Ultimate Guide to Geranium Bedding Plants Types, Diseases

Geranium Bedding Plants are some of the most popular plants around the globe due to their beautiful flowers and other useful characteristics.

Pelargonium is the kind of plant with a large number of species and their hybrids which can be found among these plants.

Closely related to the crane or stork of the plant kingdom, geraniums are prized for their durability and low-maintenance nature and would be an excellent addition to any beginner or advanced gardener who wants to paint lovely garden beds.

Types of Geraniums: Which Melon Variety Works Best for Your Garden?

In the case of geranium bedding plants, there exists a variety of what one is likely to grow and it is through this that one can be able to have a healthy garden.

Some of the geranium varieties have been classified according to the characteristics as follows; By knowing these differences you will be able to identify the right geraniums to be planted in your garden basing the climate and other conditions of your garden.

Zonal Geraniums: Seed-propagated geraniums are by far the most popular in the garden. They are so-called due to features that are termed black zones on their leaves.

Such Geranium Bedding Plants flower big, bright, and bloomers growing upright making it ideal to be grown in flower beds or borders.

Zonal geraniums can also grow under a wide area of exposure to light; however, they mostly grow well under full sunlight to somewhat partially shade.

Thanks to their bright flowers of shade red, pink, white, and purple, this favorite of the florists is popular among gardeners.

Ivy-Leaved Geraniums: Ivy-leaved geraniums are ideal for any gardener who wants to introduce the element of the cascade in the garden strip or the hanging baskets.

These are more like the ivy geraniums they have tendrils, small leaves, and smaller flowers than the others.

Ivy-leaved geraniums are well adapted for use in pots or as a large, trailing plant as the foliage prefers to spill from borders.

These plants will prefer an open location, with plenty of direct sunlight, and can contribute dignity to any garden situation.

Regal Geraniums: Other names for this plant include Martha Washington geraniums or royal geraniums, as they produce flowers of impressive size.

These flowers are thus usually two-toned and fuzzy, they will stand out in any garden. Still, regal geraniums are a little bit more tender and require better care than other kinds.

They are sensitive to heat and therefore they need to be watered and fed regularly so that they can grow well.

As you can see, they have their requirements, and nevertheless, they are worth it because of the impressive flowers they display.

How to Plant Geranium Bedding Plants

Geranium bedding plants can be propagated from seed or by cuttings that are taken from existing plants, so here’s how to go about it.

Proper planting of geranium bedding plants is important to the health as well as the growth of plants in the required colors.

To ensure that you plant the geraniums well and come up with the right garden bed, there are ways that must be followed in terms of timing, soil management, and the way to plant them.

When is the Best Time to Plant Geraniums?

The best months to plant Geranium Bedding Plants are during spring especially after the last frost has occurred.

Geraniums grow best in warm temperatures and therefore it is suitable to transplant when the soil has warmed up and there is no chance of frost.

Sowing too early will result in the young plants being attacked by cold weather which may hinder their growth or cause their death.

Soil Preparation: Geraniums should do well in well-draining soils that are further enhanced by organic materials.

Some of the recommended techniques of planting include incorporating compost or well-rotted manure before planting in order to enhance the physical properties of the soil.

Geraniums should be grown in soil with a pH range of 6 – slightly acidic to a neutral pH. 0 to 7. 0.

Your garden soil should preferably be light, if not, the area should be combined with sand or perlite, as geraniums cannot stand waterlogged soils.

Planting Techniques: Many times the spacing of geranium bedding plants has to be considered while planting them.

The plants should also be planted 8-12 inches apart, to enhance proper aeration, which discourages diseases and facilitates the growth of nice plants.

In this method of propagation, make a hole slightly bigger than the root ball of the geranium, then with the plant in the hole, fill the roots with the soil.

After planting, avoid tilling the soil around the plant because this will remove oxygen from the soil, and water the plant after planting to enable the root to penetrate the soil.

If you’re growing geraniums in pots then ensure that the pots have drainage holes so that water or excess nutrients do not accumulate at the base of the plants.

Water geraniums sparingly during early spring; use a well-draining potting mix and plant at the same depth as their previous pots.

Caring for Your Geranium Bedding Plants

It is important to ensure the geranium bedding plants are well maintained so that they continue to grow and produce bloom the whole season.

It is crucial to give proper care to Geraniums to retain their beauty and continue to blossom. Before giving Geraniums to friends and family or for sale, here are some tips to follow.

For it to give out fresh flowers, you need to follow the following guidelines to have your geranium blossom.

Watering Tips: The geraniums are slightly on that side which implies that once the plant is established; it will not require frequent watering.

When watering geraniums make sure that you water them well but not so often; let the soil dry before the next watering.

However, flooding the soil is dangerous due to the chances of root rotting and therefore the need to avoid a constantly wet condition of the soil.

It is suggested to water when the soil on the surface feels dry to the touch or even a little bit dry.

This is particularly important during the hot dry season where one may require to water frequently although one should be careful not to overwater.

Fertilization: There is nothing as disheartening as having your geraniums grow healthy and bushy, only to cease blooming, and fertilize the plants.

The geraniums can be fertilized using a balanced soluble fertilizer such as a 10-10-10 including Nitrogen, phosphor, and potassium.

This should be done every 4-6 weeks during the period that the plants are growing. Another option is to apply slow-release granular fertilizers at the start of the season so that the nutrients can be adopted slowly throughout the season.

Do not over-fertilize the flower because this will cause develop very much foliage as compared to flowers.

Common Pests and Diseases Affecting Geraniums

It is noteworthy, however, that geranium bedding plants, in general, resist many pest and disease problems.

With the knowledge of what you should look out for and how to handle these problems, you will be able to have your plants growing as they should.

Common Pests

Aphids: These tiny, piercing-sucking insects can result in curled leaves and dwarfing of the plant.

These pests are commonly located on the underside of affected leaves, or in close proximately to the youngest shoots of the plants.

When attacked by aphids you can blast the Geranium Bedding Plants with a strong water jet to remove the creatures or use insecticidal soap in case of a serious attack.

Spider Mites: Not easily seen by the naked eye they are small insects which can prove dangerous and can lead to yellowing of the foliage and fine cobweb formation.

Spider mites like a dry environment, hence watering the plants often and increasing humidity around the plants can help avoid the infestation. Other pesticides that may also help control spider mites are insecticidal soap or even neem oil.

Whiteflies: Whiteflies are minute-sized insects, small as to the size of a fly and they are white-colored insects that suck sap from the lower part of the leaves which leads to yellowing and wilting of the plant’s foliage.

Adult flies can be controlled using yellow sticky traps while the immature ones can be controlled using insecticidal soap or neem oil on the affected plants.

Best Companion Plants for Geraniums

Like newlyweds, bedding Geranium Bedding Plants plants should be with compatible partners to beautify your garden as well as for the well-being of the plant.

Succession planting is a way of planting that involves placing two or more plants together that are compatible with a view of enhancing their growth, and attractiveness and dealing with pests.

Marigolds: As for the plants that geraniums grow well with, marigolds are without a doubt a good choice not only because of the bright, happy flowers they produce but their ability to repel pests as well.

Marigolds give off a kind of aroma that repels most garden pests such as aphids and nematodes that might threaten your geraniums.

Also, geranium has warm harmonizing colors, for example, yellow and orange that blend well with the colors of the marigolds, thus giving your garden a nice touch.

Lavender: Another good plant that should be planted next to geraniums is lavender. Its soft green leaves possess insect-repellent properties against moths and fleas and the deep purple flowers give a nice accent to the geraniums.

Lavender also requires full sun exposure and well-drained soil same as geraniums hence makes a fantastic combination when planted together in garden soils or kept in pots.

Salvia: Geraniums are low-growing plants with lush green leaves and trailing stems and the towering spikes of Salvia provide height and foliar interest to beds of thriving geraniums.

This plant is both self-fertile and attracts other pollinating insects like bees and butterflies which in turn are good for any garden.

Another advantage of Salvia is its rather erect growth, which will complement the mounding form of geraniums in a given planting.

Designing a Geranium Flower Bed: Tips and Ideas

This extends beyond the planting of flowers; it is about planning to ensure that the geranium flowerbed you are planting is both beautiful and functional to enhance the beauty of your geranium bedding plants and blend with the rest of the garden.

Now, here are some tips and some ideas that you may consider in creating a beautiful flower bed of geraniums.

Consider Color Schemes: geraniums can be found in a variety of colors such as red colors, pink color, white color, and purple color.

While planting flowers, you also need to consider the kind of color combinations that you desire to create in your flower bed.

You can use a monochromatic form where you use similar color pallets or you can use splash of color where you use different colors.

For example, a Geranium Bedding Plants of red color with a white background is very dramatic but if one has a confusion of pink and purple, it will be more than just romantic.

Vary Heights and Textures: Incorporating plants with varied heights should also be placed in the flower bed so as to make it colorful and exciting.

Create a mass planting of singles with doubles, or group together tall geraniums with the low-growing varieties, or with plants that have opposite leaves such as ornamental grasses or ferns.

This variation makes your flower bed more interesting because it forms a layering on the flower bed that leads the eyes to wander around.

Use Edging Plants: It is recommended that the flower bed be made with low growers to give a well-finished and clear border.

Soft video displays might be proper anticipations; sweet alyssum which gives a gentle drip kind of border details or you can decide to use small and compact geraniums that will give you a neater edge.

Other benefits of using edging plants include: The plants are also well suited to stopping the washing of soils and holding mulch in place.

Propagating Geraniums from Cuttings

Another process of geranium bedding plant reproduction is through vegetative means by taking cuttings this is inexpensive and an efficient method of producing more plants for your garden.

The selected propagation method is beneficial if one seeks to extend the geraniums from a particular variety or exchange cultivars with others.

To maximize propagation it then becomes crucial to choose the right time to propagate.

It has been found that the most ideal period to propagate geranium cuttings is during the mid-summer or at the beginning of the autumn season.

But if you wish to produce more plants for the upcoming year’s growth, it is also possible to take cuttings in spring.

Selecting and Preparing Cuttings: To propagate geraniums, one has to choose healthy, non-flowering stems.

Ideal candidates for propagation should be stems that are about 4 to 6 inches long and should have two or three nodes.

Take a clean sharp-edged knife/ pruning shears and cut the stem exactly at the base of the sub-leaf node.

Once you have taken the cutting, pinch off the lower leaves leaving only close to 2 inches of the stem portion.

If there are any flower buds or flowers on the cutting, then they should also be pruned off. This ensures that the cutting devotes all its energy towards establishing roots rather than on the flowers it is supposed to produce.

Best Companion Plants for Geranium Bedding

Here are some of the best companion plants that can be made to grow alongside geraniums; these not only increase the beauty of geranium flowers but also offer more interest to your garden beds.

This article will advise some of the best plants to team up your geranium bedding plants and give you lush and colorful plants.

Petunias: The petunias and geraniums have similar coloring and also have similar needs when it comes to the environment they need to grow in.

Petunias also are available in a variety of colors and patterns in the flower bed to contrast with plants.

Geraniums are also compatible in terms of light and soil requirements of which most do well under full sun but also perform well under partial shade.

Choose trailing petunias in containers or hanging baskets so they drape over a container’s edge and stand upright over geraniums.

Lobelia: Geraniums also love growing next to other plants such as lobelia, especially in areas of containers and hanging baskets.

Unlike the non-stop standing geranium species, it creeps on the ground. Lobelia is of blue, purple, and white thus creating that cool blend as compared to the warmer tones of geraniums.

It also grows in similar circumstances; therefore, it will not be much of a problem to incorporate it into your geranium arrangements.

Marigolds: There are bright cheerful marigolds that can be planted alongside geraniums.

Its flowers are yellow, orange, and red which harmonizes with geraniums or else will give a splash of sunlight in the Hawaiian sense.

It also has many other uses such as eliminating pest that may affect the geraniums eliminating pests that may affect geraniums.

Designing a Geranium-Themed Garden

Geranium Bedding Plants can easily be incorporated into a garden that can produce a pleasant and well-coordinated look of a garden.

If you would like to grow geranium plants either in a small garden bed or across the entire landscape, here’s how to go about it to give your garden a geranium-themed look.

Choosing a Color Scheme: While coming up with ideas several aspects should be considered while planning a geranium-based garden; One of the important aspects would be the color scheme.

Geranium Bedding Plants are available in all shades ranging from the bolder ones such as red and pink to the pastel ones such as white and purple.

Decide on different shades of one color, and your garden will contain plants with only one color, but different shades of it, or opt for a diverse color palette and make your garden as bright as possible.

If you want the garden lamps to blend in well then ensure that you use the right colors that match or use related colors that are in the right combination depending on the color preference of your garden.

Creating Focal Points: It is advised to work geraniums as specimen plants in your garden.

They can be used where you would like to give an aesthetic look to the entry of your garden along the borders of the garden paths or in pots placed on the verandahs.

Large planted Geranium Bedding Plants or placing them in sets and clusters create a statement or statement out of it or placing them amidst other plants makes it much more eye-appealing. It is good to use geraniums in a focal point such as a garden island or even a container.

Mixing with Other Plants: For stylish and fancy looks to your geranium-themed garden, you should plant other plants alongside geraniums.

One needs to select plants that require the same kind of light and soil and this will help them grow well together.

Geranium Bedding Plants are best grown alongside low-growing ground covers, thereby giving the plants a more dense appearance as well as height, or else grouped with taller plants to produce an erect feel.

It is advised that you should add a few varieties of other plants such as ornamental grasses or perennials that will give a good contrast and texture to your geraniums.

Conclusion

It is for this reason that geranium bedding plants should be cultivated in any garden as they come in very many bright colors and can fit in any style of landscape design.

Through learning the increasing needs, problems, and annual maintenance of geraniums, you will be able to have a gorgeous and healthy geranium all year round.

Whether you are establishing a specific garden taking care of containers or growing new plants, all the important factors are implementing care and maintenance.

FAQS

Also Read

• Sedum Coca Cola

• Viburnum Tinus Spirit

• Geranium Russell Pritchard

• Black Jewel Orchids

• Apache Chilli Scoville

• Euphorbia Red Wing

• Pea Early Onward