As summer approaches, some of us feel an irresistible urge to decorate our windows and balcony with countless geraniums. But, before you decide to plant geraniums in every single spot possible, you should consider a few basic rules.
First of all, take a look at how much sun each spot receives that you plan to decorate with geraniums. Common geraniums can survive even if hit by glaring sun daily, but running geraniums need more shade. However, don’t even attempt to keep geraniums in spots with Nordic exposure.
Geraniums like nutrient-rich garden soil. Because the planting pots hold only a small amount of soil, the nutrients are quickly absorbed by the plants, so you need to fertilize them once a week. Plant no more than three geraniums in a 50 cm long pot, as the plants will grow quickly into small bushes and will crowd each other out. Stems that grow straight upwards should be cut off, so the plants can expand sideways. Remove the yellowed leaves and spent flowers as well.
Geraniums are often attacked by lice, so you might need to spray them with insecticide from time to time.
Aging geraniums don’t produce as many flowers as young ones, so you should rejuvenate your plants at least once every the three years. The best method is to propagate new plants from cuttings. Break off approximately 15 cm long branches, remove the lowest leaves and stick the branches into garden soil mixed with peat. Within six weeks, you will have new geranium plants that will bloom the very first year.