Marianne's Response

campbellkid63@gmail.com

I have a geranium plant that has not blossomed in very long time. Can you help?

Posted by Carolyn Campbell on August 6, 2018

Marianne's Response

I assume you mean the classic geranium (Pelargoniums) with the rounded leaves often grown in pots and not the hardy geranium or true geranium grown as a groundcover. The classic geraniums will fail to bloom if they are given too much high nitrogen fertilizer - such as lawn fertilizer leaching into their root zone, or if they are given too much shade and too much water. Although geraniums love sun and are heat tolerant, too much heat and humidity can cause them to stop blooming. This most often happens in the Southern states. So if you think you may have overfertilized water well to leach the high nitrogen fertilizer from the soil. Grow geraniums where they will get at least 6 hours of sun and if you live in a hot climate make sure they get afternoon shade. Keep the soil a bit on the dry side and remove any faded blooms to encourage more flowers. I feed my potted geraniums just once in the spring with a dose of Osmocote All Purpose plant food. I also grow my geraniums in clay pots as the terra cotta pots will breathe a bit and I won't have to risk stem or root rot from damp soil after a few rainy days. May you be singing "this bud's for you" soon. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti