Meadow geranium is a decorative plant with attractive flowers of blue and purple hues. Having met a clearing with blue flowers on the way, it will be difficult to look away from it. Not only bright inflorescences, but also carved leaves have a decorative effect. Since the plant loves good lighting, it can be found not only in fields and meadows, but also on the edges of the forest, as well as in the landscape design of garden plots.
Wild meadow geranium - what kind of flower
Field geranium or, as it is also called, wild geranium is a flowering plant, which is easy to plant in its garden. Despite the fact that the plant really grows better in the wild, with good care it can give a high decorative effect in captivity.
Wild flower growing in the field
This botanical species has long taken root in the plots. The characteristics of the plant allows you to grow it in the middle and southern strip of Russia, and it tolerates cold winters.
A brief description of where it grows in the wild
Science assigns meadow meadow geranium to a family of the same name. A geranium plant loves open areas and moist ground. In height, the flower reaches 20-80 cm, depending on how fertile the soil is. The flower has a powerful root system, it is pollinated in a cross way. Active flowering occurs from the beginning to the middle of summer, and fruiting begins at the end of the season.
On a note! The seeds of the plant are somewhat similar to the beak of the crane, for this reason the people call the plant crane.
Medicinal properties and contraindications for use
Meadow geranium has healing properties. Since the 16th century, it began to be used in the form of a medicinal plant. Grass and rhizome were used as raw materials. Chemists claim the presence of vitamin K, essential oils, keratin and ascorbic acid in the plant.
Varieties derived from meadow geraniums
Based on wild geraniums, breeders have bred no less attractive plants. You should learn more about the most popular of them.
Purple birdies
This plant is extremely attractive, but unpretentious in care. The flower perfectly tolerates frosts, in height it reaches 1 meter. The lush flower is large enough, its diameter is often 10 cm. The plant forms lush bushes. Geranium is planted as a single plant or in a common flowerbed. With any planting, the plant will delight the gardener with beautiful blue and purple flowers all summer.
Focus Pocus
This geranium is perennial, has a shortened rhizome. The flower is painted in purple-lavender color, and the foliage is dark purple. The height of the plant is 40 cm, it blooms from June to the end of July.
On a note! This species can be propagated by dividing the bush, but only after flowering has ended.
Splash Splash
The inflorescences of this perennial bush are large enough, well open, painted in lilac-white or blue-white. Some petals have interesting blotches. In landscape design, single geraniums are made from this geranium or used in the creation of mixborders.
Perple gost
The name of the variety is translated as a blue ghost. The plant is quite rare and amazing. Carved flower leaves are painted in a chocolate-violet hue, and inflorescences are white. It turns out a very beautiful contrast. The bush reaches a height of 50 cm, and blooms from early summer to mid-autumn.
Sort Perple gost
Laura
The variety is very decorative. Geranium blooms in large white flowers, and the foliage has a beautiful openwork design. The plant is completely unpretentious in care. In the wild, the variety grows in meadows, in the mountains and near small rivers. Small compact bushes are clearly visible during flowering.
Is it possible to transplant meadow geranium to the site
For transplanting meadow geranium to the site, it is important to correctly select a place for its growth. Light fertile soil will allow you to get a long and beautiful flowering. The flower itself does not like transplants; in one place it can calmly grow for at least 10 years. If the landscape is annoying, it can be diluted with a flower of pelargonium. The choice of variety will be an important criterion for good plant growth:
- Large-flowered geranium will take root in sunny dry areas.
- Himalayan, Meadow and Magnificent geraniums will develop well in humid and warm areas.
- The Balkan variety prefers dry soil and almost complete shade.
- Swamp and Himalayan geraniums are not averse to growing in moist shady places.
Important! To collect seeds, you need to prepare a pod wrapped in a paper bag in advance. When the shell of the pod bursts, all the seeds will remain in the bag, and they can be planted on the site.
Features of cultivation and care
Geranium does not require special care. The main thing to do is water the plant and weed. Geraniums are weeded in May, when there is not much foliage on the flower. This will be beneficial for the root system, as it will receive more oxygen. If the gardener critically does not have enough time for loosening, you can plant undersized bushes between geraniums and mulch.
The regimen of water procedures for the crane is extremely important. The plant categorically does not tolerate drought, but abundant watering often leads to problems in the form of rotten roots.
Note! The plant tolerates winter well, even in the open ground it does not have to be covered.
Propagation of wild geraniums using cuttings, seeds or processes
Geranium can be propagated by seeds and vegetatively. Garden varieties are propagated by seed extremely rarely. This is due to the difficult process of germination of the material. In addition, seeds are extremely difficult to collect. While the gardener expects them to mature, they are scattered naturally.
Purchased seeds can be planted just before winter. After collecting them at the end of summer, sowing is started in the fall, so that seedlings can take root by the onset of cold weather. It is very reliable to plant seeds in winter when the soil is already frozen. So shoots will appear with the onset of spring.
Geranium cuttings
Most often propagated geranium cuttings. In this case, you can do without shelters and the use of phytohormones. For planting, small pots are selected that are filled with sand and a nutrient mixture. Before rooting, it is important to carry out regular watering.
With the help of air layers in the spring, it is realistic to get a full-fledged plant with a developed root system. The method is quite simple. It is only necessary to bend the flower shoots to the ground and lower them into the prepared furrows, and then fill it with soil.
Growing problems, diseases and pests
Geraniums are often attacked by pests. Most often it is aphids, scale insects, whiteflies or ticks. Insecticides should be used immediately to control insects. One treatment will not be enough, so in a week you will have to repeat the procedure.
If the plant is not watered enough, its foliage begins to turn yellow. With a lack of light, the stem is barely exposed. Fungal pathologies often bother geraniums. These are diseases of powdery mildew and brown spotting. Biofungicides help get rid of diseases, but only in the early stages of their development. If the lesion has become extensive, it is better to dig up and destroy the shrub.
Forest and meadow geraniums not only have healing properties, but also have a high decorative effect. Having planted this plant, the gardener can no longer deny himself the pleasure of trying new varieties.
