Growing Pelargonium peltatum and Pelargonium x hortum from Cuttings

Abstract

Pelargoniums are plants from the family Geraniaceae, and one of the most popular summers flowering species that adorn the balconies and windows of the houses and are present in the market since the 18th century. In Croatia, the most commonly grown are ivy-geraniums (P. peltatum) and zonal (P. zonale) geraniums. They reproduce vegetatively because propagating by seed is expensive and only large horticultural companies can afford growing from seed. Every year new cultivars are produced, but geraniums still have a very simple genotype and are grown very successfully adhering to a few basic rules for their cultivation. The aim of this study with the species Pelargonium peltatum and Pelargonium x hortorum was assessing the effects of the use of hormones to stimulate root growth when planting cuttings to receive plants and monitoring the development of cuttings. Cuttings of two different types of pelargonium were treated with hormone Rhizopon to stimulate growth and rooting. Results showed that hormone therapy has no significant effect on growth of this geranium species. Differences between treated and control seedlings were very small, hormone-treated cuttings had faster growth of its root, although at all stages of measuring the length P. peltatum cuttings was significantly higher compared to the P. x hortorum cuttings (p=0.01).