Hardy Geranium

Once my Hardy Geraniums have finished flowering how much do I chop them down to get a second flush. Just take a few inch off or right down the the ground ?

 

Quite simply I am not sure. I would be inclined to cut just a bit off - that way you are not risking the health of the plant. You are only deadheading. I am also not sure that they will all reflower.

Hardy Geraniums are a variable lot, most of the ones I see around me in gardens don't impress. There is a common blue one that I see in many gardens (no-one knows the name) that flowers for only a short period of time. And I bought G. 'Mrs Kendall Clark', which was very pretty but all over in two weeks.

However there are also some very good ones about. I would suggest you look for G. 'Patricia' and G. 'Rozanne'. There is a specialist Geranium forum on an American board and these two are constantly rated as the best. The reason is that they are so good is that they are hybrids that are sterile. Most plants stop flowering after they have been fertilised and start to set seed. But these can't set seed, so they just keep flowering in a vain effort. Its cruel really. :D Both of them flower for 16 weeks or more with me. They do have a second flush, but I don't have to cut them back (ie deadhead) because they can't set seed.

There is a good review of Geraniums here, with flowering times. http://www.cgf.net/plants.php?genus=GERANIUM Bob Brown is a Chelsea gold medal winner and ex schoolmaster. He likes to score plants on a range of 1 to 10. There are a lot of long flowering ones.

 

Hmm! from a different site I was told to cut them down after flowering and they'd do it again. I do this each year. Sometimes you get another flush and sometimes you don't but the plants always survive. It's worth atry

 

I'd give it a go. In my experience you couldn't kill them:hehe: I love those blue ones. Lovely splash of colour. There is a pink one whose leaves turn the most glorious colour in autumn although it's growth is a bit leggier than common blue one.