How To Grow Geraniums From Seed For A Garden Bed Full Of Blooms

Geraniums are age-old bedding plants that have been grown for centuries and are still popular today. They can fill any garden bed with masses of colorful blooms during the warmer months. The best part is that they're so easy to grow and almost seem to thrive on neglect, although a little care will mean your plants will look stunning all summer long. While geraniums are super easy to propagate from cuttings, they can also be grown from seed. This means you can start them indoors and have them ready for planting out after the last frost date has passed. You'll find that geraniums are easy to grow perennial flower seeds, even if you don't have a green thumb.

Many common varieties of geraniums grown today are not actually true geraniums but are known in the plant world as pelargoniums — specifically, Pelargonium x hybridum (formerly Pelargonium x hortorum). You can get a massive range of different hybrids with floral colors of pink, white, red, violet, and orange. Many of these can easily be propagated from seeds that are readily available. For large multi-petaled blooms, take a look at the Maverick series, which produces flowers up to 6 inches in diameter. These heat-tolerant cultivars will also attract hummingbirds to your yard. Or, if you want some more compact plants that only reach a height of 16 inches, check out the BullsEye series.

The first thing you want to do is gather your supplies and buy some seeds. You can plant the seeds into seedling trays or small pots. Just use whatever you have on hand, but make sure that the containers are clean. It's a good idea to consider a soilless mix such as a seed starter or you might even want to use vermiculite for efficient seed germination. You can start sowing your seeds in mid-February to get stunning blooms around June or July. As seed-grown geraniums are quite slow, it can take up to 15 weeks for them to flower.

Once you've filled your containers with the mix, sow the seeds around 2 to 3 inches apart after the medium has been moistened. Cover them with more mix and water again using a spray bottle. Ideally, place a plant cloche or a plastic dome you can fashion from an empty soft drink bottle over the seeds to retain moisture. Put your pots in a warm, bright spot but out of direct sunlight. It should only take about seven to 10 days for the seeds to germinate. Remove the cloche as soon as you see the seeds sprouting. Once the first set of true leaves appears, you can transplant your seedlings into individual pots. The trick to avoid tall lanky growth at this stage is to provide ample light by using a grow light. Make sure you harden off your plants for around 10 days before planting them in your garden bed.