Few houseplants are as good at coping with heat as geraniums.This ability to survive makes them reign on Polish balconies for the next decade and there is no indication that anything will change in this respect.
Geraniums come mainly from South Africa. Years of breeding have led to the creation of thousands of different varieties, which can be assigned to one of the four main species groups.So we have bed, ivy, English and fragrant geraniums. All of them can be grown outdoors.
According to the informal division, ivy leaves are recommended for balcony boxes, flower beds for the ground, and English ones for apartments. Geraniums bloom profusely even if we forget to water them once or twice. Flowering will be longer, the more often we remove faded inflorescences. Geraniums prefer sunny locations, although some series, such as Saxonia, may also bloom in the shade.
Hybrids create a new quality
Interspecies hybrids are fashionable recently. These are, for example, crosses of striped (bed) and ivy-leaved geraniums, or domestic (English) and fragrant geraniums. The new plants obtained in this way combine the best features of both species. For example, varieties from the Candy Flowers series are distinguished by large flowers (after the home geranium) and small leaves resistant to mechanical damage (after Pelargonium crispum).
An additional advantage of hybrids is resistance unparalleled in other species. The varieties of the Candy Flowers series can withstand heat very well, and in residential conditions they bloom from mid-March. Hybrid geraniums reproduce from shoot cuttings collected at the end of winter.
Geraniums like light, well-drained and fertile soil. It is important that the fertilizers intended for their feeding contain phosphorus and potassium.The first one ensures the proper development of flower roots and buds, the second one increases disease resistance and is responsible for good flower development.It is best to use special dedicated fertilizers. We winter pelargonium in a bright but cool room. Cultivars from the bedding and ivy groups require temperatures in the range of 5-10 ° C.
