Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 2: Planting your geraniums
• Part 2 of 2: Taking care of your geraniums
• Tips
• Necessities

Geraniums bloom in lavish red, pretty pink, delicate white, deep purple ... and many other colors. Needless to say, they are the perfect plant for any garden, windowsill or pot. Follow the next steps and learn how to grow and care for the most beautiful geraniums yourself.

To step

Part 1 of 2: Planting your geraniums

1. Find the right spot for your geraniums. Whether you put your geraniums in the garden or in a pot, it is generally one of the easiest plants to care for. You can put them in full sun, partial shade, or light shade. Geraniums do best with five to six hours of sun per day, although a little more or less is not a problem. It is best to plant geraniums in well-drained soil. They do not like wet feet and soil that is too wet makes the plant sick.
   • If you have a sheltered south-facing garden with dry, sandy soil, find a spot where the geranium can be shaded during the hottest part of the day in slightly moist soil.
2. Take a pot with holes in the bottom, geraniums do not like wet soil. Buy a pot big enough for your plant, depending on the type of geranium you bought. If you have a smaller plant, a 15-18 cm wide pot is sufficient, larger varieties need a 30 cm wide pot.
3. Plant the geraniums at the right time of year. It is recommended to plant the geraniums in the spring after mid-May. Depending on the type of geranium, it blooms in midsummer, late summer, or in the fall, although the flowers sometimes have their own idea and then bloom in spring. Either way, you can enjoy their beauty at any time of the year except winter.
4. Prepare the soil. Geraniums thrive in loose, dug-over soil. Use a cultivator or prong to make sure the soil is loose to a depth of at least 12-40 inches. After loosening the soil, mix in 2 to 3 inches of compost to give the soil as much nutrition as possible.
5. Give each plant enough room to grow. Depending on the type of geranium, the planting distance is 15 to 60 cm. If you have chosen a larger variety, they need a planting distance of at least 60 cm to grow well.
6. Dig a hole for each plant. Each hole should be about twice the width of the plastic pot you bought the plant in. For example, if you bought a geranium in a 6-inch pot, make a hole with a diameter of 12 inches.
   • If you choose to grow your geraniums from seed, sow them directly in the garden. In this case, the plants will take longer to grow and bloom. If you sow in pots, start at home, when the seeds have germinated you can put the pots outside.
7. Place the plant in the hole. Carefully remove the geranium from the pot, taking care not to break the roots. Place the plant in the hole so that the top of the root ball (the package of roots that has been compressed into the pot) is flush with the top edge of the hole. Fill the rest of the hole with soil and push the soil around the plant so that the geranium stays upright on its own. Water the plant immediately.
   • Try to avoid soil getting on the stem of the plant. A buried trunk can rot.

Part 2 of 2: Taking care of your geraniums

1. Water your plants as needed. Geraniums can tolerate drought well, but that does not mean that they can do without water. To find out if the plants need water, check the soil. Use your fingernail to see just below the surface of the soil - if it is dry or barely damp, you will need to water your flowers.
   • With geraniums in pots, make sure you give them enough water. Water them until it runs out at the bottom of the pot (that's why you need pots with holes in the bottom).
2. Apply compost regularly. Every spring your geraniums need a new layer of compost. Put a 5 cm thick layer of mulch on top of the compost layer. The mulch will keep the soil moist and control weeds brave enough to grow among your geraniums.
3. Keep your plant healthy by removing dead flowers. After the flowers have bloomed, remove the dead flowers and parts of the plant, so that the plant can continue to grow healthy and strong. Remove dead leaves and stems (these are brown in color) so that the plant does not suffer from fungi (which appear on dead parts of plants.)
4. Tear your plants every three to four years. Once your plants have gotten big (and probably pushed their limits quite a bit), it's best to tear them. Do this at the end of spring. To do this, take the plants out of the ground, root ball and all, then divide them by loosening and replanting the shoots that have formed around the trunk.
5. Fertilize with a liquid fertilizer in the proportions 20-20-20 or 15-30-15. Follow the directions on the package for information on how often to fertilize and how much to apply. Make sure that no fertilizer gets on the leaves of the plant.

Tips

• Geranium plants can be taken from cuttings. Break off a branch and remove the lower leaves. Root them with root powder, just like with other cuttings.
• Put geraniums alone in a pot or mix them with other plants in a border, planter or hanging basket. Geranium flowers blend well with many other plants.

Necessities

• Geranium plants
• Geranium seeds
• Manure
• Pots
• Water
• Carrot powder