Geranium is one of the most popular summer flowers that can be grown in flower beds, containers and hanging baskets. It comes in many different shades, which is why it can be a perfect choice for anyone in the garden, in front of the house, or on the balcony.
If you want geraniums to bloom beautifully until early fall, you have to pay extra attention to them and meet their needs. In the middle of summer, the high heat often damages geranium flowers and leaves, they quickly turn yellow and begin to fall. Before you think about throwing away the geraniums that have been blooming beautifully, try the following three tips.
1. Cutting off the dead parts
One of the most important ways to keep geraniums blooming all summer is to regularly cut back the plants. In this way, we can remove the dead leaves and flowers, because otherwise the plant will invest all its energy in reviving them.
As soon as some plant parts start to turn yellow and dry, remove them immediately. This allows the plant to conserve energy and start blooming again. You should cut back not only the flowers, but also the stem to the point where it starts growing from the branch.
If the geraniums start to grow upwards and the stems become elongated, prune them back to have more lush, bushy little plants. You can safely do this operation in the middle of summer; in fact, your plant will thank you for the care.
2. Adequate nutrition
Fertilizer can be a lifesaver for geraniums, because as soon as summer comes and they start blooming in earnest, their soil runs out of nutrients. In order to ensure continuous flowering, geraniums are recommended to be fertilized regularly. Add a small amount of fertilizer at a time, but apply it regularly, several times.
Apply half of the recommended dose to the soil of potted geraniums every two weeks. Always choose a fertilizer that contains a higher percentage of phosphorus and potassium than nitrogen. Too much nitrogen causes plants to focus their energy on growing thick foliage rather than flowering.
3. Adequate watering
Both overwatering and underwatering can be a serious problem for geraniums.
In fact, we tend to overwater geraniums grown in containers or hanging baskets. This is partly due to the lack of proper drainage holes in the containers, which causes the roots to rot.
Too much moisture can cause the roots to swell. This prevents plants from absorbing and distributing nutrients. Always check the soil before watering, not only on the surface, but also below.
It often happens that the top few centimeters of the soil is dry, while the soil at the roots is still quite moist. If geranium leaves start to turn yellow, it is mostly a sign of overwatering, not that the plant is drying out.