And Then There Were Geraniums

I've always loved geraniums but I never could grow them as big and beautiful as I wanted. I could keep them alive through the winter but the seed geraniums I bought at the garden center every year just didn't thrive like the pretty ones I've seen in magazines.

It took me all this time to figure out what makes them happy. I always put them in full sun like the tags and all the books say. But every year they would get scorched and just most of them dried up and withered up and died every year.

But I made a real effort to study them this year. I got some seeds and decided to grow my own. Nobody can afford these prices. They are crazy prices for young seedlings and plants at all the stores. I'm not going to pay 3.50 for one seed geranium or $5 for one in a five inch pot. It's time for some DIY!.

my helper Olivia

I got 30 seeds of different colored geraniums online from Etsy and every one of them germinated. I grew 30 geraniums in my sun windows last winter and they all were healthy and outgrew their little seedling pots. So I put them into four inch pots this spring and kept them going until it was time to set them out.

They didn't bloom until I planted them outside. I only put three of them in the side yard, seven of them in the back planters and the rest I planted on my front porch. They get morning sun and a little bit of sun in the day that makes it's way through the trees.

And to my surprise, they all lived and bloomed. A few of them are going crazy with massive blooms. They only get rain water from the rain barrel and I give them plant food every third watering. They love plant food and they love to be watered when the top inch of soil gets dry. 

my other helper Elliott

One mistake I made when I tried to grow them in full sun was to keep them too dry. They can take dry soil better than most plants because they can take the heat but that doesn't mean you don't have to water them. And I never gave them plant food but this year I learned that they actually like the nutrients in plant food - and it shows.

If I'd only known how well they would do on the front porch I would have planted them there years ago. I usually only plant impatiens and coleus there because it doesn't get a lot of sun.

The secret to big blooming geraniums is to take them in for the winter and when you bring them back out the next year, they get huge. You also have to pinch the seedlings to make them bushy. And you have to take cuttings so they will branch and spread. Last years geraniums that lived are just blooming their heads off. I'm glad I only put one plant in each of these containers. Come fall before the first frost I will be pulling all of these up and bringing them in. I'll also be taking cuttings for new plants to keep all winter for next year. This could get massive. I have never had geraniums grow this big and beautiful for me.

I'm calling this the year of the geraniums!