A typical sight during the warm season are geraniums (Geraniums) in balcony boxes or pots. They just seem to be part of the bucket planting. If you finally want to decorate your outdoor area with these pretty flowers, you are making a great choice, because they are not only available in numerous shapes and colors, but are also easy to care for and can be easily combined with other plants. In the following lines we summarize how and when you can plant geraniums and what the perfect plant partners are.
When can I plant geraniums?
Before you rush out of sheer enthusiasm to beautify the balcony or terrace with freshly bought geraniums, you should of course know when these beauties can even be outdoors. These are plants that come from South Africa and have to spend the winter in a winter quarters in order not to freeze to death. Accordingly, the frost season must be over before you bring the plants outside.
You can certainly buy geraniums earlier, but they still need to be kept warm for a while. And by “warm” we mean temperatures of over 10 degrees. This is also a guideline for planting a geranium. So when can you start planting geraniums outside?
- From about mid-May, after the ice saints, is the right time.
- Night frosts must be over.
- Optimal for planting outdoors are temperatures of over 10 degrees at night and a maximum of 18 degrees during the day.
What should you consider when planting?
The first thing to do once you’ve bought a few specimens is to plant them in fresh soil. It certainly won’t hurt to leave them in the pot for a while, but if you have the time, you’ll be doing the flowers a huge favor. You may be wondering which soil is the right one? Conventional potting soil is sufficient. The right pot and the location depend on the geranium species.
Planting Geraniums – These containers will do
- Hanging Geraniums not only grow well in height (it can be quite 30 centimeters), but also get plenty of hanging shoots, as the name suggests. And these easily reach a length of 1.5 meters. For this reason, hanging baskets are particularly well suited here. If you opt for boxes or pots, make sure that they hang or stand in such a way that the plant shoots can fall down easily and loosely.
- Both standing geraniums the matter is actually quite clear. Flower boxes and flower pots that are not too high are ideal. After all, you want to be able to see the flowering shoots that are growing upwards. They even look wonderful in the flower bed. You are therefore welcome to place the standing specimens outdoors.
The sizes of the planters play an important role
- Calculate a soil volume of 2 to 3 liters per geranium, as they need enough space to thrive well. Use the culture pot as a guide: the new one must be at least twice as big.
- For a one meter long flower box, this means no more than 5 plants with a depth of at least 18 centimeters.
- Drainage holes are essential! Pelargoniums do not tolerate waterlogging at all, which is why care must be taken to ensure good drainage.
We will also tell you how to properly fertilize pelargoniums.
How to proceed with planting
As already mentioned, it is best to plant the freshly purchased geraniums in the container provided immediately. The reason for this is that the culture pots are usually quite small and are therefore already completely rooted. After a while, this leads to a nutrient deficit, which you can prevent by repotting. They give their new plants a perfect start. Here is how you should plant the geraniums:
- Remove the geranium from its old pot.
- Shake off excess soil.
- Carefully loosen the root ball, which was quite squashed in the old pot due to the lack of space.
- Put a layer of drainage in the new container, then add enough soil to support the plant.
- Plant upright geraniums straight and hanging geraniums slightly tilted forward.
- Fill in with more soil until the roots and a small part of the stem are covered. Due to the loosened root ball, the roots are now freer and more spread out, which makes it easier for them to establish themselves in the new soil.
Where are the best places to put the flowers?
The optimal location is in the sun, but protected from the wind. The sun’s rays promote rich flowering, but also cause the soil to dry out quite quickly. But geraniums need a lot of water, so it’s important to water them regularly. This can mean twice a day, especially during the summer months.
Which plants go well with geraniums?
Geraniums love sun and so should their companion plants. So, for example, you should not Plant geraniums and fuchsias together, as the latter need shady to partially shaded locations. Are suitable:
- Bidens (Goldmarie; Bidens ferulifolia)
- Blue Daisy (Brachyscome iberidifolia)
- hussar head (Sanvitalia reclining)
- Lantana (Lantanen)
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- Loyal to men (Lobelia erinus)
- petunias (Petunia)
- The purslane (Portulaca grandiflora)
- Vanilleblume (Heliotropium arborescens)
- Verbena (Vervain; Verbenaceae)
- magic bell (Calibrachoa)
- magic snow (Euphorbia hypericifolia)
- Zinnia (Zinnia)
This article will tell you how to properly overwinter geraniums.