Pelargonia — Pelargonium
Pelargonium has gained great popularity thanks to its beautiful flowers gathered in magnificent inflorescences and long-term flowering. There are three species in cultivation: geranium passage, p. ivy and p. large-scale, incorrectly called English pelargonium.
Pelargonia pasiasta (P. Area) it is distinguished by thick stems, semi-woody at the base, erected, heart-shaped leaves, flapped, softly hairy, flowers gathered in large log-roofs. There are many varieties with single or full flowers, tinted pink, salmon, orange, red or purple.
Ivy-leaved pelargonium (P. peltate) its shoots are elongated and hanging downwards, smooth leaves, clearly lobed and ribbed. Pink flowers, red or violet.
Because both of these species bloom all summer, They are eagerly used to decorate boxes on balconies and terraces, and striped pelargonium is also planted in flowerbeds and flower containers.
Large-flowered pelargonium (P. grandiflorum) it is characterized by large flowers, in which the upper petals have red or purple stains. There are varieties with flowers from white, pink, red to dark purple. P. the large-scale plant is grown as a houseplant. The flowers appear in the spring.
Growing striped and ivy geraniums. They are propagated by cuttings on two dates, in August or at the end of January and February. By using the first term in the summer of next year, we will get stronger and earlier flowering plants. The cuttings are cut from healthy top or side shoots; shoots obtained with a heel take root better. The seedling should have 4 well-formed leaves, one or two of which is shortened by leaving 1 cm petiole. To protect the seedlings from rotting, remove the pinched bracts at the base of the petioles.. Place the seedlings in a multiplier at a temperature of 18-20 °, shallow, in a well-compacted substrate composed of sand mixed with an equal amount of peat, using a 4X6 cm spacing. Then we water them and cover them with frame windows. Sprinkle carefully every day. Po 2 weeks should begin to take root, and then we plant it in pots 8-9 cm in diameter to the frame soil with the addition 2 kg of horn filings, 1,5 kg of bone meal i 1,0 kg of potassium salt per 1 m3. We place the pots one next to the other (144 or 121 pcs. on 1 running meters of the table) in a greenhouse with a temperature of 12-15 °. We keep it and water it moderately.
If we did not prepare the seedlings in August, we store the mother plants in a cool greenhouse during the winter, at a temperature of 6-8 °, we water it moderately (more or less 2 times a week) and on warmer days, sunny - aired. In January, the temperature rises to 10-12 ° C, and at the end of the month, the planting begins according to the above-mentioned rules. The tops of plant shoots can be used for seedlings, which were bred in August. Trimming the main shoot of young plants will make them more branching.
Pelargonie, overgrown in pots with a diameter of 8-9 cm are planted in pots with a diameter 10 cm in the same ground. In mid-April, you can pit the pelargonium in the inspection, po 60 pcs. in the window, and in the second half of May, move to flower beds or balconies.
Growing large-flowered geraniums. It reproduces by means of cuttings prepared as for p. passion, but only in August. The large-leaved pelargonium is more delicate than the previous ones and it will root better, if the seedlings are placed in a warm inspection or in a greenhouse on a heated table. They take root after 3 weeks, then plant them into pots with a diameter 10 cm to universal soil or compost soil with the addition of peat. Water the plants moderately, but we are strongly ventilated. In mid-September, we remove the tops, for the geraniums to bloom.
If the plants were pitted in the inspection, at the end of September, we transfer them to the greenhouse, placing them on the table in 5 rows. During the winter, we keep the temperature below 13 °. It is best when it is around 8 °, because at this temperature the large-leaved pelargonium develops flower buds, however, it should not fall below 2 °, because it has a negative effect on flowering.
In February, large-flowered geraniums are transplanted into fresh soil into pots with a diameter of 12-14 cm., then what 10 feeds days with slurry. Water the plants moderately, and we ventilate greenhouses, since the geranium is easily taken over by the greenhouse whitefly.
The beginning of flowering is in April, so after 8 months after planting. The cultivation of large-flowered geraniums is too little popular in Poland.