Looking for the best way to fertilize your geraniums this year to keep them blooming and flowering big all summer long?
Geraniums are one of the most popular flowering plants of all – and can they ever bring life to flowerbeds, gardens, hanging baskets and containers. With their large bloom sets and bright flowers, it’s easy to see why they are a top choice.
But one thing is for sure, if you want to keep these gorgeous flowers bright and blooming, you need to feed them regularly – and even more with the right set of nutrients to power blooms!
Feeding Geraniums For Blooms – The Best Way To Fertilize Geraniums
Because geraniums have the ability to bloom constantly, they can use up the nutrients from the soil in quick fashion. Especially when they are growing in pots, containers and baskets where the soil is in limited quantities.
Even the best of potting soil mixes can run out of energy within just a few weeks. And once the soil becomes depleted of energy, it becomes harder and harder for geraniums produce new buds. If there are no new buds, there are certainly not going to be any new flowers!
This is of course where fertilizer comes into play. By simply giving your geraniums a constant dose of power, they will continue to produce buds and blooms. But, and this is key – it has to be the right set of nutrients in the right form to really power a big bloom set!
The Best Way To Fertilize Geraniums – How To Keep Geraniums Blooming Big!
Choosing The Right Type Of Fertilizer
There are basically two different types of fertilizer – water soluble (also known as liquid fertilizer) and granular fertilizer.
Water soluble fertilizers are fertilizers that can be dissolved in water and are applied directly to the plants foliage and at the soil level. This allows the plant to immediately absorb the nutrients, powering the plants quickly.
Although granular fertilizers can also provide energy to plants, they work much more slowly than water soluble fertilizers. For many plants, that can be a great all season boost – but for geraniums, to keep them supplied constantly and quickly for blooms, liquid is the way to go.
But beyond selecting a liquid fertilizer, it’s also extremely important to use the right set of nutrients specifically for geraniums – and for that, it’s all about balance!
What Geraniums Need To Flower – How To Fertilize Geraniums
When you purchase fertilizer, there are almost always 3 numbers listed on the package. These three numbers indicate the strength of three major minerals plants need most – nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K).
The order of the numbers on the package represent the N-P-K ratios. Nitrogen helps spur green growth. Phosphorous aids in cell development and therefore bloom production, and potassium helps with water balance and overall health of the plant.
For geraniums, especially when you are wanting more blooms, the biggest key is to not give them an overabundance of nitrogen. Nitrogen is an important nutrient for plants. However it helps more with overall growth of stems and green foliage rather than blooms.
Providing the plants with a heavy dose of nitrogen will make the plant grow strong and produce lots of green growth. However, because all of the plant’s energy is focusing on growing big and large – it stops trying to produce new bloom sets.
Unlike many annual flowers that thrive on fertilizers with a high rate of phosphorous and potassium to power blooms, for geraniums, it’s all about balancing the power of all three.
By giving N-P-K in equal amounts, the plant will reap all of the benefits of growing strong and healthy – and continue to produce more blooms than ever!
For best results, use a water soluble fertilizer with a N-P-K makeup in the 10-10-10 to 15-15-15 range. This will provide the perfect balance of minerals to power your geraniums. (Product Affiliate Link : Jack’s Geranium Fertilizer)
Helping Geraniums Continue To Blooming
Although providing the best fertilizer is key when it comes to helping your geraniums bloom, there are a couple of other tips that can go a long way towards a successful growing season. And the biggest of them all is deadheading!
Deadheading
Deadheading is the process of removing dying flowers from the plant by pinching and cutting off the old faded blooms. Leaving these wilting flowers on drains much needed energy from the plant and reduces its ability to produce new blooms.
It is important though how you remove the old blooms. Don’t just pinch the flower petals off of the stem. Instead, follow the long stem back to where it meets the first lower stem. Then pinch it off or cut it at that point.
This will help keep your plant looking neat and tidy. But it will also stop the plant’s energy being wasted on the dying bloom and stem.
Watering – The Best Way To Fertilize Geraniums
When it comes to watering geraniums, the most common mistake that gardeners make is overwatering them. If they get too much water their roots swell and become waterlogged.
When this happens the roots are unable to soak in the much needed nutrients from the soil and fertilizer. The plant then becomes weak and vulnerable and has no energy to produce blooms.
It’s best to only water geraniums when the soil is dry down a couple of inches beneath the soil. One of the best ways to check for this is with a soil moisture meter. This inexpensive tool is a great way to know the moisture right at the root level. Affiliate Link: Soil Probe Moisture Meter
For geraniums, it’s best to hold off on watering when the moisture reading reaches 25% or higher. And when it comes time to water it is always best to water them at the soil level instead of over top of the plant. See our article: How To Use A Soil Moisture Meter
Giving them a good, heavy dose of water at the plant’s base allows the water to get where it matters most – at the roots. You also eliminate the risk of the leaves getting wet and being susceptible to mold and mildew.
Here’s to fertilizing your geraniums in the best possible way – and to growing bigger and better blooms than ever this year!
Simple Garden Life
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