The origin of geraniums is associated with South Africa. In total, there are about 400 species of perennial and annual plants of the geranium family in botany. Its representatives first appeared in Europe at the beginning of the 16th century. This bright plant is a relative of pelargonium. The colors of room geraniums depend on the chosen variety. In this review, we will look at how to properly care for this beautiful flower.
Features of cultivation
This process should be given special attention. Indoor geranium is a beautiful and rather unpretentious plant. It is able to decorate any home greenhouse. It is enough to provide the flower with the necessary conditions, and it will delight you with a lush carpet of bright colors. After planting, geraniums do not require special care. The plant is not afraid of drought and shade.
The geranium flower propagates by self-seeding quickly enough. Beauty is distinguished not only by the buds of the plant, but also by the leaves themselves. Gardeners especially like to use this flower in flower beds. Geranium will look great on an alpine hill.
This plant belongs toground cover. Despite the fact that the name of the flower is consonant with room pelargonium, green cultures belong to different types. Geranium garden provides a huge selection of colors. Bright small buds of this plant will be a great accent in your garden. If you decide to plant several types of this species at once, then it is better to choose different angles on the site. If you plant flowers together, they may look too colorful and bright.
The combination of garden geraniums with plants with large leaves will look especially elegant. The flower does not require special care. You just need to choose the right location. Water in the area should not stagnate. At first, it is recommended to regularly water the seeds. It is definitely worth carrying out the mulching procedure.
Indoor beauty at home. Choosing a pot
So, what should you pay attention to? Conventionally, geranium is considered an indoor flower. In the cold season, she will feel great at home in a pot. The choice of growing container will depend on the root system. You should not choose a pot based on the principle "the more the better." Using too spacious can cause problems with flower growth control and height formation. If you have chosen the right container for the geranium, it will delight you with beautiful bright flowers in various shades. In a pot that is too small, only the bush itself will develop. Flowering is likely to fade into the background. For young plants, it is worth considering changing pots asgrowth. If you only have a large pot available, then you can solve the problem by planting 2-3 geranium cuttings in it at once.
As for the material, it is best to give preference to baked clay models. You can also plant geraniums in a plastic pot, but in this case, be prepared for the fact that the earth will dry much more slowly. In addition, in such containers, the roots are more susceptible to decay. Clay pots prevent excessive air passage, which has a positive effect on the plant.
Choose soil for planting
How to choose the right soil for room geraniums? The flower will grow better in loose and light soil. It can be bought at a specialized store, but experienced gardeners recommend preparing the soil yourself.
For this purpose you will need:
- 1 piece of sod land;
- 1 serving fibrous peat substrate;
- 1 part fresh humus;
- 1 serving of medium-grained sand.
Drainage is pre-laid on the bottom of the growing tank. Expanded clay and broken bricks are suitable for this purpose. The roots of the plant require good aeration.
Feeding for plants at home
Geranium room refers to heat-loving perennial crops. She will perfectly endure the winter in a city apartment. In order to keep the flower in excellent condition as long as possible, it must be regularly watered and fed. Geranium best perceives mineral fertilizers. Organic supplements, on the other hand,recommended to be excluded. They cannot be used to fertilize the flower at home.
As a rule, the composition of fertilizer for indoor geraniums includes:
- phosphorus;
- nitrogen;
- potassium.
Each of the above components should be attributed to mineral fertilizers. You can also use universal mixes.
Vaccination
What do you need to know about this? How to plant a geranium flower? For this purpose, it is necessary to take a tall shoot older than one year. Using a sharp razor, the stem must be cut 3 cm below the internode. Next, you need to make a wedge-shaped cut in the stem. A grafted cutting is inserted into it. It is important to watch that the cuts do not dry out. It is better to choose a compact and medium-sized variety that you plant, but this is not at all necessary. You can even graft the crown of the stock.
The grafted stem is temporarily placed in a plastic bag so that the sheet does not wrinkle. For ventilation, small holes can be made at the corners of the bag. After a week, it will become clear whether the vaccination was successful or not. After 8-10 days, you can remove the package. You can untie the tape when 2-4 weeks have passed. The stem will fully grow together no earlier than after 15 days. At home, in the absence of additional lighting, the best time to vaccinate will be the end of February or the beginning of March.
Correct watering
Geranium flower is very afraid of hard water. The result of such watering will be immediately noticeable. White spots form on the ground caused by the presence in the waterharmful impurities. It is best to use rain or melt water at room temperature for irrigation. Such a liquid will be softer than plain tap water.
Room geranium leaves do not require frequent spraying. Otherwise, they may dry out and darken. The flower perfectly absorbs and accumulates water, so it is resistant to drought. It can be attributed to plants that do not require abundant watering. A hole must be made in the pot to ensure drainage. This will keep the roots from rotting. Due to excess water, geraniums can get sick and disappear. At the same time, flowers and leaves may begin to fall off and change their color. To stimulate the biological processes in the plant, use living water (under pressure). You will notice the effect after a few weeks.
Cutting home beauty
Geranium is one of the most common types of flowers. This culture is often found on the windowsills of private houses and city apartments.
The plant is especially popular among the elderly. However, in many cases, a geranium bush standing alone on the windowsill is a rather dull sight. Usually it is a crooked long trunk with a small bunch of leaves at the top. Perhaps for this reason, the geranium flower is gradually losing its position as a popular houseplant.
To make the bush look good and be green and lush, it must be properly shaped. But sometimes even experienced flower growers are perplexed by this procedure. When is indoor geranium pruned? How to do it right?Let's try to figure it out.
Main pruning should be done after flowering, in autumn. Crown formation depends on the plant variety. If the geranium flower is small in size, then it is better not to prune. You can leave the plant until spring. Also for the winter you should not cut variegated varieties. They do not tolerate a haircut.
To trim a geranium, you will need a sharp tool such as a pruner or scissors. Before performing the operation, the blades must be doused with boiling water to prevent infection of the plant with an infection.
How to transplant geraniums?
On this occasion, it is better to consult with experienced flower growers. Many are interested in how room geranium grows. Flower care must necessarily include a transplant procedure. It will be much easier for the plant to endure stress in early spring. In this case, the flower will perceive the transplant as a natural process. This will stimulate the plant to intensive flowering and growth of green mass. The best time for transplanting is the end of February, March and the beginning of April. The plant after the implementation of this procedure will delight you with lush flowers until winter. If you missed the transplant date, then it is better to postpone it to the fall. But there are times when you can't do without it.
Urgent transplant is performed only in the following cases:
- roots start sticking out of drainage holes;
- mold forms on the ground;
- the plant showed signs of disease.
Methods of reproduction
FlowerGeraniums can also be grown from seed. This is a fairly simple process that even a novice grower can handle. First of all, you need to decide on the variety. In flower shops today there are various types of indoor geraniums. Quality seeds are large enough. Seedlings do not need to dive. It is also not required to create special growth conditions. A week later, the seeds will have the first shoots. Over time, they will grow up, and velvety dark leaves form on them. A few months later, the first flower stalks will appear on the geranium. Different varieties have different germination times. All viable seeds should germinate within the first 10 days.
If you used a common container for planting seeds, then after the first true leaves of the plant appear, you can dive. For transplantation, you will need a container with a diameter of approximately 8 cm. The root does not need to be freed from the earthy coma. Simply transfer the geraniums to a new pot.
Propagation by cuttings
This method is considered to be simpler and more efficient. It is best to carry out this procedure in the fall. At other times of the year, propagation by cuttings may fail. The shoot is cut off and dried a little. The future plant must be placed in the soil. Occasionally it should be watered, but not sprayed. The method is good because the plant obtained in this way is very resistant to various diseases. You can also try propagation by cuttings in water. It is enough just to put the plant in a jar of water, anda week later, it will already take root.
Diseases and pests
So what are they? The following room geranium diseases are most common:
- Grey rot. It manifests itself in the appearance of brown spots in the areas of the flower located above the soil. They quickly spread throughout the plant. Geranium does not bloom. Often flower growers are worried about why indoor geraniums turn yellow. In many cases, this disease is the cause. The first disease affects the leaves located closer to the ground.
- Alternariosis is a serious disease that can prevent the growth of a luxurious flower. It manifests itself in the appearance of brown spots along the edges of the leaves and on the petioles. In case of high humidity, a velvety coating may be present on the formations.
- Rhizoctonia rot. With this disease, dark spots form on the stems from below. They are characterized by a depressed structure and stretch up to 25 centimeters. As a result, the geranium does not bloom, and the leaves wither. Infection with rhizoctonia rot usually occurs through the soil.
Conclusion
In this review, we examined what indoor geranium is, how to properly care for it. This plant is quite unpretentious, so even a novice grower can easily cope with its cultivation. It is enough just to follow the recommendations above, and then there will be no problems.
