The expert florist told me the dangerous mistakes that make geranium disappear in winter. I won't admit it anymore
Fiery fireworks, fellow flower growers! Who doesn't love geranium (pelargonium)?
If you want to keep the plant until spring - do not make fatal mistakes in the winter keeping of geranium. Avoiding them will help keep the bush not only healthy, but also ready for abundant flowering. What we need!
I, too, of course, did not bypass the side of pelargonium. I have both zonal and royal ones. I'm also thinking of buying angel pelargonium next year for a hanging basket on the veranda of the house.
Recently, I corresponded with a gardener-collector Elena, who has more than 80 varieties of pelargonium of different types. It was from her that I bought cuttings and choose new items for the next season in Lenin's catalogs. Deciding to take the opportunity, I asked a collector with 15 years of experience how to provide winter care for pelargoniums and get healthy plants by spring. Lena told me about the most dangerous mistakes. I am giving you valuable information, comrades!
Send all pots to a super cold winter with no experience
The geraniums wintering in the basement are at greatest risk. This storage method is suitable for growers with experience and free time. The low wintering temperature is not only conducive to a good experience. This, combined with high humidity, poses a health risk to plants by causing rot. The most dangerous consequence is the black leg.
When sending geraniums to winter in the basement, you should regularly monitor the condition of the plant. If you notice unpleasant changes, you should take action. You need to be prepared that a risky decision to store geraniums in the basement can bring an unpleasant surprise.
Improper watering is the scourge of wintering geraniums. From bay to rot to dry
Fortunately, pelargoniums more often winter in less extreme conditions. But here another danger creeps in - improper watering. Its frequency should directly depend on the conditions of detention. There is no single standard - I explain.
The most ideal wintering option for geraniums is in the coolness of about 10-15 C. It can be found on a closed balcony or veranda. And the lower the temperature, the slower the earth dries out. Consequently, watering is minimized.
In normal home conditions, when heating, the room temperature is quite high. Sometimes higher than in summer. Then the soil in the pot dries out faster than when the house was cool.
Therefore, you need to water the geranium not according to the schedule, but according to the state of the soil! For example, when it dries 1.5 cm. But, in any case, in winter, pelargoniums are watered less often than in the warm season. After all, their development slows down due to the reduction in daylight hours, and the plant consumes less water.. Allowing a complete desert in a pot is also not worth it, comrades.
Incorrect cropping prevents
I think the autumn pruning of geraniums is generally meaningless from the point of view of plant benefits. It won't make it any easier than pelargonium. It will still stretch out over the winter and go under the mandatory spring pruning. But, if the geranium has grown, then we cut it to an acceptable size. There is not enough space on the windowsills.
Cutting all shoots radically is a gross mistake. And even if the grower leaves 2-3 leaves out of pity, the plant does not expect anything good. The "caring" owner has reduced the area for photosynthesis (he is already difficult with a meager winter lighting) and reduced the area of evaporation from the leaves of moisture (the soil dries out even more slowly - hello, bay!)
One "But". To the owners of royal pelargoniums (with such a shape of large flowers, as in the photo above), it is imperative to cut the plant from the fall. Only for the reason that in winter she is already laying flower stalks. If some fellow florist does spring pruning, he loses half of the flower hats. It's a shame!