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Geranium 'Vision Violet' care

adrian_maidmentadrian_maidment Posts: 41
in Plants
We have one of these geraniums that we planted around 2 years ago. It looks healthy with plenty of green leaves but there were very few flowers this year. I haven't really done much except water and very occasionally feed this year.

How should I care for it so it flowers better next year? I've read on one site to cut it almost to the ground in spring but other sites (e.g. RHS) don't say this.

Thanks
   Adrian

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Hi Adrian - it's not one I'm familiar with, but I think if you're cutting back in spring, you're preventing the flowers forming, or at least, delaying flowering. I would leave it, and see what happens next year, just removing old dead leaves. You can usually cut geraniums back after flowering though, which produces new fresh growth, and often another flush of late flowers.

    I wouldn't overfeed either. That can often promote a lot of green growth, at the expense of flowers. A general feed in spring is usually plenty for them  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    You can do either with these, sometimes I forget to cut mine back, it doesn't matter, but I prefer to trim it all off to tidy up in winter...  there are a number of these sanguineums very similar and you need an expert eye to see the differences... I have 'New Hampshire Purple' and 'Max Frei'...   here's 'MF' below...

    East Anglia, England
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    I see you wanted to know why you got few flowers... I do find some can be a bit shy... I don't bother feeding mine, they seem quite thrifty to me, perhaps a bit of mulch around the base, but really you shouldn't need to bother yourself too much over them, so if it doesn't bloom much then I'm sorry but I'd get rid of it and try another...
    East Anglia, England
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    Here's a better one of mine.. this is 'Apple Blossom' ['Apfelblute'], the blush pink one.. it flowers all summer into autumn... do give it a try if you want a change..

    East Anglia, England
  • adrian_maidmentadrian_maidment Posts: 41
    Thanks both. It seems healthy so I'll see how it goes next year.

    Malorena, yours look beautiful so I'll definitely try one of those varieties if mine doesn't improve.

    So would it be worth cutting it right back now/soon to encourage it next year?
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    edited October 2018
    No, not really, if you cut it back now it will regrow with fresh foliage whilst the weather is mild.. they are semi-evergreen and only lose their leafage during the worst of winter weather... you may not need to snip any off by Spring, -late Feb time - but if there's still some showing you can do that then... just snip back to ground level... the roots spread under the soil and produce new stems...

    … you can also shear it in July time, after the first main flush of flowers is over, so it will regrow with fresh foliage and encourage later blooms... I do this with a lot of Geraniums..    these are easy care plants...
    East Anglia, England
  • adrian_maidmentadrian_maidment Posts: 41
    Thanks for the advice. I'll see how it looks in early Spring.
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