Geranium, care at home - how easy is it to achieve lush flowering?

Even beginners are able to grow geranium on the windowsill, home care for a popular plant is simple and does not require excessive efforts. This flower has many varieties, it has medicinal qualities and a host of other useful properties, so its popularity does not fall over time.

Geranium - description of the plant

This plant can be attributed to herbaceous semishrubs that can grow to 60 cm. It occurs in temperate latitudes and mountainous areas of the subtropics. In the people it is called the "stork's nose" and "crane" because of the characteristic shape of the fruit. For people who wish to breed geraniums, a brief description will help you decide on the type of flower to compose a beautiful design composition.

What does the geranium look like:

1. The height of the bush is 50-60 cm.
2. The form of the bush is standing or lying.
3. The leaves are bright green, slightly pubescent, reddish in color at the base towards the autumn pore.
4. The shape of the leaves is palpate-lobate with a division into 5-7 lobules.
5. Flowers - can be single or collected in inflorescences, terry and simple, with different colors,
6. The timing of flowering - depending on the species can vary from late May to late July.

The main types of geraniums:

1. Geranium zonal - its distinctive feature is the color of the flower, which has a border in the center or patterns on the petals.
2. Geranium thyroid - a plant with double flowers and long flowing shoots. The length of the weaves reaches quite often 3 m. When deciding to engage in thyroid (plush) geraniums, taking care of the decorative plant at home, it should be taken into account that this species grows better outdoors and does not tolerate the conditions of the enclosed premises.
3. Geranium of the Tsar is a beautiful large-flowered form, has petals of different colors with a long flowering period. This species can be grown in a room or on the street, reaching a height of 30 cm.

How to propagate geranium?

If you are interested in geraniums, care at home for a spectacular and unpretentious vase, then you need to study all the ways of its propagation. Possessing a long-standing powerful bush, it is easier to obtain new seedlings by dividing the rhizome into segments with the kidney restoration. The process of reproduction of geraniums is recommended to be made at the end of the summer period. By September, it begins to enter a period of rest and the roots are easier to transfer division. For a month, the roots begin to be laid on the stretches, and the young geranium enters the wintering well.

How to grow geranium from seeds?

Correct planting of geranium seeds at home allows you to get a large number of seedlings and acquire new varieties by mail. The optimum period of sowing is from the end of November to the middle of spring. The main condition - to ensure the care of young seedlings in winter or on cloudy days with high-quality lighting. Having thoroughly studied all the nuances of the seed method of reproduction, it is possible to start growing seedlings.

Geranium - home care for seedlings:

1. Good results are obtained when propagating peat with sand or peat with perlite in the substrate, both components are mixed in a 1: 1 ratio.
2. It is desirable to disinfect the soil by calcination in the oven.
3. Distance between seeds - from 5 cm.
4. Sprinkle a grain with a thickness of up to 0.5 cm.
5. To preserve moisture, cover the container with film until germination.
6. The optimum temperature of the medium is 18-22 ° C.
7. The transplant is made into a separate pot when the third sheet appears.
8. The diameter of the individual container is 10 cm.
9. The first fertilizing of the seedlings after the transplant is two weeks later.

Cuttings of geranium at home

For terry varieties, it is preferable to use geranium propagation by cuttings at home. Cutting shoots for rooting should be done in the spring, when the active movement of the juice begins, which accelerates the process of root formation. Cuttings cut into a length of 7 cm with three internodes. It is advisable to pinch all the leaves and buds of buds.

Germination is carried out in glasses with vermiculite and sand, for decontamination the soil is better treated with boiled water. We dip the drop into the soil for 2.5 cm. To create a greenhouse effect, the seedlings are covered with a jar. A sign of good rooting is the formation of new leaves and young roots, which are clearly visible in the sandy soil through the walls of the cup.

Geranium - home care for beginners

This plant, like most aliens from the South, adores the sun. In the winter months, install pots with pots on light sills, and in summer they can be planted on open flower beds. The thermophilic geranium flower loves leaving at a temperature of 20 ° C. Try to protect your plants from drafts, room shapes are brought into the room with the onset of the first cold autumn nights.

How to water a geranium?

In the question of how often to water the geranium, one must adhere to generally accepted rules. Pour water should be abundant, but in moderation, so as not to provoke decay of rootlets. A small loosening of the soil increases the flow of air to the roots and reduces the risk of developing diseases. With the onset of winter, the frequency of irrigation is significantly reduced. Top dressing geranium can be combined with periodic irrigation.

Care for geraniums in the winter in the apartment

In the cold months we water the flowerpots twice a week. We make sure that the moisture does not fall on the leaves, this culture does not tolerate spraying. It is better to use warm snow or rain water with a small percentage of hardness. Often there is yellowing of foliage on geraniums, how to care in the winter, that she felt fine and well suffered this difficult period?

The main mistakes in growing geraniums in winter:

1. Poor lighting in a short light.
2. Abundant watering leads to decay of the roots, and rare - to the drying of the earthy coma.
3. Dry air in the room.
4. Strong streams of warm air from batteries.
5. Overdose in the care of mineral fertilizers.
6. Defeat in the domestic foliage of mushroom diseases.

How to transplant a geranium?

If growth retardation is observed with regular top dressing, the rapid drying of the soil or roots is poorly placed in the container, then the plant should be transferred to a new pot. A qualitative and painless geranium transplant is obtained in the spring before the intensive movement of the juice. At the bottom of the tank are put drainage - broken brick, pebbles, expanded clay.

We water the flower, turn the pot and shake out the roots. Suspicious roots are cut off, removing the decayed part. Next, place the geranium in a new container, fill the cavities with soil, which is gently compacted and watered. Care at home for geraniums produce the first week in the shade, then put the pot on a permanent place. A couple of months after the transplant, we do not feed flowers.

Why does not geranium blossom?

Indoor geraniums do not bloom, what to do at home to make an unpretentious vase adorn with smart buds? In search of an answer to this question, you need to study well how the basic rules of caring for an ornamental plant are observed. For example, even an incorrectly sized pot can influence the state of geranium. In a large capacity, it begins to actively grow leaves and does not lay new buds for a long time.

The main errors in care that affect the flowering of geraniums:

1. Irregular and irregular irrigation.
2. The diameter of the pot does not match the size of the bush.
3. In the care of high-quality and timely pruning shrubs.
4. Poor soil composition.
5. Lack of qualitative additional dressings.
6. The temperature in the room is not suitable for the correct growth of geraniums.

Geranium - pruning for lush flowering

Proper pruning is important in care, it helps at home to cause increased growth of lateral shoots, to form a compact bush, to stimulate the laying of inflorescences. In the question of how to cut geraniums for lush flowering, the working tool plays a role. Scissors can squeeze the shoot, so it's better to use a blade or a sharp knife. Sections are performed on external kidneys, sprinkling fresh wounds with charcoal. To increase growth, we feed the cut geranium with nitrogen fertilizers.

Rules for pruning geraniums:

1. Before wintering, we shorten shoots by 1/3.
2. Cut dry leaves and peduncles.
3. Ampel and zonal species are best cut in the spring, correcting the shape of the crown.
4. Miniature and variegated species need minimal intervention.
5. Strong pruning in home care is well tolerated by royal geranium varieties.
6. The cluster varieties of pots are plucked over the 4th kidney.
7. Shallow incisions over sleeping buds stimulate the growth of new shoots.
8. Deviate from the kidney needs a distance of 3-5 mm.
9. When spring pruning, we remove strongly elongated and weak branches.

Diseases of geraniums

The appearance of brown spots of incomprehensible origin is a signal to the florist that the bushes are infected with the disease. This problem is caused by fungi, viruses, strong moisturizing, improper composition of nutrient substrate, poor ventilation. Of pests, the vase is often plagued by a whitefly, similar to small white butterflies. To save geraniums, defeat diseases and pests, help fungicides (Previcur, Ridomil, Topaz, Fundazol) and insecticides (Aktara, Tanrek).

The main diseases of geranium:

• gray rot;
• alternaria;
• verticillium wilt;
• late blight;
• rust;
• spotting;
• rhizoctonia rot.