Geraniums are one of the most popular plants and enchant balconies with their lush flowers all summer long. That's why they need a lot of fertilizer to develop magnificent leaves and flowers. Commercial fertilizers are not always the best choice as they usually contain chemicals. Fortunately, there are numerous home remedies that contain useful nutrients and are better suited for fertilizing. Here you will find out how you can fertilize geraniums using home remedies to enjoy their spectacular blooms.
Fertilizing geraniums with home remedies: How often and which ones are best?
The popularity of theGeraniumscan be explained by their easy care, long growth and their beautiful and lush flowers. With proper care, the flowering period lasts a very long time, but this requires timely fertilization to encourage the flower to form a large number of buds.
Fertilize geraniums with milk
Milk contains mainly calcium, but also many other nutrients that are useful for plants. To fertilize your geraniums with milk, mix a liter of milk with 3-4 liters of water and water the plants with this solution once a month. The milk not only acts as a fertilizer, but it can protect the geraniums from fungal infections as it calcifies the tissue. To harness the power of milk against plant diseases, spray the plant with the solution twice a week.
Promote flowering with iodine and hydrogen peroxide
The experienced gardeners rely on a solution containing iodine, which promotes the lush flowering of geraniums.
This solution also helps prevent the occurrence of certainDiseases such as mildewto prevent and has a positive effect on flowering. It also promotes better nitrogen absorption. As a result, the green mass begins to actively grow.
To encourage your geraniums to bloom, you can enrich the soil with an iodine solution.
This is how the solution is prepared:
- Add a drop of iodine to one liter of water at room temperature. If the plant is weak and sick, you can add three drops. Please note that a higher concentration can damage the root system.
- Add ten drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the solution and use it to water the geraniums.
- Before watering, remove any damaged leaves.
- It is also recommended to loosen the soil to improve the oxygen supply to the roots of the geraniums.
- After watering the soil, pour the solution as close to the walls of the flower pot as possible.
- Regular use of this solution can damage the root system. It is best to use them no more than once a month. If the solution gets on the leaves, you should immediately wash them with water so that they do not dry out.
Fertilize geraniums with baker's yeast
Fertilizing with baker's yeast accelerates bud development and contributes to a longer flowering period. The reason for this is that the yeast begins to stimulate the production of potassium and nitrogen when it enters the soil.
Add 10 g of dry yeast to 10 l of water and add a small amount of sugar to enhance the useful properties of the yeast.
Fertilize the geraniums and othersHouseplants like orchidsuse this solution once a month at the beginning of active flowering in spring and in summer give preference to fertilizer with a minimal amount of nitrogen.
Fertilize geraniums with home remedies: banana peels
Banana peels are full of important nutrients such as potassium, magnesium and phosphorus, which makes them the perfect fertilizer for geraniums. Unfortunately, they also sometimes contain pesticides that are used in cultivation and transportation and can leach into the soil when used as fertilizer. To avoid this, we recommend that you buy organically grown bananas.
Geraniums benefit from fertilizing with banana peels as they are considered susceptible to potassium deficiency. However, make sure that they have a low nitrogen content and are therefore only suitable as additional fertilizer.
This is how the geraniums are properly fertilized with banana peels in order to bloom longer and more luxuriantly:
- Allow 7-8 banana peels to dry in the sun for 3 to 4 days.
- Then grind them in a blender to a fine powder.
- Mix 6-8 tablespoons of banana peel powder with a teaspoon of Epsom salt and 4 liters of water and stir well.
- Water the plants with the solution once every 3 weeks.
- You can also dilute the solution with water in a 1:2 ratio and spray the plants once every 10 days.
Can you water geraniums with aquarium water?
Aquarium water can promote plant growth. However, although it contains the same nutrients as commercial fertilizer, the aquarium water may be too nutrient-rich or not nutrient-rich enough depending on your refreshing plan. The longer you let the algae run, the more nutrient-rich the water becomes. So it can replace fertilizer, but only if you have a decent-sized, dirty aquarium and a small number of plants that you want to water with it.
