What to do now: January
Reproduced from January 07 issue of Gardeners' World magazine. This month's issue on sale now. Subscribe now by direct debit and save 25 per cent.
Flower project: sow now for luxuriant summer blooms
You'll need to sow geranium seeds early in the year to get a head start on your flower displays, says Adam Pasco How to grow geraniums successfully from seed
With increasingly warm weather and summer watering restrictions in many areas, geraniums are the perfect choice for summer colour without the hassle of frequent watering. These tender perennials love the sun, tolerate hot, dry conditions and perform well in pots and borders despite neglect. Although their correct name is pelargonium, most seed catalogues and garden centres use their popular name of geranium. Don't confuse them with hardy herbaceous geraniums, which in turn are often called cranesbills.
Many named varieties with fancy flowers and colourful foliage are raised from cuttings by specialist nurseries, but others are simple to grow from seed. For success, you'll need a heated propagator and a warm greenhouse or window sill. To ensure large plants in flower for planting out in late May or June, you must sow between early January and March. Just follow our step-by-step sowing guide for beautiful displays this summer.
Something for every budget Geranium seeds vary widely in price, depending on the variety you choose. Those called F1 hybrids are expensive to produce, so you won't get many seeds in a packet, but you will get strong, uniform and floriferous plants. Thompson & Morgan's 'Maverick Mixed' F1, for example, which contains eight colours, from white through to scarlet, via pink and coral, costs £3.99 for just six seeds - that works out at around 66p each.
F2 and other hybrids are cheaper to produce and, although they're not as spectacular to the discerning eye, they offer great value when you want to fill large spaces on a budget. 'Vista Series' F2 from Dobies is a lovely colour mix of deep rose, scarlet, salmon and white, costing £2.45 for 25 seeds - about 10p per seed. Compare that to the cost of buying geraniums as plants or seedlings and you'll see how much you can save by growing your own. You'll also have the satisfaction of raising your own plants.
Adam's pick of the geraniums
Black Velvet Series Dark chocolatecoloured leaves and four flower colours:
red, salmon, apple blossom and the award-winning rose-pink 'Black Velvet Rose'. Nicky's Seeds, Thompson & Morgan. For similar leaf and flower colours, try 'Black Magic Mixed'. Dobies, Mr Fothergill's, Suttons. 'Sensation Mix' A loribunda variety producing masses of flowers in scarlet, cherry, salmon and rose. It's a great performer, even in wet weather, and at just 30cm tall, it's ideal for containers. Nicky's Seeds, Suttons. 'Multibloom Mixture' A popular and prolific 10-colour mix of reds, pinks and white. At 30cm tall, it's also good in pots. Early to bloom. Marshalls. 'Orange Appeal' This distinctly different geranium has brilliant orange blooms. AGM and Fleuroselect award winner. Nicky's Seeds.
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