Geranium ampelous - a beautiful decoration of windows, balons and verandas

One of the easiest indoor plants to care for is geranium, which can be found in almost every home where the owners are fond of keeping plants.

Content:

• Geranium ampelous and its characteristics
• Growing and reproduction of ampelous geranium
• Care for ampelous geraniums

Geranium ampelous and its characteristics

A particularly beautiful variety of this plant is the ampelous geranium, which differs from an ordinary plant in its flowing branches that beautifully frame the pot or any other surface.

The German word "ampel", from which the word "ampelous" comes from, translates as a hanging vase. Because of this decorative quality, ampelous geranium looks very beautiful on balconies, window sills, verandas, etc.

In addition to bright flowers of various colors - red, pink, white, purple and even orange, many varieties of ampelous geraniums also have beautiful unusual leaves. Unlike geranium, which has a vertical shape, ampelous geranium has smooth, not terry leaves. The length of its branches can even reach 90 cm. If we talk about inflorescences, they appear at the ends of the stems and look like brushes or pompons.

Growing and reproduction of ampelous geranium

If you want to grow geraniums on your own, then flower seeds are quite suitable for this, but not every grower gives them long-awaited shoots.

Here comes the rooting cuttings is often crowned with success. To do this, it is necessary to prepare an appropriate mixture of soil from leafy earth, sand and peat in equal proportions. It would be nice to disinfect it as well.

To do this, the soil can be held in the most heated oven for about 15 minutes, or you can pour boiling water over it. After that, the soil mixture should cool down to room temperature.

In the meantime, the cuttings are dried so that their slices are not wet. To do this, they can be held in the open air for a day. After cutting, the cuttings should be dipped in charcoal powder. Having thrust the stalk into the ground, it must be pressed from all sides with your fingers.

Cuttings can be planted both in spring and autumn. When planting in spring, expect flowering geraniums are possible in summer, but with autumn planting - only after wintering and spring transplanting.

Care for ampelous geraniums

Like any other plant, ampelous geranium requires some attention.

This includes:

• Moderate temperature regime - in summer not higher than +25 degrees and in winter not lower than +12.
• Fresh air and plant placement on the south side - ampelous geranium loves warmth, light and sun. A suitable location would be the south or west side. But the north or east side, most likely, will lead to the fact that the plant stops blooming, and its leaves begin to fall off in large quantities.
• The presence of fertile, well-drained soil, the surface of which is always moist in the summer. The following composition of the mixture will be suitable: in equal proportions of sod, leaf, humus and peat soil, as well as sand in the same amount.
• The presence of a small pot or pots. It is noticed that in such containers the plant grows and blooms even better. The pot should not be too small. Ideal when there is about 1.5 cm between the wall of the pot and the root system.
• Moderate watering... On the one hand, insufficient watering will affect the state of the foliage - the lower leaves will begin to turn yellow. On the other hand, over-watering will cause the leaves to become lethargic and start to rot. But in hot weather, you still need to water more abundantly. At the same time, geranium tolerates drought well, therefore, if the plant grows in the fresh air and the owners from time to time forget to water the flower, then for some time it can endure this forgetfulness. In addition, the plant will be adversely affected by stagnant water in the soil, which can lead to the formation of mold, which is detrimental to geraniums. Remember, there is no need to spray geraniums, as this can lead to leaf rot.
• Top dressing of geraniums. Potash fertilizers are suitable in spring and summer. Frequency - once every 10 days.
• Timely transplant every 2 years in the spring. If the geranium does not yet need a larger pot, a partial transplant can be done. For this, only the top layer of soil is replaced with a fresh one.
• Protection from pests. Among the pests of geraniums, the whitefly is distinguished, which very often infects the leaves of plants that grow on the street. Therefore, before moving geraniums indoors, it is very important to inspect them for pests so that the whitefly does not infect other plants.
• Removal of withered flowers and dried leaves.

For someone care behind the ampelous geranium it is quite easy, but for someone it requires improving their skills, but in any case, this beauty, placed in a hanging planter or beautifully framing a pot, will always be a worthy decoration of your home, balcony or veranda.