The nurseryman’s secret to making your geraniums bloom!

It’s not true spring without a geranium plant on your balcony!

This plant is famous for its  colorful flowers  , its rounded leaves and the wonderful effect they create when we put them in pots with railings.

We usually buy it in  spring  already in bloom. Sometimes, however, we have geranium plants from last year that, despite the increase in temperatures typical of this season, do not bloom. So we end up having seedlings full of  leaves  but  without flowers  .

There are actually a few  tricks  that can  help us  stimulate the  flowering of  geraniums  ,  making the plant produce new  buds  and become full of colour! Let’s discover them together.

Use the right fertilizer

Plants, just like humans, need a good supply of  nutrients  to stay fit and… flourish!

Sometimes, among the myriad of products, choosing the right one becomes difficult. Choose a  fertilizer for flowering plants  or  one specifically  for geraniums: these are usually enriched with  iron  , a substance that stimulates flowering.

Administer according  to production instructions  . Fertilizer is usually liquid and should  be diluted in water for irrigation  . Then, it should be administered  every 2-3 weeks  .

Among the natural solutions, you can prepare  compost  with fruit peels and dried leaves, placing them on the soil: these elements release nitrogen and potassium that help the growth of the geranium and give it a certain amount of energy.

Find out here  how to make natural fertilizers and homemade fertilizers.

Warning  : If you have problems growing this plant, seek professional advice.

Prune dead branches

Typically, by the end of winter, the  geranium  will have developed some  long, woody branches  that grow during the cold season.

Pruning  the plant, removing branches that are too long, dry and asymmetrical, stimulates the plant to generate new,  more fertile branches  that are ready to flower as soon as the temperature rises.

Do it with  well-sterilized scissors  and trying to give the entire plant a  symmetrical  ,  balanced  and  compact shape.

Here are some more secrets  to keep your geraniums in shape!

Keep branches and leaves clean

It may seem strange or superfluous, but keeping the branches and leaves of  your geranium clean  helps the plant maintain  good general health  and, consequently, increases the chances of flowering.

For cleaning, use a mixture of  water  (about  500 ml  ) and  Marseille soap  (about  30 grams in flakes  ), mixing the different ingredients and then passing it over all the foliage of the plant with the help of a cotton pad.

This trick will remove the  dust  that settles on the  leaves  , facilitating the process of photosynthesis and respiration. In addition, it will help prevent possible  pest infestations  , such as  mealybugs  and  aphids  .

Parasite infestation?  Here are all the ways to get rid of them  .

Choose the right exposure

That’s it! Many people are unable to get their  geranium seedlings  to bloom for a reason as simple as it is important:  incorrect exposure  !

Immediately place the  geranium  in a  very bright location  . Light requirements vary depending on the species and variety: zonal and imperial geraniums, for example, do not particularly like direct light, but still need  bright indirect sunlight  .

To be on the safe side, whatever type of  geranium  you have on your balcony, therefore, place it in a place with indirect sunlight, especially  during the bud development phase  .

Light is essential not only for it to start  flowering  , but also for  it to last a long time  : seeing is believing!