Geraniums are ideal plants for the balcony

Geraniums are ideal plants for the balcony

Plant and care for geraniums properly

Garden centers and florists often claim that geraniums don't need much maintenance: the opposite is true. So that the plants bloom profusely throughout the summer and become an eye-catcher, you have to water them regularly, fertilize them and also clean out what has faded and dried out. Geraniums need a lot of moisture and are heavy consumers, but at the same time you should not flood or overfertilize them - this only leads to various unsightly diseases. Even when planting, you can directly influence the well-being of the plants.

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Choice of location

First of all, this includes choosing the right location. Balconies facing south, south-west or south-east are ideal for geraniums and therefore lie in the sun all day. In addition, the sun-hungry plants need as much warmth as possible and good protection in persistent rainy weather.

Geraniums prefer a nutrient-rich substrate

As a substrate, geraniums prefer nutrient-rich and well-drained soil. In stores you can purchase special geranium soil that is directly tailored to the needs of the flowers. You can also mix the required soil yourself, whatever you want

  • 1 part compost soil
  • 1 part potting soil
  • as well as 1 part perlite (32.90 € at Amazon *) (or another clay granulate)

need.

Don't put it on the balcony too early

It is also necessary not to put geraniums on the balcony too early in the year. The plants are very sensitive to cold and should therefore not go outside before the ice saints (around mid-May). In addition, geraniums tend to simply stop growing at temperatures below 10 ° C.

Combine geraniums with other flowers

Some balcony gardeners like it pure and plant geraniums solo - often in one color or a mixture of different colors. The combination of red and white geraniums is very popular, as is known from the lush geranium plantations in Bavaria and Tyrol. However, the flowers can be wonderfully combined with numerous other flowering plants:

  • Verbenas
  • Magic bells
  • Petunias
  • Vanilla flowers
  • Elven mirror
  • Loyal to men
  • Gypsophila
  • Daisies / Bornholm daisies
  • Campanula

You can mix strongly hanging and standing varieties together. It is only important that the neighboring plants have the same needs in terms of location, substrate and care.

Tips

If you want to put the geraniums in a balcony box, choose a model with coaster if possible. This way, excess water can run off and your geraniums won't get wet feet.