This flower is widely known since the beginning of the 16th century. Since that time, blood-red geranium has become a popular garden and indoor plant. Today, this flower is cultivated as a mandatory attribute of homestead decoration - it is easy to care for and unpretentious to the living conditions of most climatic zones.
Garden Red Blood Geranium (Geranium sanguineum)
Blood red geranium is a variety of herbaceous perennials. In some sources, it is referred to as blood-red geranium or purple-red geranium, also known as red pelargonium. The flower belongs to the Geranium family. The peculiarity of the plant is long knotty roots. The plant is perennial, 13-15 seasons can grow in one place without transplantation.
Blood red geranium
The growing Geranium Sanguineum plant forms a bush of a spherical shape with a height of 20-50 cm. The shape of the bush is spherical - in width it can reach almost half a meter. A feature of flowering is a large number of inflorescences blooming continuously throughout the season.
Selection work has been deliberately conducted since the second half of the 19th century. During this time, about 250 varieties of geranium were bred. The plant is widely used in folk and traditional medicine.
Geranium Max Fry
During the growing season, a large number of leaves are formed. They tolerate frosts and fairly long periods of winters without problems.
The flowers have a semi-double texture. The plant is distinguished by a wide palette of colors. Purple or pink shades are considered dominant. The size of the flower is 3.5-4 cm. Blood-red geranium blooms only in sunny areas, flowering in partial shade and shadow is practically not observed.
Attention! When buying seeds, it is recommended to give preference to well-known world companies. Do not trust unknown brands.
Varieties of plants and popular winter-hardy varieties
For flower lovers, several varieties of geranium have been bred, which are not only unpretentious in cultivation and care. Many of them have an extremely interesting exterior.
- "Kenon Mills" is a popular variety of geraniums with beautiful light pink flowers of uniform color. The variety only wins the hearts of florists, but has every chance of becoming one of the favorites on the list of favorite varieties.
- "Alan Blum" - a variety of geraniums, distinguished by its pale pink flowers. One of the most common varieties of geraniums. It has high frost resistance. Unpretentious, suitable for cultivation in most climatic zones.
- "Striatum" is a flower of the summer flowering period. Feature is a large number of flowers. The striatum is literally covered with inflorescences. The variety is very popular in garden and park compositions due to abundant continuous flowering. This variety is also often called the crane because of the fruits formed after flowering, which are very similar to the beak of the crane.
- "Max Fry" - one of the most popular varieties of geraniums among garden designers. The plant has large, densely arranged pink flowers. Flowers attract attention with clearly drawn dark veins.
- "Horizon" is the common name for several varieties of geraniums, including the most popular Horizon Red Ice and Horizon Star. Varieties have an interesting color of flowers, with a contrasting border around the edges.
Variety Striatum
- "Album" - a variety of geraniums with delicate white flowers and specific decorative foliage. Album belongs to large-flowered varieties, the diameter of the flower often reaches 3-3.5 cm. Album tolerates frosts and has a long flowering period.
- "Maxima" - geranium with large double flowers with a bright rich cherry border. Maxima gets along well with other types of geraniums, while emphasizing her personality.
- "Maverick Star" - a variety characterized by the compact structure of the bush, a large number of inflorescences and dense rich foliage. Maverick will appeal to those who do not have the opportunity to have a large flowerbed.
- "Vision pink" is one of the most compact types of geranium. Vision - a small-sized bush, only 15 cm in height, goes well with tall species of plants.
Planting geranium blood red in the open ground
To obtain long-term flowering, much depends on the choice of the location of the geranium in the open ground and the creation of conditions for growth.
Grade Vision pink
- Location selection
For geraniums, it is recommended to choose a place with a lot of sunny color. The flower painfully transfers a shadow. But do not plant it in the sun. Direct sunlight for 4-6 hours a day in the summer will be enough for him.
- How to prepare the soil and flower for planting
For planting geraniums, it is recommended to choose a light and nutrient-rich soil. In the open ground they dig a hole two to two and a half times larger than a pot. With constant planting, the size of the pit is recommended to make 60 × 60 cm.
Flower pot with blooming geraniums
Attention! Geranium does not like heavily waterlogged areas. Do not plant in wetlands and lowlands with a high level of groundwater.
How to care for pelargonium in the summer
Experienced gardeners say about blood-red geranium, that if planting and care are done according to the rules, then in the first year it can give abundant growth and bloom. In the summer months, proper watering and top dressing are important factors here.
Watering rules and humidity
Geranium can not be called a water-loving plant, but this does not mean that you need to forget about watering. Watering is carried out evenly, with mandatory loosening of the soil under the bush.
At high temperatures, watering is carried out once every 4-5 days, under normal conditions, 1 watering in 7-10 days is enough.
Top dressing and soil quality
Feeding is carried out with mineral and organic fertilizers. For the summer months, the use of complex mineral or aqueous solutions of organic fertilizers is recommended.
Red geranium when grown at home prefers slightly acidic or neutral soil. In open ground conditions, it is recommended to choose a neutral environment, garden soil is suitable here.
Grade MAVERICK STAR
Pruning and transplanting
In the summer, pruning is done only on wilted stems and inflorescences. It is recommended to transplant by dividing the bush every 3-4 years. A positive effect on the condition of the plant planting in the summer in the open ground. But then in the fall you will have to repeat the procedure in reverse order.
Winter geranium care
Before the onset of winter cold, the shoots are cut, so that 2-3 lower leaves remain. Bloody geranium is a frost-resistant plant, but many gardeners still recommend sheltering bushes for the winter.
Attention! Description of many varieties recommends making autumn pruning. Contraindication applies only to royal geraniums, pruning is very harmful to this variety. Therefore, you need to be very careful so as not to harm.
Features of flowering plants
Blooming blood-red geraniums fall in the summer and can last all season. However, this property is not typical for all varieties of this species. Some varieties have their own special periods of growth, flowering and dormancy.
Period of activity and rest
Most varieties begin flowering in June-July. It lasts until mid-August. In September, fruiting begins. Some varieties have an increased flowering period from the first half of June to the first decade of September.
After the roses begin to fade, and the seeds fall out of the boxes, the plant begins to enter the dormant period, which lasts until the end of April next year.
Samosev usually begins to bloom in the second year, seedlings give the first color in the year of planting.
Types and forms of flowers
In red geraniums, the flowers bloom unevenly, usually one or two. The flowers collected in inflorescences bloom within 2-3 days. Single large ones usually open within 3-5 days on one plant. Petals have a straight, semi-double and double terry.
Flower propagation methods
When breeding geraniums, both seed propagation and flower division are used.
Propagation by division of a flower
When replanting a plant in the spring, it is recommended to simply break the bush into several parts. Put each part in a separate hole and pour plenty of water. The survival rate with this method is more than 95%.
Division of the bush before spring planting
Seed propagation
With seed propagation, it is recommended to grow seedlings. When propagating self-seeding, the survival rate is not more than 5-7%.
Seedling time in late April or early May. Seeds can also be dispersed in late autumn.
Growing problems, diseases and pests
The greatest number of problems in geraniums is associated with a violation of the water regime. Usually, waterlogging causes the death of a plant. The most dangerous in this case is a large amount of moisture at low temperatures.
If ticks, whiteflies and aphids are found, treatment with chamomile infusion is recommended. The solution is sprayed on the entire surface of the plant, the leaves are especially carefully processed. After 2-3 hours of action of the solution, it must be washed off.
When fungal diseases appear, treatment with Bordeaux mixture and Fitosporin is recommended. Processing should be done according to the schedule: 1 time in 10 days with a Bordeaux mixture, and after 7-10 days with Fitosporin.
Following all the recommendations and advice, you can plant a beautiful and healthy plant on the flowerbed that will please the eye for more than one year. The red variety of geraniums invariably captures the eyes, pleases both the owner of the site and its guests.
