Geraniums are easy-care perennials that can be adapted to your garden or grown indoors. Do you love geraniums and want them to bloom all season long? You’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll give you the secret to boosting the flowering of this flowering plant and obtaining lush geraniums.
Why are my geraniums not blooming?
Garden geranium, also called pelargonium, is a perennial flowering plant with evergreen foliage. This herbaceous plant of different colors blooms from April to October, but this beautiful blooming flower may not bloom due to poor maintenance.
If your geranium does not pamper you with its beautiful flowers, this may be due to the following reasons:
Without light
Pelargoniums are native to South Africa. Light-loving, they need a sunny or semi-shaded position. Exposure to light helps geraniums to develop, but also to produce flower buds that will then give rise to flowers. In short, geraniums need exposure to direct light, about 6 hours a day. Don’t deprive your flowers of good weather!
poor watering
Watering is an important step in getting geraniums to bloom. Water is vital for all living things on earth, but you have to be reasonable! If the soil is soggy, the plant’s roots can rot. This will make it difficult for the geranium to absorb nutrients from the soil and affect its ability to produce flowers. If, on the other hand, you water your plant too little, it will become dehydrated and concentrate its energy more on survival than on flower production.
Excess fertilizer
Fertilizers are a double-edged sword. They fertilize plants and promote flowering, but they can also have the opposite effect if used in excess.
Cold temperatures
Pelargonium is not a very hardy plant. This cold flower cannot stand cold and frost. An incorrect temperature can cause flowering to be delayed or the flowering season to be shortened altogether. So keep your plants warm to see them bloom!
On the other hand, you can help your plant to give beautiful flowers by feeding it with natural fertilizers. Brighten up your garden, terrace or balcony with the bright colors of this popular plant!
How to get geraniums to bloom again with brewer’s yeast?
Brewer’s yeast is a natural product, rich in minerals and vitamins, which is used not only in cooking. You can use it to feed geraniums and fertilize them. To do this, you can do the following:
- Dilute 2 teaspoons of brewer’s yeast in 3 liters of water;
- Transfer the liquid fertilizer to a bottle;
- Use the solution to water your geraniums.
You won’t have to wait long to see the results. Use this fertilizer in spring and your geraniums will thank you with the appearance of flower buds.
What are other tips for getting beautiful flowering geraniums?
To make geraniums bloom and get beautiful plants, you can use the following natural fertilizers:
Ground coffee to fertilize geraniums
Rich in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, coffee grounds can be used as a fertilizer to help geraniums bloom. Use it in small doses, and in addition to another nitrogen-rich fertilizer, because the nitrogen content of coffee grounds is not sufficient for geraniums.
Vegetable cooking water for geraniums
Never throw away the water you use to cook your vegetables! This water is rich in trace elements and minerals, which are very useful for nourishing and fertilizing your plants. This natural fertilizer is just as effective for plants in your garden as it is for those indoors or on your balcony or terrace. Be careful, dear readers, your plants don’t like this soup when it’s hot. Let this cooking water cool down first before watering your geraniums with it. Also make sure it’s not salty.
Banana peels for feeding geraniums
Don’t know what to do with banana peels? Recycle them! Banana peels are rich in potassium , a very important mineral for flowering geraniums. They also help protect them from parasite attacks. To do this, follow these steps:
- Gather the banana peels;
- Dry them in the oven;
- Cut them into small pieces;
- Spread them on the ground once every two weeks;
How to have beautiful geraniums and keep them for a long time?
There is no magic formula! Just take good care of them. Whether you have a green thumb or not, we show you how to successfully maintain these flowers. Geraniums will no longer hold any secrets for you!
Successful watering of geraniums.
For geraniums grown in the ground, water them regularly during the first few weeks after planting. For geraniums in pots or window boxes, water them abundantly as soon as the soil dries on the surface, during the flowering period. Be careful not to be too heavy-handed! Geraniums do not like excess. From October onwards, reduce watering until stopping completely in winter. Avoid wetting the geranium foliage when watering.
Successful care of geraniums.
To encourage flower production, prune geraniums regularly. To do this, cut off leaves and flowers that have wilted. Proper pruning will also help keep flowering plants healthy. Also keep in mind that geraniums like the sun. They like full sun or partial shade. They can even withstand high temperatures, but only if they are well watered. When it gets cold, protect these plants from the cold. Store them at a temperature between 5 and 10°C. Your plants will produce new shoots as soon as they get warmth again.
Thanks to this ingredient that you can easily find in your kitchen, you will fertilize your geraniums and promote a lush and colorful bloom that will not leave anyone indifferent! What are you waiting for to try it?
How to cut geraniums?
To take cuttings from a geranium, these are the steps to follow:
- Choose a healthy stem 15 cm long with at least 5 leaves and that has not yet flowered.
- Cut the stem just above a node with disinfected scissors.
- Remove the shoots and lower leaves, keeping the upper leaves.
- Let the cutting soak in water for a few minutes.
- Fill a pot or bucket with a mixture of soil, peat and river sand or a special soil for cuttings.
- Plant the stem in the substrate, taking care not to break it.
- Tamp down the soil around the plant and water.
- Keep the soil moist with regular watering.
To optimize the chances of a successful cut:
- For a summer cut, take the cutting early in the morning.
- For spring cuttings, place them indoors or in a mini greenhouse until the temperature reaches 19 to 20 °C. Remove the cover when the pimples appear.
- For summer cuttings, place in partial shade.
- During the winter, store young cuttings in a frost-free, dry and sufficiently ventilated place.
- In spring, transplant the cuttings into the ground or into pots, planters or suspensions.
We advise you to take several cuttings instead of just one to have a greater number of geraniums and create a variety of colours and foliage.