How to Get Geraniums to Keep Blooming

Overview

Geraniums, or Pelargoniums, are native to South Africa. They are also known as garden geraniums or zonal geraniums. Pelargoniums are available with blooms in a variety of reds, whites, or pinks. Some of the new hybrids have colorful, decorative leaves as well. After an initial rush of blooms, geraniums sometimes reach a point where they do not flower much. Part of this may be due to the controlled conditions they were grown under in the greenhouse, and the change when you brought them home. Geraniums also need some simple attention to keep them at their best.

Step 1

Pinch off spent blooms. Geraniums will focus on seed production instead of new blooms if spent flowers are left on the plant. Remove the faded flowers, and any leaves and stems that are dry and brown.

Step 2

Pinch back leggy branches. This encourages a more bushy branching habit, and more growing tips where flowers will emerge. Pinch back geraniums if they are tall and you do not see blooms developing.

Step 3

Fertilize your geraniums with a balanced fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10 or 14-14-14. Phosphorus, the second number in the fertilizer ratio, is what encourages flowering, and it needs to be equal in the ratio to promote blooms. Keep geraniums moist, and don't let them completely dry out between watering. Be sure the soil is well drained and that the roots are not soggy.

Step 4

Plant your geraniums where they will receive plenty of sunlight. They need six hours a day, or more if it is filtered sunlight. If the plant struggles to get enough light, it will not produce flowers.