Home care for beginners for geraniums (pelargonium) will not be difficult if you know the subtleties of growing a plant. There are several types and many varieties of geraniums, and therefore a flower grower can always create a unique flower garden of luxurious flowers. With proper care, the bushes will delight with rapid flowering throughout the summer season.
Material Content:
Geranium: cultivation features
In the warm season, geranium can be grown on the street and therefore is widely used in landscaping. For the winter, the flower is brought into the room, since the plant is not frost-resistant and will not be able to survive the cold period on the street.
With great success, geraniums can be grown in an apartment. It will feel especially good if taken out in the summer on a balcony or loggia, but only without exposure to drafts.
Types and varieties of plants
Each type of geranium has different varieties, which differ in the size of the bushes and flowers, as well as in color. If you want to create complex compositions, you need a combination of several varieties.
The main types of pelargonium retain their popularity over the years.
Ampelous geranium.
The shoots of a plant of considerable length hang down. When grown in a hanging flower pot, the flower forms a beautiful thick green mass with many bright colors.
Fragrant.
Flowers and leaves of the plant have an intense aroma, which varies slightly depending on the variety.
Zonal.
The peculiarity of this variety is that the rounded leaves have a two-tone color from dark green to brown, as if dividing it into zones. It blooms from June to frost.
Royal geranium.
Another name for the Martha Washington variety.The flowers of these geraniums are large with a dark spot on each petal.
Angels
Plants of this species have a particularly long flowering time and a light, very pleasant aroma.
Gorgeous.
The view is garden because of the highly developed root. In winter, plants are best stored in the basement, dug in peat. Geranium flowers are very large saturated velvet red color.
In addition to various varieties of geraniums, there is a wide selection of hybrid plant forms. Unlike varieties, the propagation of hybrids is possible only by cuttings, since it’s impossible to get plants with the same properties as the parent’s from seeds. There is no difference in the care of varietal and hybrid plants.
Geranium - home care for beginners
Properly organized plant care will not take much time and at the same time ensure the lush flowering of bushes and their attractive appearance. If mistakes are made when caring for geraniums, you should not wait for quality flowers, and the likelihood that the plant will die will increase. Continuous flowering can be achieved by breaking off faded peduncles.
Soil requirement
The quality of the soil when growing geraniums is of great importance. If the soil does not fit the plant, then it will not bloom and will gradually wither away. The optimal soil for geraniums is a mixture of equal volumes of peat, sand and garden soil. This composition allows the roots of the plant to breathe well. Loosening further stimulates this process, which is important so that the flowers do not fade for as long as possible.
Temperature, humidity and lighting
For geraniums, the usual room temperature will be quite comfortable. The plant feels good at temperatures from +16 to +25 degrees. In the winter months, its decrease to +14 degrees is permissible, but this is not desirable. Geraniums cannot be in a draft. Such a long cooling will lead to damage to the flower and the fact that it will lose its attractive appearance.
Moisture is very demanding on moisture. For it, overdried air is unacceptable, and therefore, if the house is very hot, you need to put a pan with expanded clay under the flower pot, where the water is. Expanded clay will prevent the absorption of water by the soil in the pot. At the same time, evaporating, the water will humidify the air around the flower.
The plant has a high need for lighting. Geranium is not afraid of even direct sunlight, since they do not burn its leaves. In order for the flower to form correctly, the pot with it will need to be rotated 180 degrees every other day. In winter, fluorescent lamps help to eliminate the lack of lighting. Duration of daylight hours for flowers requires at least 12 hours.
Watering a plant
Geranium loves water, but does not tolerate stagnation of water in a pot. Also, water should not be allowed to fall on the leaves, as this will cause spots on them to spoil the appearance of the plant. It is necessary to apply for irrigation water at room temperature. Rain or melt water is also suitable. In summer, the flower is watered every other day, and in winter, watering is reduced to 1 time per week. This is due to the fact that geranium leaves in the cold season during the cold season and all metabolic processes slow down.
Fertilizer and fertilizer
Geranium does not require special nutrition and can for a long time do without additional nutrition. However, in order for the flower to bloom as lushly as possible, it is worth using complex mineral fertilizers for flowering ornamental plants.
Feeding should be done only during the growing season - from the beginning of March to the end of September every 2 weeks. Special fertilizers designed for geraniums are also on sale, but it is not necessary to choose them, since the complex mineral composition is enough for a full nutrition of the plant.
Pruning and transplanting
In order for the bushes to always have an attractive appearance, it is necessary to carry out periodic forming pruning. Geranium shoots tend to stretch, and therefore, so that the bush remains fluffy and not tall, you need to periodically trim the tops of the shoots, stimulating their branching. Also, during pruning, you need to remove all yellowing leaves and dry stems. Faded inflorescences are cut off as they appear. This not only maintains a beautiful appearance, but also helps to keep the plant strong, so it will not spend them on seeds.
A geranium transplant is necessary if the bush has outgrown a pot. Immediately plant the plant in a spacious container should not be, because in the presence of empty land, geranium will not bloom. The optimal size of the first pot for indoor plants: 15 cm diameter and 12 cm depth. In such a capacity there is no empty soil, at the same time, the roots will be free enough for full development. A transplant is usually required no more than 1 time in 2 years.
Care for geraniums in the fall, preparation for winter
In the fall, geranium leaves in a state of rest, and therefore care for it changes somewhat. It allows plants to qualitatively prepare for winter and not to suffer when the metabolic processes slow down.
The flower is provided with backlight and daylight at 12 o’clock. Top dressing gradually stops: at first, the interval between them increases to 1 time per month, and by January it ends. If it is possible to lower the air temperature to a lower minimum, then it is worth doing this, since in such conditions the geranium will rest as fully as possible.
Only preparation for the winter, by all rules, provides abundant flowering in the next season. When care for geraniums is carried out in the fall with errors, it comes weakened during the growing season and cannot pick up enough buds.
Plant propagation
At home, the plant propagation is carried out mainly by cuttings, although it is possible to grow geranium from seeds. They will need to be bought, since they practically cannot ripen at home.
To obtain cuttings in the spring, when the growing season has begun, several apical shoots are cut from geranium, on which 2-3 leaves are left. The cut should be made at an angle of 45 degrees. It is treated with crushed charcoal and then planted in moist sandy soil. It should be wet, but not wet. Top stalk should be covered with a glass or plastic jar. You can also put the stalk in water and plant it in the soil only after the roots appear on it and young leaves begin to grow. The second option is more convenient, since it makes it possible to control the process visually.
Pest and Disease Control
Of the diseases, geranium is found mainly in gray rot, black leg. With this disease, the base of the stem first blackens, then rotes. Excessive watering or hypothermia of the bush cause a similar phenomenon. It is impossible to save a flower from defeat. It should be destroyed, and the soil, if you plan to continue its use, calcined.
Of the pests, geraniums are affected:
- aphid;
- ticks;
- whitefly.
Destroying them is not difficult. To do this, it is necessary to spray the plant with tobacco infusion or a solution of laundry soap.
With proper care, geranium will delight with rapid flowering, and if a fragrant variety is selected, also with a delicate smell. Pelargonium cultivation is fascinating, and not rarely after the appearance of one bush, breeding becomes a real hobby, in which a person seeks to find and grow the rarest varieties of a flower.
