How to properly care for the royal pelargonium

A plant with a magnificent appearance, and therefore a real favorite among flower growers is geranium or, more scientifically, royal pelargonium. This is a flower native to South America. He came to Europe in the 18th century, and since then breeders have bred a wide variety of varieties that differ in appearance and characteristics.

Pelargonium on the windowsill

Description

Royal pelargonium as a botanical species is called large-flowered and belongs to the Geranium family.

Interesting fact
Geranium and pelargonium are different plants, but very often, calling a flower geranium, flower growers mean pelargonium.

The bush of pelargonium is small and reaches 60 cm. The stems are grassy, ​​erect, fully covered with dark green leaves with a rough surface and a small fluff. The plant is distinguished by large inflorescences, which, with good care, can be up to 25 cm in diameter. It is for them that pelargonium is appreciated.

Pelargonium Mona Lisa

Pelargonium Mona Lisa

One flower with a diameter of about 5-7 cm, the petals located on top are fan-shaped on the bottom, while their color and shape are diverse: they are lilac, purple, white or painted in almost any shade of red. One bud may include several contrasting tones. In form, flowers are found ordinary and double (most often), with corrugated, smooth or wavy edges, practically do not smell.

Pelargonium Pink Mikado

Pelargonium Pink Mikado

Pelargonium Regal looks equally beautiful in a planter on the wall and exhibited on the windowsill. In the summer months, the plant is often planted on the balcony. With proper care and top dressing, royal pelargonium blooms for three to four months. The remaining types of geraniums bloom much longer to achieve the same from the queen - they need constant pruning of dried buds and the introduction of mineral fertilizers, which include phosphorus and potassium. As a means of lengthening the flowering period, the royal pelargonium is inoculated into other varieties of this flower.

Pelargonium regal

Pelargonium Regal

Varieties

Breeders bred a lot of varieties of royal pelargonium, but only a few of them were especially fond of gardeners:

  1. Pink mikado - the flowers are very large, pink, with a wavy edge at the petals.
  2. Carisbrooke - plants with light pink flowers, on the upper petals a marble pattern in the form of strokes and spots.
  3. Nellie - petals are wavy, dark red and white, semi-double flowers.
  4. Aristo schoko - the flowers are large, with a very dark color of petals (red, almost black), a border is located on their edge, which is one or two shades lighter than the main color.
  5. Sally Munro - the variety is capable of blooming several times during the season, differs in large flowers, the lower petals are pinkish, the upper ones are of a dark red hue.
  6. Mona lisa - plants with large white flowers with pink stamens, petals with wavy edges.
Pelargonium Mona Lisa

Pelargonium Mona Lisa

Home Care

Royal pelargonium is a plant quite demanding on growing conditions, and growing it at home is not a simple matter. Violation of the rules of care is fraught with the cessation of flowering. The flower does not grow well in the shade, and direct sunlight leads to burns on delicate velvety leaves. Inadequate and excessive watering is equally detrimental to the state of the plant.

Pelargonium Sally Munro

Pelargonium Sally Munro

Illumination. If the plant receives a sufficient amount of light, then the flowering will be long and plentiful.The flowerpot is allowed to be placed on the windowsill of a window facing south, but it is necessary to protect the flower from direct sunlight.

Tip
In the winter months, illuminate the plant with phytolamps. This will prevent the stems from stretching due to lack of light.

Temperature mode. In summer, the thermometer in the room where the royal pelargonium is located should not rise above + 24 ° C. In winter, the flower is at rest, for which the optimal mode is from +12 to + 15 ° C. Draft is unacceptable. If you neglect these rules, pelargonium will not bloom.

Pelargonium Carisbrooke

Pelargonium Carisbrooke


Humidity.
This indicator does not matter much. Pelargonium tolerates a dry and humid atmosphere, but when spraying (if the air in the room is very dry), droplets of water on flowers and leaves should be avoided.

Tip
Pelargonium is very fond of fresh air, so in the summer, be sure to take it to the street or balcony. This will provide an excellent appearance of the plant, a longer and more plentiful flowering.

Watering. In the summer months, royal pelargonium should be abundantly watered twice a week, if it is hot, then it must be done every other day, and in some cases every day. The main criterion by which the need for watering is determined is the dried up topsoil.

Pelargonium Nellie

Pelargonium Nellie

purityis.decorexpro.com/en/ magazine recommends watering the plant with well-settled water (at least 12 hours), and not in a pot, but in a tray. Boiled water is suitable.

Top dressing.
In spring and summer, when the plant blooms, it is necessary to apply complex mineral fertilizers with a high content of phosphorus and potassium once every two weeks. This will extend the flowering period by several weeks. Pelargonium royal will taste fertilizers designed specifically for indoor plants, for example, “For flowering plants” or “Merry flower girl”. If the complex fertilizer contains too much nitrogen, then the stems and leaves will grow well, and less and less buds will form. In winter, feeding is not necessary.

Pelargonium Aristo Schoko

Pelargonium Aristo Schoko

Priming. At the bottom of the pot, it is necessary to place a layer of drainage, which will ensure the removal of excess fluid, preventing water stagnation. The substrate should have a slightly alkaline or neutral reaction.

Tip
Regular ash will help to reduce acidity - pour it a little in a flowerpot. In addition to the alkalizing effect, ash will be a good fertilizer.

Properly conducted care ensures the flowering of the royal pelargonium for several months annually.

Reproduction and transplantation

Reproduction of royal pelargonium is carried out, most often, by cuttings, since seeds are not easy to find even in online stores. In addition, the signs of terry of the most beautiful flowers during seed reproduction are not transmitted. The best period to root the cuttings of the royal pelargonium is September and August, but it is allowed to do this all year round.

Cut the stalk at an angle of 45 degrees 5 mm below the internodes, for dwarf and small plants, its length should be about 5 cm, for large, tall - 10 cm. Remove the lower leaves and buds from the shoots, leaving only the top three. Sprinkle the place of cut with charcoal (chopped) and let the cuttings lie in the air for 18 to 24 hours.

Cuttings of Pelargonium

There is another way of rooting. 10 minutes after the cuttings were cut from the bush, carry out the following activities:

  • treat the cuttings with root;
  • plant in a mixture of peat, humus and sand or in wet peat tablets;
  • cover for three days with non-woven fabric.

For rooting, cuttings should not be placed in ordinary water: they will rot or not allow roots. Young shoots need moderate watering, as they are sensitive to excess moisture.

Tip
Pour cuttings planted phytosporin. This technique will prevent the development of rot slices.

Rooting should occur at a temperature of +19 to + 23 ° C.The roots will appear after a maximum of 12 weeks, after which plant the cuttings in a pot, where the plant will be grown continuously. Pinch the main stem over the third pair of leaves, this will ensure the growth of new lateral shoots. With proper care of young plants, the first inflorescences will appear next spring.

Propagation of Pelargonium

The aerial part grows very rapidly in all pelargoniums, regardless of species. Over the summer, with good care, the bush and roots will noticeably lengthen. If when extracting an earthen coma from the pot, it is clear that the roots completely braided the soil, then in February transplant pelargonium. The soil must retain moisture, perfectly pass air and be loose. An ideal soil mixture would be sand, garden soil and peat taken in equal parts.

Stagnant water in the pot provokes root rot, to prevent the occurrence of a problem, lay a thick layer of drainage on the bottom of the container.

Tip
Do not plant royal pelargonium in containers that are too wide, otherwise the buds may not appear. The fact is that in a large pot, pelargonium is actively increasing its green mass.

Useful Tips

When growing royal pelargonium, most often there are problems with excess moisture during excessive watering.

Sick Pelargonium

The recommendations of experienced gardeners will help to timely detect the problem and eliminate it:

  1. If the leaves below are turning yellow, the reasons may be different. The elasticity of the sheet plates does not change, but the edges dry out with a lack of moisture. Sluggish and decayed leaves indicate excessive watering. Yellowed leaf blades around the edges indicate a lack of nutrients in the soil, which systematic top dressing will help to fill.
  2. Pelargonium leaves turn red if it freezes, so in the cold months of the year, remove the flower pot from the windowsill and place it at a distance from the window.
  3. The base of the stem darkens when the flower is affected by a black leg. It will not be possible to cure from this disease or save the flower; it is necessary to destroy pelargonium as soon as possible in order to prevent the spread of the pathogen to other indoor plants.
  4. The leaves fall off and the stalk is exposed with insufficient illumination of the flower. Most often this happens in winter. To correct the situation, supplement the pelargonium with a phytolamp.
  5. Watery soft pads appear on leaf blades with the simultaneous action of two unfavorable factors: excess moisture and lack of light. Eliminates the problem of additional illumination with a phytolamp and a decrease in the number of waterings.
  6. Pelargonium, planted in open ground, will not bloom if too much fertilizer has been applied to the soil or there is intense heat. Rearrange the flowerpot in partial shade and water more often. Stop feeding the plant, especially if the flowers have not appeared, but pelargonium grows very quickly.
  7. A plant located indoors does not bloom most often due to a lack of light, an excess of fertilizing, and practically the same air temperature day and night. Stop applying fertilizer for some time, do lightning, or move the pot to a more lighted place.
  8. Pelargonium buds can dry and fall, even without opening, due to excessively high humidity, excessive watering. Reduce the frequency or volume of soil moisture, provide a drier atmosphere.

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