How to Grow Geranium (Pelargonium)

Pelargoniums are summer geraniums with showy clusters of flowers that come in white or in shades of red, orange and pink. They’re perfect container plants.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need

• Bypass Pruners
• Compost Makers
• Fertilizers
• Hand Cultivators
• Mulch
• Plants
• Seeds

Choosing Geranium (Pelargonium)

1. Look for plants at nurseries in spring and summer.
2. Buy geranium (Pelargonium) in 4-inch to 1-gallon containers.
3. Choose healthy-looking plants with signs of new growth in leaves and flower buds.

Caring for Geranium (Pelargonium)

1. Cut off old stems from the previous year in early spring using bypass pruners.
2. Apply a light application of organic fertilizer on top of the soil; follow package directions.
3. Mulch around but not on top of the plants with 3 inches of organic compost.
4. Water well weekly until soil is completely moist in summers with no rainfall.
5. Cut off flower stems as they finish blooming using scissors or bypass pruners.
6. Fertilize container plants monthly during spring and summer by adding fish emulsion to the water; follow directions on the package.

Planting Geranium (Pelargonium)

1. Plant geranium (Pelargonium) in full sun in well-drained soil.
2. Add a light application of organic fertilizer to the planting hole.
3. Place the plants no deeper than the depth of the containers they were growing in.
4. 

   Set the plants 9 to 12 inches apart.

5. 

   Mulch around but not on top of the plants with 3 inches of organic compost.

6. 

   Water well until soil is completely moist.