Expert: C.L. Fornari - 7/15/2009

Question
Hello
I must be doing something wrong. i live in Oklahoma and this is the second year I have tried to grow gerniums in pots. I buy them blooming and I can never get them to bloom again! please help!

Answer
Susan,
Here are some of the things that geraniums need in order to keep blooming:
1. At least a half of a day of full sun - these don't bloom well in shade.
2. Crowded in the pot - geraniums need to be a bit root bound in order to bloom well. If you are planting them in window boxes or larger pots, be sure that the box or pot isn't more than twice the size of the pot the geranium came in. If your box or pot is much larger, transplant the geranium into a plastic pot that is only twice the size of the original, and then sink that pot into your larger container. The geranium will become root bound sooner if it's contained in another pot.
3. Fertilizer - use a fertilizer that is slightly higher in nitrogen, not one of the "bloom booster" types with a very high middle number if you can find it. Osmocote Plus, and Proven Winners fertilizers are examples. You don't want a REALLY high first number nor do you want a high second number - these are listed on the package.
4. Deadheading - remove all flowers just as they are beginning to wilt. This will stimulate the production of new ones.

If you combine all of the above I think you'll have success!

all the best,
C.L.