Geranium Care
One of the reasons geraniums are so popular both as an outdoor and an indoor plant is because geranium care is so easy. The geranium is hardy, handles warm and cold temperatures, is drought-resistant, and pest-resistant. Not only that, the flowers bloom throughout the summer from the last frost in the spring to the first frost in the fall.
There are two main categories of geraniums: those that grow upright and those that are “ivy” types which grow more like vines. The upright kind of geranium plant can be grown from seed or from cuttings. Cuttings are the best choice if you are going to grow your geraniums in any kind of containers. Make sure that you purchase healthy-looking plants from a nursery for best results.
Geranium care begins the moment you bring them home from the nursery. The plants will need lots of light so don’t place them anywhere too dark, such as a garage, even for a couple days of storage. You should repot the plants in a container that is at least twice as large as the plant. Always use a commercial growing mix and not soil from the outside. Whether in containers or outside, geraniums need to be planted in peat moss with perlite and vermiculite. If you are doing a mass outside planting, fertilizing will require one to two pounds per one-hundred square feet.
Geraniums need up to six hours of sun every day and temperatures in the seventies. Proper geranium care means watering profusely when you first plant your geraniums and then not watering them again until the soil gets dry to the touch. Geraniums do not like too much water, whether you plant them inside or outside. They also need to be fertilized with a standard commercial fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 14-14-14 (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium). Some people used time-controlled fertilizers, but if you go with this method, be careful to watch the plants for any signs that they are being underfed.
Part of geranium care means removing all of the dead flowers and buds regularly so that the plant can grow new ones. You can also prune your geranium should it start to look too skinny or too spread out. Geraniums are remarkably pest-resistant but that doesn’t mean that you should just forget about looking for pests. They can attract aphids, red spider mites, caterpillars, and bud worms. Your county agricultural extension agent can advise you of pests in your locale and the best treatment methods.
If you decide to plant an ivy-type geranium instead of an upright-type, you will find they do well when planted in window boxes and hanging baskets. They do not need as much light or as high temperatures as the bush variety. In fact, some of the newer hybrids are completely maintenance free.