The unpretentious and marvelous garden geranium is perennial, which, due to the similarity of seeds with a crane beak, is called a crane, will not leave any gardener indifferent. The versatility of the flower allows you to use it to decorate rockeries, alpine slides and natural garden areas.
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Types and varieties of plants for open ground
Today, almost 300 species and varieties of perennial geraniums are known to have various parameters: the color of flowers, the size of bushes and leaf blades.
Geranium Balkan
In the wild, the species is found in the highlands of the Alps, Carpathians and the Balkans. It has been cultivated since the 17th century. Due to the presence of a thick and highly branched rhizome, the species is often called large-rhizome. The ground part is represented by a compact dense bush 30 cm in height. Elongated dark green leaf plates attached to the shoot on long stalks turn yellow-red with the onset of the fall season. Before flowering, which is observed in early summer and lasts for a month, the plant throws long peduncles. Flowers collected in basket inflorescences of diameters up to 3 cm have a red or purple color. Among the most popular varieties stand out: fast-growing Spessart, lush flowering Ingwersens variety and Czakor.
Marsh geranium
The natural habitat spans the vast swampy territories of Russia.The highly branched stem, to which root rosette leaves are attached on long petioles, reaches 70 cm in height. The upper part of the stem is crowned with two small basket inflorescences consisting of purple flowers. The beginning of flowering is observed in the first half of summer. A cold-resistant and undemanding species, distinguished by the Album variety with snow-white inflorescences.
Gorgeous geranium
In the front gardens and flower beds, the species has been cultivated for more than 100 years. It is characterized by fast growth rates and a compact form of a dense bush with a half-meter stalk covered with five-separated leaf plates. The latter, with the advent of autumn, change color from green to orange-yellow. Flowering is noted when blooming light purple flowers. Among the varieties, Mrs. is most popular. Kendall Clark stands out in gray-blue flowers with a pinkish tone.
Himalayan Geranium
The name of the species is due to the natural zone of growth - the Himalayas. The flower is represented by a compact bush, the central shoot of which is well branched, from 30 to 60 cm high. Rounded, slightly lowered leaf plates have a diameter of 10 cm. From the top of the stem, a peduncle develops at the end with basket inflorescences up to 5 cm in diameter. Purple or blue bloom flowers with red veins on the petals in may. The duration of flowering can stretch throughout the summer season. A very decorative variety that fits perfectly into any garden design is most often represented by such popular varieties as Gravetye, Jonsons Blue.
Dalmatian geranium
The species is represented by stunted bushes up to 15 cm in height, covered in the second half of summer with small light pink flowers. Wax foliage turns red in autumn.
In addition to the varieties mentioned above, geraniums, blood-red, forest and meadow geraniums are often cultivated in flower beds.
Planting geraniums: preparatory measures
In order to get a bright flower, the other garden plants outshine the beauty, it is necessary to carry out preparatory measures.
How to choose planting material?
Planting material can be obtained independently from seeds or by dividing the bush, as well as purchased in a flower shop or garden geranium breeding nursery.
In order not to make a mistake when buying, you should study the information for different options for planting material:
- A rhizome with many accessory roots and a growth point is acquired in February. Before buying, the roots are inspected for visible damage and hardness. Before planting in the front garden, the material previously placed in a container with peat is stored in the refrigerator.
- Rhizome, which has processes with leaves, should be placed in a container with earth before planting on a flower bed.
- When buying a seedling in a pot, the gardener will root it without difficulty at any time. However, such planting material is the most expensive.
Important! When choosing future flowers, the flower grower must take into account his further place of growth.
Site and soil preparation
The place for planting garden geraniums is selected in areas where shading occurs during the day, and groundwater lies deep. Also of great importance is the variety and type of flower. The garden beauty is undemanding to the composition of soils, but fertile soil with good drainage will cope with the task of obtaining abundant flowering, providing air and water throughput. Before planting geraniums, the site, previously fertilized with compost, is dug up by two bayonet shovels.
Landing technology
Geranium planting is carried out in the second half of May as follows:
- At the prepared site, landing pits are made taking into account the length of the root system of the culture: the hole is dug out with a depth of 20 cm more than the length of the roots.
- If the landing is not single, a distance of 30 cm is maintained between the holes.
- The bottom of the pit is lined with a drainage layer of broken brick, expanded clay, gravel, in order to prevent rhizome decay due to stagnation of moisture.
- A soil mixture of peat and sand is poured on top, on which the rhizome of the plant is located.
- After planting, young specimens are well moistened.
Advice! At the end of planting, the soil should be mulched, using sawdust or peat, to protect the earth from drying out.
Outdoor care for geranium garden
Garden geranium belongs to undemanding crops, but to ensure continuous lush flowering, the plant needs a number of procedures.
Watering
The flower needs moderate but systematic hydration. Abundant watering is important after planting and in summer drought, when the leaves wilt from a depressing factor. Ordinary irrigation under the root will restore vitality and restore its former appearance.
Important! Spraying the ground part of the plant is not carried out.
Loosening and mulching
If the soil is mulled after planting, this will make it possible to reduce the forces on cultivation. Planting ground-cover crops between geraniums will also reduce labor costs for this procedure.
Attention! In the case of mulching, one should not forget about the systematic renewal of the mulch layer: for full development, the plant needs loose soil.
Top dressing
Geranium does not need additional nutrition when making peat and compost during planting. If desired, the gardener can feed the plant with complex mineral fertilizers during intensive growth.
Pruning
Timely pruning of wilted inflorescences will stimulate the formation of new buds - to extend the flowering phase. Caring for geraniums in autumn involves removing yellowed leaves, but the procedure is not necessary: most varieties of perennial garden geraniums are frost-resistant plants that winter without pruning.
Transfer
The culture has poor tolerance to transplantation, feeling great when growing in one place for a decade. After this long period, you can start a transplant, the optimal time for which is the resting phase.
Pest and Disease Control
The culture is affected by rot and tomato wilting, when identified, the affected shoots are removed, and the rest of the plant is treated with fungicide according to the instructions on the package. Of the pests, the most common are aphids, which can be controlled by spraying with a soapy solution or insecticidal, depending on the degree of population.
Propagation of garden perennial geranium
Flower breeding occurs in two ways:
- The seed method is a laborious method that does not guarantee the preservation of varietal characteristics.
- Vegetative method (dividing the bush and cuttings) - dividing the bush is carried out, as a rule, when a plant is transplanted, during which the separated part of the rhizome is planted in previously prepared soil. Cuttings are the simplest and most popular way of breeding geraniums, in which part of the shoot is placed in water until the roots appear. And after the stalk is rooted in the prepared soil. It can be treated with a growth stimulator and immediately planted.
Thus, planting and caring for garden geraniums do not require supernatural efforts. And the beauty that she will give will delight the owner of the flower for many years.
