Our grandmothers decorated their houses with the most unpretentious indoor flower and affectionately called it “kalachik”. Juicy, green leaves, with a light edge and flowers of various shades, help to create coziness in the house. The flower is so undemanding that they began to decorate the windowsills, balconies, front gardens and even city beds.
Geranium enjoys love florist thanks to ease of care. Originally from South Africa, the plant loves a lot of light and moisture.
Flowering features
No wonder geraniums with large (simple or double) flowers are given royal status. Seeing the flowers of various shapes and colors, collected in umbrellas, it is impossible to pass by. Royal varieties do not bloom so long and require more care.
In height reach from 30 to 70 cm and differ from other types:
- bulky, up to 7-8 cm in diameter, flowers;
- corrugated leaves with a rough surface and jagged edges.
Important. The royal geranium species is the most capricious, and with irregular watering of the bloom it is impossible to wait.
A photo
In the photo you can see how the beautiful and lush flowers of the royal geranium look like.
When do the buds appear?
Experienced growers and lovers point out that the best time for flowering "kalachik" is the spring-summer period. In the fall and winter, the plant will please flowers only with sufficient light, which must be taken care of in advance. On the southern and western windowsills flowering occurs all year round, but the inflorescences are not bright, not lush and not large.
Attention: after a state of rest geranium blooms more abundant.
How to help the plant?
When the ovary appears, it is important to eliminate disturbances for the formation of inflorescences:
- Flowers in direct sunlight will not be bright.
- In winter, the plant is useful coolness, but the temperature below 10 degrees will not be good and will stimulate the premature awakening of the plant from the state of hibernation.
- Southern windowsill, where there is a lot of sun, the best place for geranium.
- For lush flowering all year round the mandatory conditions - food and lighting.
- A lot of branches - a lot of space for flowering. To enhance branching, shoots pinch.
- Fading flowers are immediately removed.
- With regular pruning, geranium rejuvenates and gains strength for growth.
- Geranium grown from seeds, blooms four to five months after sowing. During this time, the plant is gaining vegetative mass.
Necessary conditions for lush flowers
For a beautiful, lush flowering, florist need to comply with several conditions:
Lighting. Plants prefer diffused light, otherwise the leaves turn red or yellow, if there is not enough sunlight there will be no blooming.- Temperature. In winter, the plant suffices 13 degrees, otherwise, the stems become bare, foliage crumbles. In the summer, the temperature is maintained at 18–20 degrees and the pots are shaded. You can plant on the balcony or take out the pot in the garden to fresh air.
- Humidity. Maintain soil moisture, spraying the foliage is prohibited.
- Fertilizer. In the spring, fertilized twice a month, in the summer - once is enough. At room cultivation, organic fertilizers are not used, they contribute phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium in equal shares. Do not fertilize in winter and in extreme heat.
Lighting. Plants prefer diffused light, otherwise the leaves turn red or yellow, if there is not enough sunlight there will be no blooming.How to make give buds?
Under all conditions, geranium does not bloom, then radical measures will help. Here's what to do:
- Pruning of excess shoots and dried leaves contributes to the growth of new bookmarks of future inflorescences.
- Move the pot with geraniums on the sunny windowsill.
- Mandatory condition - respect for peace. For this, the pots are removed from the bright light and provide a temperature of 13-14 ° C.
- With the onset of heat pots put on the balcony or in the garden to stimulate flowering.
- In the spring for watering pelargonium use a weak solution of iodine, avoiding contact with the stems and leaves.
- Replace topsoil with a mixture of humus, peat and sand.
Plant nutrition
The flower needs abundant watering, but in addition to watering it is important to feed “Ball”. What can feed the plant so that it will delight you with flowers? For abundant flowering in the garden, the geranium is watered with a fermented mullein.
On the balcony and windowsill to stimulate flowering, the plant is poured with water with the addition of iodine. In one liter of water, dissolve one drop of iodine and water the plant with 50 grams of iodine water along the walls of the pots. Before iodine top dressing the flower is watered abundantly so as not to burn the roots. This procedure is carried out once a month.
As a fertilizer for geranium, you can use other tools purchased in a pharmacy. In addition to iodine growers use vitamins B1, B6, B12. This is an inexpensive folk method.
With the beginning of spring, geranium needs nitrogen. For the summer they use vitamins - one ampoule per 2 liters of warm water. The earth is poured with plenty of solution. After 3 weeks, the vitamins change. This fertilizer will help the royal geranium, but you can not overdo it with top dressing, it can destroy the plant.
Organic fertilizer should be used with caution. For a lush color, water well-fermented cow dung (10 liters of water - 1 liter of manure), bird droppings (20 liters - 1 liter). Fresh manure can destroy the plant.
When choosing from mullein and chicken manure, it is better to use the first option. For lush flowering minerals are needed, so organic is rarely used.
Trimming and transplanting at home
For the lush blooming of the royal geranium pruning is best done in autumn or winter. Improper pruning will lead to loss of attractiveness of the bush and stretching the stems. Let us tell you how to cut your geranium so that it blooms well:
It is important to take into account the genetic characteristics of the royal geranium varieties, it should be bushy and low.- For trimming use a sharp sterile knife, blade, shears.
- Pinching at the level of the leaf node is carried out with clean hands.
- Sections are treated with charcoal or ground cinnamon.
- Removed all the stems that grow inside the bush.
It is important to take into account the genetic characteristics of the royal geranium varieties, it should be bushy and low.Procedure
There is a specific trim order to follow:
- Remove faded inflorescences, withered stems, dried leaves.
- Prune shoots to create a beautiful crown.
- Remove bare stems completely to the lower node.
- Leave 2/3 of the stem for wintering, trim the rest.
Winter pruning
Fans of "kalachik" note that royal varieties drawn out in winter due to lack of sunlight, so:
- Long, bare shoots pruned, if there are no pinch the top.
- Since mid-spring, plants throw out flower buds, so pruning is stopped from mid-March. To preserve the shape of the bush, the plant is pinched in the summer, after the flowers wither.
Attention. From December to February it is not recommended to prune the geranium and disturb the plant's rest. During the rest period, a minimum of watering, cool to 15 degrees and good lighting are required.
Care errors and illness
Why your favorite geranium at home does not bloom, but only gives the foliage? The main reason is the various errors in care. The problem can be a uniform watering throughout the year. With active growth, water is rarebut over time, do not allow water stagnation. In winter, slightly moisturize the soil to dry out between waterings. Carefully use top dressing, geranium is sick from lack and excess power. Balance is important.
The blooming royal geranium needs fresh air and constant airing of the room. Fresh air - prevention of fungal diseases.
The plant is not capricious, but it is subject to two groups of diseases - non-infectious and infectious:
- If you violate the rules of care, non-infectious diseases appear, the plant metabolic processes are disturbed: edema, hypothermia, lack of or excess of trace elements, and reaction to chemical elements.
- Infectious diseases - rot, virus infection, fungus, rust, black leg, powdery mildew. They are dangerous because they can be transmitted and infect other flowers. such a plant must be isolated and treated.
Royal geranium is a very beautiful plant. Sick not often, requires attention 15 minutes a week. If the care does not match the needs of the plant, geranium will quickly signal problems. With careful care, the flower will delight the owner of lush and lush bloom in spring and summer.
