A typical sight during the warm season are geraniums (The geranium) in the balcony box or pot. They just seem to be part of container planting. If you would like to finally 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. How and when you can plant geraniums and what the perfect planting partners are is summarized in the following lines.
Before you rush out of sheer enthusiasm, fill the balcony or terrace with freshly bought onesTo beautify geraniums, you should of course know when these beauties can even tolerate the outdoors. These are plants that come from South Africa and have to spend the winter in winter quarters in order not to freeze. Accordingly, the frost period must be over before you take 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,from whencan you plant geraniums outside?
- The right time is around mid-May, after the Ice Saints.
- Night frosts must be over.
- Temperatures of over 10 degrees at night and a maximum of 18 degrees during the day are ideal for planting outdoors.
What should you consider when planting?
The first thing you should do once you have purchased a few specimens is to plant them in fresh soil. It certainly won't do any harm if you leave them in the pot you bought for a while, but if you have the time, you'll be doing the flowers a big favor. You may be wondering which soil is the right one? Conventional potting soil is completely sufficient. The right pot and location depend on the type of geranium.
Planting Geraniums – These containers are suitable
- Hanging geraniumsNot only do they grow well in height (it can be up to 30 centimeters), but, as the name suggests, they also get plentyhanging shoots. And these easily reach a length of 1.5 meters. For this reason, hanging baskets are particularly suitable here. If you choose boxes or pots, make sure that they hang or stand in such a way that the plant shoots can fall down easily and loosely.
- Bothstanding geraniumsthe matter is actually quite clear. Flower boxes and flower pots that are not too high are ideal. Finally, you want to be able to see the flower shoots growing upwards. They even look wonderful in the flowerbed. You are welcome to put the standing specimens outdoors.
The sizes of the plant containers play an important role
- Allow for a soil volume of 2 to 3 liters per geranium, as theyenough spaceneeded to thrive. Be guided by the culture pot: 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 good drainage must be ensured.
With us you will also find out how youFertilize pelargoniums properly.
How to proceed with planting
As already mentioned, it is best to plant the freshly purchased geraniums immediately in the container provided. The reason for this is that the culture pots are usually quite small and are therefore already completely rooted. This leads to a nutrient deficit after a while, which you can prevent by repotting. They give your new plants a perfect start. You should plant the geraniums as follows:
- 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 lack of space.
- Add a drainage layer to the new container and then add enough soil to place the plant on top.
- Plant standing geraniums straight and hanging geraniums tilted slightly forward.
- Backfill with more soil until the roots and a small portion of the stem are covered. Due to the loosened root ball, the roots are now freer and more spread out, making it easier for them to establish themselves in the new soil.
Also read:Cutting and overwintering geraniums: How to do it right
Where is the best place for the flowers?
The optimal location is in the sun but protected from wind. The sun's rays promote abundant flowering, but also cause the soil to dry out quite quickly. But geraniums need a lot of water, so it's important that you water them regularly. This can mean twice a day, especially during the summer months.
Which plants go well with geraniums?
The geranium loves sun and so should ittheir companion plantsdo. So you should, for examplenotPlant geraniums and fuchsias together, as the latter require shady to semi-shady locations. Suitable are:
- Biden (Goldmarie;Bidens ferulifolia)
- Blue Daisy (Brachyscome iberidifolia)
- hussar head (Sanvitalia reclining)
- Lantana (Lanthanen)
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- faithful to men (Lobelia erinus)
- petunias (Petunia)
- Purslane (Portulaca grandiflora)
- Vanilleblume (Heliotropium arborescens)
- Verbena (Vervain;Verbenaceae)
- magic bells (Calibrachoa)
- magic snow (Euphorbia hypericifolia)
- Zinnia (Zinnia)
Find out how to properly overwinter geraniumsin this article.
