Beautiful blooms that fill multiple stems make geraniums popular. Their vibrant foliage and flowers enhance hanging baskets, containers, window boxes, and flowerbeds.
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Many gardeners' geraniums become scraggly, weak, and sad by midsummer. Once beautiful and well-maintained plants often need help recovering from spent blooms or inconsistent growth.
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Some geranium growth can rise above the plant in summer. Even healthy, well-growing plants can look scraggly and leggy due to taller growth.
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You can pinch off the taller growth, even if it has new buds. This will keep plants neat and compact as they grow in late summer.
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Instead of pinching the plant back behind the buds, follow the long stem to where it meets another stem and pinch it off. You can use sharp pruners or your fingernail to snap it off.
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Removing excess plant material lets the plant focus on the blooms and growth you left behind. This can be done throughout the growing season, but midsummer is crucial.
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Finally, if your plant looks tired, cut it back more. It may take weeks to regenerate new growth, but it will improve the plant until autumn.
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Geraniums need power and nutrients to grow and bloom. This is especially important for hanging basket and container flowers. The soil in pots and containers has few resources.
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Geraniums can struggle by mid-summer without regular nutrient replenishment. First, blooms will stop and foliage will fade. A lack of nutrients will kill the plants.
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Though container geraniums can struggle, others can too. By midsummer, ground-grown plants can also run out of resources.
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