Geraniums do great in containers. Keep the blooms coming with these tips.
By: STEVE BENDER
Few flowers look as good in a pot as these do. They blend handsome foliage with large clusters of showstopping blossoms in colors of red, pink, rose, salmon, orange, lavender, violet, or white. Although many people use geraniums as bedding plants, we think they perform even better in containers.
Two Main Plants
If you search enough garden centers, you can probably find four or five different types of geraniums. Two, however, account for almost all of the sales. The first and most popular is the common geranium (Pelargonium x hortorum). It’s also sometimes called a zonal geranium, because its rounded, velvety, green leaves often contain a burgundy ring.
Most gardeners treat common geraniums as annuals, but in the Coastal and Tropical South where it doesn’t freeze, they’re perennials. Succulent stems become woody with age, and plants grow into picturesque shrubs. Outside these areas, you must store the plants indoors near a window during winter if you wish to grow them this way.
The second most popular type is the ivy geranium (P. peltatum), named for its glossy green, ivy-shaped leaves. Rather than growing upright like common geraniums, this one cascades. Use it to plunge from hanging baskets, window boxes, or the edge of a big planter.
How To Grow
Geraniums like fertile, well-drained soil that contains plenty of organic matter. Let the soil go slightly dry between waterings. Don’t overfertilize: Feed them with slow-release, granular fertilizer once in spring or with a liquid 20-20-20 fertilizer three times during the growing season. Remove faded flowers regularly to keep the plants blooming. The best exposure is full sun in the morning with light afternoon shade.
Good To Know
High summer heat can take its toll on these plants. Many common geraniums stop blooming in sizzling weather, a condition known as “heat check.” (They’ll resume blooming when cooler weather arrives.) To avoid this, grow heat-tolerant types, such as the Americana, Eclipse, Fidelity, Maverick, and Orbit Series. Ivy geraniums like high heat even less; they do better in the Upper and Middle South. However, the heat-tolerant Blizzard, Cascade, and Summer Showers Series perform well in much of the Lower South. So does ‘Sofie Cascade.’ In the Coastal and Tropical South, use ivy geraniums as winter annuals.
What they like: Morning sun, afternoon shade; fertile, well-drained soil
"Plant Some Geraniums" is from Southern Living's Container Gardening.
By: STEVE BENDER
Few flowers look as good in a pot as these do. They blend handsome foliage with large clusters of showstopping blossoms in colors of red, pink, rose, salmon, orange, lavender, violet, or white. Although many people use geraniums as bedding plants, we think they perform even better in containers.
Two Main Plants
If you search enough garden centers, you can probably find four or five different types of geraniums. Two, however, account for almost all of the sales. The first and most popular is the common geranium (Pelargonium x hortorum). It’s also sometimes called a zonal geranium, because its rounded, velvety, green leaves often contain a burgundy ring.
Most gardeners treat common geraniums as annuals, but in the Coastal and Tropical South where it doesn’t freeze, they’re perennials. Succulent stems become woody with age, and plants grow into picturesque shrubs. Outside these areas, you must store the plants indoors near a window during winter if you wish to grow them this way.
The second most popular type is the ivy geranium (P. peltatum), named for its glossy green, ivy-shaped leaves. Rather than growing upright like common geraniums, this one cascades. Use it to plunge from hanging baskets, window boxes, or the edge of a big planter.
How To Grow
Geraniums like fertile, well-drained soil that contains plenty of organic matter. Let the soil go slightly dry between waterings. Don’t overfertilize: Feed them with slow-release, granular fertilizer once in spring or with a liquid 20-20-20 fertilizer three times during the growing season. Remove faded flowers regularly to keep the plants blooming. The best exposure is full sun in the morning with light afternoon shade.
Good To Know
High summer heat can take its toll on these plants. Many common geraniums stop blooming in sizzling weather, a condition known as “heat check.” (They’ll resume blooming when cooler weather arrives.) To avoid this, grow heat-tolerant types, such as the Americana, Eclipse, Fidelity, Maverick, and Orbit Series. Ivy geraniums like high heat even less; they do better in the Upper and Middle South. However, the heat-tolerant Blizzard, Cascade, and Summer Showers Series perform well in much of the Lower South. So does ‘Sofie Cascade.’ In the Coastal and Tropical South, use ivy geraniums as winter annuals.
What they like: Morning sun, afternoon shade; fertile, well-drained soil
"Plant Some Geraniums" is from Southern Living's Container Gardening.
Caring for your geraniums
Care and Feeding
When purchasing geraniums/pelargoniums, check the root base to see if it has been propagated by using a foam “plug.” This “plug” allows growers to get plants to market quickly - but will eventually kill the plant if it isn’t removed. CAREFULLY remove as much of the plug as you can without damaging the roots that are already growing - then you can pot them up into a larger container.
Geraniums/pelargoniums need good soil that drains well. Use high-quality container potting soil that contains ingredients such as peat moss, and perlite - adding perlite to potting soil can help with drainage and moisture control. Good drainage is essential to geraniums, so choose containers with adequate drainage holes. Plastic pots are better than clay - although if you really like the look of clay, try potting your geranium in a smaller plastic pot that fits inside the clay pot you want to use.
Choose locations getting direct sun for most geraniums. They need at least six hours of sun daily. Regal geraniums prefer a site that is shady in the afternoon. All geraniums need afternoon shade if your area regularly sees summer temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Erodiums will not bloom if they don’t have good exposure to sun.
Feed your geraniums every two weeks with a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 or 20-20-20. Buy fertilizer that dissolves in water for easier application. Or, add a slow-release fertilizer to the soil mix when you plant the geraniums in the pot -- it feeds them all season.
Water your potted geraniums until the excess runs out the drainage holes, then allow the potting soil to dry before watering again. In hot summer temperatures, poke a finger 2 inches into the soil in the container every day and get out the watering can if the soil is dry. If the pot is completely dried out, place it in a saucer of water and let the soil absorb the water from the bottom up.
Snip off the faded flowers of potted geraniums. Deadheading your plants helps them produce new flowers more rapidly. Pinch off dead and discolored leaves.
In late Fall your geraniums should be trimmed back and shaped for the next year’s growth. The newer varieties can be cut back all at one time - older, heirloom varieties will need to be cut back by thirds over a period of weeks.
When purchasing geraniums/pelargoniums, check the root base to see if it has been propagated by using a foam “plug.” This “plug” allows growers to get plants to market quickly - but will eventually kill the plant if it isn’t removed. CAREFULLY remove as much of the plug as you can without damaging the roots that are already growing - then you can pot them up into a larger container.
Geraniums/pelargoniums need good soil that drains well. Use high-quality container potting soil that contains ingredients such as peat moss, and perlite - adding perlite to potting soil can help with drainage and moisture control. Good drainage is essential to geraniums, so choose containers with adequate drainage holes. Plastic pots are better than clay - although if you really like the look of clay, try potting your geranium in a smaller plastic pot that fits inside the clay pot you want to use.
Choose locations getting direct sun for most geraniums. They need at least six hours of sun daily. Regal geraniums prefer a site that is shady in the afternoon. All geraniums need afternoon shade if your area regularly sees summer temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Erodiums will not bloom if they don’t have good exposure to sun.
Feed your geraniums every two weeks with a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 or 20-20-20. Buy fertilizer that dissolves in water for easier application. Or, add a slow-release fertilizer to the soil mix when you plant the geraniums in the pot -- it feeds them all season.
Water your potted geraniums until the excess runs out the drainage holes, then allow the potting soil to dry before watering again. In hot summer temperatures, poke a finger 2 inches into the soil in the container every day and get out the watering can if the soil is dry. If the pot is completely dried out, place it in a saucer of water and let the soil absorb the water from the bottom up.
Snip off the faded flowers of potted geraniums. Deadheading your plants helps them produce new flowers more rapidly. Pinch off dead and discolored leaves.
In late Fall your geraniums should be trimmed back and shaped for the next year’s growth. The newer varieties can be cut back all at one time - older, heirloom varieties will need to be cut back by thirds over a period of weeks.