A Cut Below Average

This geranium (pelargonium) cutting was much larger than normal when taken 7 days ago. But I took it for a reason: A larger cutting, especially if branching has already begun, moves on the growing process by weeks, if not months.

Pot geraniums grow very slowly, so getting more growth before the start of the next season allows the plant to grow larger and produce more flowers. It effectively lengthens the growing season.

Growers usually remove most of the leaves on new cuttings, except for one or two, to reduce the demand for water from the as yet un-rooted stem. But plants are clever. If their systems are overloaded, they usually take parts out of commission to reduce demand. In this case, the lower leaves (about half the total) immediately drooped (stopped functioning) to cut down on water loss. However, as you can see, they have all come back except for one. But note how some are still turned up to protect the young plant from too-strong light. These will eventually flatten when the roots are adequately formed.

The cutting should now survive without further loss of leaves, putting it months ahead in the growing stakes. I wasn't sure it would survive; I'm glad it did. I'm going to take more cuttings this size in future. And, just to recap, this was placed into damp soil just 7 days ago without any cover of any kind and without using rooting hormone.

Geranium cuttings will survive like this outside in the garden soil, as well. After removing the shoot tips to induce branching, don't throw them away; stick them in the soil to get new plants. They will nearly always survive. At least, this is my experience.

See also: 'Taking Geranium Cuttings'