Looking for a few simple tips and tricks to keep your geraniums blooming strong all summer long?
Geraniums are one of the most popular additions to grow in flowerbeds, containers and hanging baskets. The fact that geraniums can fill an area with colorful blooms in all sorts of different shades makes it even more understandable they are such a perfect choice for gardeners.
But if there is one drawback to geraniums, it’s figuring out a way to keep them going strong all throughout the summer. Unfortunately, all too often, their colorful blooms can quickly start to fade as soon as the hot summer sun kicks in. And it isn’t long before their stems and foliage start to look a bit tattered and scraggly as well.
Thankfully, you don’t have to toss these beloved flowers away just because the weather warms up. In fact, by taking care of just three simple tasks, you can actually keep your geraniums healthy, strong and blooming big not only all the way through summer – but right up until the first frost!
How To Keep Geraniums Blooming Big – 3 Simple Secrets To Success!
#1 Deadheading & Pruning Back Plants
One of the most important ways to keep geraniums blooming all summer long is to deadhead and prune the plants regularly. Deadheading is the simple task of removing dying blooms from the plants.
Even though a bloom stem might be fading and dying off, the plant continues to spend its energy sending nutrients to try to “fix” it. And with the amount of flowers that can be on the plant at any one time, this ends up being a lot of wasted resources.
Instead, the key is to remove those blooms as soon as they start to fade. This allows the geraniums to conserve that energy and use it towards producing new blooms instead.
When deadheading, remember to cut the flower stem back all the way to where it meets the plant. Don’t just cut right behind the flower cluster. Deadheading only the petals will still leave behind the seed head, which uses a tremendous amount of energy and resources from the plant trying to continue to form seeds.
You can use a pair of scissors or a small set of pruners to get the job done. Not only will this help provide more power for additional blooms, deadheading also helps to keep the plants tidy and clean. Product Link: Fiskars Micro-Tip Pruning Snips
Pruning – How To Keep Geraniums Blooming
Another important aspect of keeping geraniums blooming is pruning back plants regularly as well. As geraniums grow, they can become rather leggy and spindly. This is because they tend to grow upward as opposed to filling out. The more they grow, the more it can cause plants to look straggly and thin.
To maintain fuller plants, pinch back or cut the stems to about a third of the plant’s size. This should be done every few months. This will allow the plant to stay fuller, healthier, and produce more blooms in the long run.
Fertilizing With The Right Fertilizer – How To Keep Geraniums Blooming
Even though geraniums are not heavy feeders, they still require nutrients and resources from the soil in order to produce their stems and blooms. And once the middle of summer hits, those nutrients in the soil can start to run out. This is exactly where fertilizer can save the day!
In order to have continual blooms, the plants need a constant supply of nutrients. This can be difficult to accomplish without a little help, especially for geraniums growing in containers or locations with a limited amount of soil.
The key to fertilizing geraniums is to provide them with a low dose of fertilizer but apply it more often. To do this, give plants about half the recommended dose of fertilizer, but apply it every two weeks.
But here’s the final secret to success when fertilizing – always select a fertilizer that contains a higher percentage of phosphorous and potassium than it does nitrogen. Too much nitrogen can cause plants to focus their energy on growing thick foliage as opposed to setting blooms. Affiliate Product Link: Jack’s Classic 10-30-20 Blossom Booster Water-Soluble Fertilizer
Proper Watering – How To Keep Geraniums Blooming
The last key to keeping your geraniums flowering big through the heat of summer is to provide them with proper watering. Both overwatering and underwatering can be a big issue for geraniums.
In fact, geraniums grown in containers or hanging baskets are often overcome by overwatering. This is in part due to containers not having proper drainage holes, causing the roots to rot.
In addition, too much moisture will cause the roots to swell. This prevents the plants from absorbing and distributing nutrients and resources the plants rely on to produce blooms.
How To Know When It’s Time To Water
To determine whether it’s time to water or not, check deep into the soil and not just at the surface level. Often, the top few inches of the soil will be dry while the soil down by the roots will still have plenty of moisture available.
If you notice that the foliage has started to turn a yellow color, that’s usually a sign that you are overwatering your geraniums instead of under watering. Wait a few days to allow the soil to dry out before watering again.
You can also use an inexpensive soil moisture meter to take the guesswork out of whether to water or not. These can be great for all potted plants, vegetable gardens and indoor houseplants. Affiliate Product Link: XLUX Soil Moisture Meter, Plant Water Monitor, Hygrometer
When it’s time to water, water plants at the base as opposed to over the top of the blooms. By keeping water off the blooms and buds, you can extend their life far longer.
By taking care of these three simple tasks, your geraniums can easily stay nice and healthy all summer long. In fact, you can even grow geraniums through the fall and winter months by moving plants inside. To learn more about that process, see How To Save Geraniums In The Fall – 2 Great Ways To Keep Geraniums Alive Over Winter!
Here’s to keeping your geraniums blooming strong all throughout the entire summer and up until the first frost – or longer!
Simple Garden Life
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