How to Breed Rosebud Geraniums

Geraniums are popular garden flowers that you can grow on sunny windowsills or window boxes as well as all over your yard. The rosebud variety of geraniums is doubled-flowered, making them look like little rosebuds opening up. Once you have obtained your first rosebud geranium, you can simply breed new plants with cuttings taken from the established plant’s new growth, supplying a steady stream of new rosebud geraniums for your gardening pleasure.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

• 3-inch peat pot
• Potting soil
• Scissors
• Rooting hormone
• 4-oz. clear plastic cup

1. Fill a 3-inch peat pot with regular potting soil, leaving about 1/4 inch of space at the top for watering.

2. Poke a 2-inch-deep hole into the middle of the pot with the back of a pencil.

3. Cut a 3-inch-long section of new growth from your existing rosebud geranium plant. Use a sharp pair of scissors and cut the stem just after a bud.

4. Dip the cut end into a little powdered rooting hormone, tap it to remove the excess and then sink it into the prepared hole so that you bury the bottom 2 inches of the cutting.

5. Water the new cutting with about 4 oz. of water and place a clear 4-oz. plastic cup upside down over the cutting to provide a humid atmosphere. Keep the cutting in a sunny spot where it will be between at least 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit at all times.

6. Wait a few weeks for the cutting to root and new growth to appear, watering only when the soil feels dry.

7. Plant the entire peat pot and new rosebud geranium in the garden after all danger of frost has passed or about four months after starting the cutting.