Royal geranium - conditions for flowering

In the front gardens of courtyards, on balconies and in summer cottages, with the onset of warmth, you can see beautifully blooming bright geraniums. Florists have a special love for this plant, thanks to unpretentious care and ease of cultivation. Although novices in floriculture say that the royal geranium with its care is still capricious and it is not always possible to get an adult healthy plant, adhering to the basic agrotechnical rules, it will be possible to do this.

Royal geranium - what a flower

The royal geranium is considered the most attractive of its kind. The homeland of the flower is South America, so it simply loves a humid climate and hot temperatures. With proper care, the flowering of the plant occurs from mid-spring to autumn, while the weather is warm.

Red geranium

The flowers of the plant are large, painted in a wide variety of tones from white to deep purple. The diameter of the bush can reach 15 cm, and the height of the flower is the same. Geranium buds are large with a terry covering. The edges of the petals may appear wavy or slightly wavy.

Varieties of room geranium

Many do not understand what is the difference between geranium and pelargonium, but these plants are different. Geranium and Pelargonium belong to the same family. The flowers that everyone is used to seeing on window sills and balconies are grandiflora pelargonium. Pelargonium royal is found in the homes of real professionals, because getting a good bush is not so easy.

Geranium also grows well in gardens, while it is quite unpretentious, unlike its sister. The indoor flower pelargonium has many varieties. They all have different flower shapes, bush length and shape. Care for royal pelargonium and geranium is about the same, but the appearance is very different.

Geranium peach tones

Some of the popular varieties are described below.

Mandarin

This type of royal geranium has excellent flowers of an orange-pink hue with red blotches in the middle. The bush is medium in size, wide enough, but compact at the same time.

Mona lisa

This geranium is called the most spectacular. The bush is powerful, ivy-leaved and reaches 60 cm in height. Large flowers have curly petals at the edges. The color of the inflorescences is bright and at the same time not monochromatic.

The flowering period is at least 3 months.

Morven

Geranium royal Morvena has very attractive dark flowers. The shade is claret-black, the inflorescences are large, terry.

The leaves of the bush have irregularities, they are slightly serrated.

Elegance Jeanette

Flowers of this species are pink-white, small in size. The leaves are rounded, with uneven edges.

Inflorescences are not uniformly colored. Half of the flower can be deep pink or even red, while the other is completely white.

Clerion Bright Ed

The name of this royal geranium speaks of the shade of the inflorescences. Bright red flowers adorn this bush in large numbers.

The size of the shrub is medium and easy to form into a compact plant.

Plant care at home

Competent care of royal geraniums helps to get a healthy and strong bush even in the first year of the plant's life. You can wait for flowering in the second year, taking into account compliance with all the rules of cultivation.

Geranium in a clay pot

Illumination and temperature conditions

The minimum temperature that geranium can withstand is 12 degrees Celsius. When the thermometer values ​​drop below this level, the stem will become naked, the leaves are tied, and you can never wait for flowering. Eventually, the flower will die.

In winter, the room temperature for the plant will be quite acceptable, so it will be easier to care for it.

Watering rules and humidity

For royal geraniums, there is not much difference in moisture levels. This plant can handle almost any atmosphere.

Geranium especially loves fresh air. In summer, the flower pot must be taken out to the balcony or garden.

Top dressing and soil quality

Royal geranium does not accept fresh organic fertilizers. For a flower, you can use nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus compounds. A complex of all 3 substances in the same proportion will be ideal. For flowering to be abundant and long-lasting, you need to use potassium. There are some rules to keep in mind when feeding royal geraniums.

It is better to use liquid fertilizing and only after watering, so the root system will remain intact. Fertilizers are used only in summer and spring, only 2 times per season.

Flower container size

Experienced gardeners recommend planting geraniums in a ceramic pot. This natural material will provide good air circulation in the soil and an even temperature distribution.

When transplanting, you need to take a pot 2 cm larger than the previous one. Many are trying to transplant a young plant immediately into a large pot, but this is not worth doing, so the soil will certainly acidify, and the plant will die.

Pruning and replanting

King geraniums do not need to be repotted frequently. The capacity will be small only if the roots have grown too much.

You should not choose a large pot right away. The soil is suitable even from the site, the main thing is to put a drainage layer on the bottom of the container. The transplant is carried out only in the spring.

Pruning should be done on a regular basis. A scientific approach will help you get a truly beautiful bush. In total, several plant formations are made, in the spring and autumn. The rules for this procedure are extremely simple, but it's better to study a step-by-step example:

• it is necessary to give the plant an even shape and compact size;
• try to provoke the growth of lateral branches;
• make a lush and stable plant out of a bush;
• leave quality material for further planting.

Spring pruning is much easier than autumn pruning. This work should begin at the beginning of March. The later the removal of unnecessary branches, the later the geranium will bloom. In the spring, only weak and unnecessary branches can be removed, leaving a few buds from below.

Features of winter care

In winter, the flower must be provided with complete rest, otherwise the spring cannot wait for flowering. Watering in winter is reduced, no fertilizing is applied, the plant is immersed in a regime of complete rest.

Lush geranium bloom

Features of flowering plants

The royal geranium blooms for a long time. A healthy plant, with proper care, will delight its owner with large beautiful flowers from spring to late summer.It was the unrivaled flowers of this plant that gave it royal status.

Compliance with the regime of activity and rest of the royal geranium is extremely important. If in winter almost all manipulations with the plant end, and the pot itself is even removed to a dark place, then in the summer it is important to carry out regular processing.

After the geranium comes out of dormancy, light pruning is carried out and a period of fertilization and moisture begins. This is the only way to expect beautiful double buds during the flowering period.

Geranium flowers usually look like spherical umbrellas. The inflorescences are located on long and thin stems, sometimes it seems that such flowers will simply not stand the shoots. The color of the inflorescences is very diverse. There are white and even dark purple shades.

Flower propagation by cuttings

At home, royal geraniums are propagated mainly by cuttings. In this case, the use of seeds is not at all excluded. If there is an adult plant in the house, then propagating it by cuttings will be as easy as shelling pears.

Inflorescence close-up

In spring or autumn, you need to cut off a stalk at least 10 cm long. Use only a sharp knife as a tool. The cutting is cut at an angle of 45 degrees. After that, the lower few leaves are removed, and the cut section of the branch is sent to a container with water at room temperature. The stalk will stand in the water for at least a week until the first roots appear.

Next, the stalk needs to be rooted. You should take a container of small diameter with light soil. A young plant will be planted in a permanent place only after 2 months. For successful rooting, you need to prepare a good earthen mixture. You can take absolutely any soil and mix it with river sand in equal quantities. When the soil is mixed with sand, it should be spilled with boiling water.

Growing problems, diseases and pests

Geranium can still be called a capricious plant. If you ignore the rules of cultivation and care, irreversible consequences can occur. Internodes are often extended, after which the plant stops growing and dies. Do not neglect watering, otherwise the leaves will quickly begin to turn yellow.

It is also important to consider the level of moisture. Too frequent watering leads to decay of the root system. The lack of flowering can be triggered by not done pruning or too large a pot. Improper care most often leads to a lack of flowering.

Different shades of geranium

The foliage is often affected by rust, and in addition, pests begin to start.

In the absence of flowering at home, you should start by examining the geranium. If the stems have dark spots and areas with fluff, then the flower is infected. The main thing that needs to be done is to clear the root system of the available soil. After that, the geranium is planted in a manganese solution. After three days, the flower is taken out, all damaged areas are removed. This plant can be planted in a new pot of steamed soil.

Royal geraniums truly deserve to be called that. The appearance of the plant really looks like a royal person. Stunning beauty also requires special attention to itself. Florists say that the capriciousness of geraniums is beyond the power of beginners, and every professional dreams of getting such a plant on his windowsill.