How to prune geraniums to bloom: timing and rules

Unpretentious plant geranium has a lot of advantages. In addition to lush flowering with bright buds, it also has medicinal properties. And the unique smell of geranium cannot be confused with any other. No wonder it is used to scare away harmful insects.

There are two types of geraniums - annual and perennial. The latter species is grown as an indoor and garden culture. Annual varieties are more common in flower beds. In order for the perennial to bloom more magnificently, it must be properly looked after. Therefore, many gardeners are interested in how to properly cut geraniums so that it blooms, because the development of the plant depends on the correct and timely procedure.

Content:

• Features of the structure of geranium
• Do geraniums need pruning and why?
• Spring pruning: timing and rules
• Features of pruning in the fall
• How to care for a flower after pruning?
• Possible problems when growing geraniums

Features of the structure of geranium

There are many varieties of geraniums in the form of herbaceous plants and dwarf shrubs. There are both high varieties up to half a meter and undersized ones, 10-16 centimeters in height. The main stem of geranium is short with long shoots extending from it, on which flower stalks are formed.

The leaves of the plant are located on long petioles and are dissected, resembling lobes, feathers. Although there are species with fused blades. The leaf plates of the plant are smooth or pubescent. The leaves contain an essential oil that gives the plant a spicy aroma.

Geranium greens are used in cooking, for medicinal purposes and for repelling insects in the house and garden.

Light or dark shades of green leaves set off the petals of large flowers, consisting of a calyx with five petals and a corolla. On one peduncle there are up to three flowers of different palettes: white, pink, purple, less often purple. In some varieties, the buds are collected in umbrellas. Each bloom lasts up to 20 days, then the inflorescences dry up, and new ones appear in their place.

The flower is also called the crane because of the long fruit, which looks like a bird's beak. In the condition of the apartment, geranium begins to bloom from February-March, and in the garden - from May. The splendor and duration of the flowering of the bush depends on the timely and correct pruning.

Do geraniums need pruning and why?

Ornamental bushes that are actively growing need pruning. The procedure is justified by the fact that geranium needs:

1. regular rejuvenation
2. intensive growth of shoots
3. removal of diseased and damaged branches
4. thinning the crown for better air exchange, nutrition
5. giving the bush shape and beauty

After pruning, metabolic processes are accelerated in plant cells. In addition, the procedure directly affects the quality and duration of geranium flowering.

But it is necessary to cut the bush rationally, competently, observing the terms and structural features of a particular type of plant.

The best tools for the procedure would be a knife or pruner. It is impossible to cut the shoots with scissors, since pinching the tissues will damage the plant. Before the operation, the instrument is disinfected with an alcohol solution or boiling water.You should prepare carefully for pruning, because it is important for the plant to remain healthy and active after it.

Spring pruning: timing and rules

After a dormant period in late February - early March, a formative pruning of geraniums is carried out, giving the crown of the bush an even and compact shape.

The technology of the operation is such that you need:

• Cut off the shoots above the leaf nodule that faces from the main stem to the outside. Due to the removal of excess processes, a moderately dense crown will form in the geranium.
• Lateral shoots need a stop in development, so it is enough to pinch them.
• Cut the stem with a sharp knife obliquely.
• The place where the operation took place is sprinkled with a powdered form of activated carbon. Cinnamon, which is a natural antioxidant, is also suitable for these purposes.

In the spring, in addition to the formation of the crown, sanitization of geraniums is also needed. During the winter, some old branches dry up and break. They must be cut off, leaving 2-3 buds at the bottom. They begin pruning geraniums as early as possible so that the plant has time to please with abundant flowering.

Features of pruning in the fall

After the growing season of the plant, which lasts from March to September, pruning must also be done. After the geranium flowers have withered and withered, the bush looks sloppy. The leaves also begin to dry out. Therefore, without pruning, geraniums cannot be sent for wintering. After all, a weakened plant will not tolerate such an operation in the winter:

• The procedure begins by removing damaged and dried leaves and branches. This will help strengthen the flower's immunity, which is important for the dormant period. He will gain strength, and in the spring he will delight with young shoots.
• Long, weak stems are cut to half, which spoil the appearance of the geranium crown. During the operation, attention is paid to internodes, from which a growth of weak processes emerges. Therefore, it is better not to leave these internodes on long shoots.
• For better branching of the ornamental bush, pinch the shoots, leaving no more than four buds on them.
• In order for the rest to be complete, geraniums are freed from shoots by a third in the fall. Then, in the spring, more young growth is formed on the plant.

The power of the bush also plays a significant role in pruning. If the geranium is lush, overgrown, then it is better to cut it to a minimum. But for small bushes, the operation is more merciless, the shoots are cut out by fifty percent. There is no need to be afraid to remove unnecessary branches from the plant, because the procedure will be beneficial, it will also extend the flowering time, and increase the number of buds and their sizes.

How to care for a flower after pruning?

Like any operation, pruning shoots is difficult for geraniums. To recuperate, she needs careful care:

1. Indoor and garden geraniums are watered abundantly, but without frills. Dry soil or waterlogged soil will have a bad effect on the development of ornamental culture.
2. Of the fertilizers geraniums are needed only mineral... The Epin nutritional complex is introduced in the spring, continuing to water with the prepared solution every two weeks.
3. The flower requires a lot of light, this is taken into account when choosing a site in the garden or a windowsill in the house. But the direct rays of the sun often burn geranium leaves and flowers, so it is necessary to shade the plant during the heat.
4. Geranium loves fresh air, hence the need to take flower pots to the balcony or garden.
5. Best of all, the flower tolerates air temperature up to 22 degrees.
6. After pruning in the fall, it is necessary to restore the strength of the plant. Therefore, it is better to feed with a complex rich in nitrogen.
7. In winter, ornamental bushes are watered and fed less often than during the growing season. But you don't need to forget the plant. Make sure that the soil does not dry out too much. And excessive feeding will lead to the formation of buds in winter. It is better to cut them off so that the geranium does not waste energy, but accumulates them until spring.

The plant will feel better and bloom on time if it recovers from pruning.

Possible problems when growing geraniums

Geranium - an unpretentious plant, and there are few problems with it. Among the common ones are usually associated with improper care:

• When the leaves begin to turn yellow, the bush needs watering, it lacks moisture. With a large amount, its geranium is affected by fungal infections, stopping in growth and development. More often the plant is affected by brown spot and powdery mildew... The disease is evidenced by spots on the leaf plates, their swelling. At an early stage of the disease, they cope with it fungicidal preparations... In case of severe damage, the treatment is carried out three times every 10 days.
• Lighting is important for geraniums. If the daylight hours are small, then the shoots are bare from below. In winter, you can add light by hanging fluorescent lamps above the geranium.
• The air temperature below 12 degrees Celsius leads to the fact that the edges of the leaves begin to redden.
• And if geranium does not bloom even after pruning, then a lack of illumination or a sharp drop in air temperature prevents it from developing.

Of the pests, geranium aphids and whiteflies are affected:

• Aphids easy to see by the stickiness on the underside of geranium leaves. The pest is dangerous due to the fact that it opens the way for infection to penetrate into plant cells.
• Whitefly, a small butterfly, is difficult to spot. And the larvae of the parasite cause significant harm to the decorative culture.

Pest control by spraying insecticidal agents... But the whitefly easily adapts to insecticidal agents, protecting itself from their action. To destroy it, it is necessary to alternate Actellic and Confidor preparations.

Among the folk methods, treatment is used with a solution of tobacco dust with laundry soap. In the initial stages of the lesion, washing the leaves with soapy water under running water will help. If you do not leave geraniums unattended, then there will be no problems with its cultivation.

More information can be found in the video: