if they don’t look too bad. It’s better to prune them off so the plant can grow stronger, healthier branches.

Prune healthy flower-bearing stems. In the spring, trim the healthy flower-bearing stems to encourage more blooms. Trace the flower stem to where it connects to the main branch, then use pruning shears to cut close to the main branch. This will activate dormant buds, and soon you'll see new shoots sprouting.

• If you don’t want to cut too much, you can prune just above the first bud, about 0.5 cm from the flower stem. New growth will sprout from this bud.

Prune spindly stems. Spindly stems refer to long, tall branches that lack leaves or have only a few leaves. Cut these stems close to the base to encourage the plant to produce new shoots that are lower, fuller, and bushier. Use pruning shears to trim these stems just above the lowest bud, leaving around 0.5 cm. Keep these stems for propagation!

• At the end of the growing season, trim at least one-third of the plant in preparation for its dormancy period.

Cut the lower ends of the cuttings. Hold the cutting upright to locate the lowest bud on the stem, then cut about 0.5 cm below this bud. Be sure to note which end is the top, as the cuttings will not root if inserted upside down.

• Long cuttings can be divided into two or three sections. Remember to cut each section about 0.5 cm below the bud.
• Cuttings taken from flowering stems usually don’t root because they lack the hormones necessary for rooting. Choose growth stems instead of flowering stems for propagation.

Remove all leaves, leaving just the top leaf. The branches will not be able to support all the leaves initially, but keeping just one leaf helps with the budding process. Cut off any dead or dying leaves, leaving only the topmost leaf.

• Even branches without any leaves can still be propagated.
• If the branch has a large, healthy leaf, you can use scissors to split the leaf in half, keeping both halves attached. The branch cannot support the full surface area of a large leaf.

Fill a small pot with a soil-free planting medium. Avoid planting the cuttings in regular soil, as it’s too moist and will cause root rot. Use a mix of 1 part coconut coir, peat moss, or vermiculite combined with 1 part sterilized perlite or builder’s sand. Plant each cutting in its own pot, either plastic or clay.

Dip the cuttings in rooting hormone powder. Rooting hormone will encourage strong growth for your geranium cuttings. Dip the bottom 0.5 cm of each cutting in the rooting powder and shake off the excess. Rooting powder can be purchased at gardening shops or online.

Plant the cuttings. Use a stick or pen to make a hole in the planting medium, then insert the bottom of the cutting into the hole. The leaf should remain above the surface of the soil. Gently press the soil around the cutting to secure it.

Water the cuttings and wait for them to root. New shoots will begin to appear within 1-2 weeks. At this point, you can transfer the rooted cuttings into garden soil, potting soil, or plant them directly in the ground.

*Trim back the main shoots of newly planted saplings to encourage branching. Remove any unwanted branches.