Iodine for flowering geraniums: fertilizing the plant with this fertilizer and hydrogen peroxide, preparing for watering, and also why it is needed and how not to harm it?

Geranium is a popular home plant. It actively decorates balconies and window sills, as well as a flower bed and garden plots. Such popularity is associated with the long flowering of geraniums, a variety of colors and ease of care. If you follow simple rules, you can enjoy flowering from early spring to winter.

Particular attention should be paid to dressing, thanks to which the bright colors of the flowers over the long term will delight your eye. Positive flower responds to iodine solution.

Plant description

This is an annual and perennial plant. The stems are up to 50 cm tall. The leaves are bright dark green in color. The flowers of the plant are very beautiful and large. In some species of geranium, they are collected in inflorescences. The leaves of the culture have a refreshing, mint and lemon aroma. There is a pattern on the leaves, presented in the form of a white border or stripes of various colors.

Geranium is distinguished by incredibly beautiful flowering. Umbrellas from flowers are concentrated on a thin stalk, and leaves look like a human palm. If the geranium is not enough light, then its flowering is reduced, and the leaves and flowers become faded.

Why apply fertilizer?

Feeding is an important process when growing a plant.Thanks to which it is saturated with useful components for active growth and flowering.

When feeding, season is taken into account:

in the spring and summer, fertilizer is applied once every 2 weeks;
in winter - do not use top dressing (it is allowed to add in the middle of the winter months only ½ the usual dose of stimulants).

Important!The choice of drugs should be treated carefully. The fact is that geranium will not tolerate organic matter. For its flowering, mineral fertilizers are used, the main of which remain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

They must be added in equal proportions, but by the beginning of flowering, the dosage of nitrogen is reduced, but the concentration of potassium is increased.

If fertilizing separately is impossible, then it is worth using ready-made mineral crusts. They contain additional minerals. Particular attention should be paid to iodine, to which the plant responds with abundant flowering.

It is not necessary to apply liquid top dressing without preliminary watering the soil. Otherwise, the roots will get burned and die. Fertilizing for geraniums is necessary one hour after the main moisturizing.

When do you need to feed?

Before you begin to feed and consider possible methods, it is worth determining when the plant needs it. This can be determined by the features that are noticeable in a complex manifestation.

If geranium becomes vulnerable to disease, then this is the first signal that it lacks nutrient minerals in the soil. Because of this, the flower is often sick, as there is a lack of nutrients in the body. But here it is important not to overdo it with top dressing. Contributing it too often for geraniums is unacceptable.

You can determine the lack of nutrients on the leaves. They become lethargic, pale, and their growth slows down. If the flower is affected by diseases, then the leaves begin to dry out. With a severe form of the disease, the leaves crumble.

Geranium will bloom only if two important conditions are met:

correctly selected temperature mode;
top dressing, in which there are all the necessary nutrients.

If these conditions are not met, then the culture will not bloom for years. There are no buds on geraniums if they are fed incorrectly. In spring, fertilize every 2 weeks, and in summer and autumn - once a month. Before applying dressing, you need to water the soil with water. This prevents the development of burns on the roots.

More information about when to use fertilizers and the better to feed them can be found here.

What can be used?

Attention. When choosing a fertilizer, it should be borne in mind that in specific periods of geranium development, a different concentration of minerals in the composition of top dressing is necessary.

If at the beginning of spring the proportions of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium can be equal, then after building up the green mass the percentage of nitrogen is minimal. During this period, it is necessary to use top dressing containing potassium and phosphorus, which affect flowering.

The next important trace element, which is necessary for the abundant flowering of geranium, is magnesium sulfate. It is necessary to make it 2-3 times in the summer so that the flowers acquire a saturated color, the number of buds increases, and the flowering period lasts.

To stimulate the growth of the culture, you can water it once a week with a solution of iodine (1-2 drops per 1 liter of water). The components that are contained in iodine strengthen the root system, and this positively affects the appearance of geraniums.

You can learn more about how to feed geraniums for lush flowering in this material.

Hydrogen Peroxide Iodine Solution

The solution, consisting of iodine and peroxide, allows you to cope with a variety of problems, including:

elimination of bacteria;
prevention of root decay;
acceleration of flower growth.

Before watering the plant with fertilizer, you need to remove damaged leaves and parts, and also slightly loosen the substrate. This will deliver air to the root system.

How to do?

To prepare the solution, take the following components:

settled water - 1 l;
iodine - 0.6 ml;
hydrogen peroxide - 1 ml.

Mix everything thoroughly and use to water the geraniums.

Growth and flowering effect

A solution based on iodine not only stimulates flowering, accelerates the formation of ovaries, but also helps the plant develop fully, especially in spring and autumn.

Besides, iodine improves the absorption of nitrogen by the plant, and this has a positive effect on the growth of green mass and the strengthening of the immunity of geraniums to diseases such as late blight and powdery mildew.

Attention. A signal that geranium needs top dressing is a change in the state of foliage. It is sluggish, dries and falls. If no measures are taken, there is a danger that a bare trunk will remain from the flower.

Risks and Possible Consequences

It is possible to water a geranium iodine solution only after moistening the soil. If this is not done, then the roots will get burned, and the plant will die. Otherwise, the solution is completely safe if the dosage and the rules of use are correctly observed.

How to cook without peroxide?

To prepare an aqueous solution, you need to take 1 liter of water and 1 drop of iodine. Stir and use for watering geraniums.

How to water?

The process of fertilizing a flower involves the following actions:

After preparing the solution, water the soil with geranium with plain water.
Wait until it absorbs and gradually pour in a solution of iodine.
Pour only under the root, as the flower will not tolerate moisture of the foliage.
50 ml of solution will go to one pot.
Perform surgery every week.

If something went wrong

Very often, when iodine is added, the solution gets on the leaves of the flower. In this case, it is urgent to remove it with soft cloth. If you leave everything as it is, then the leaves will begin to fade or dry.

Conclusion

Geranium is a plant that attracts attention with its colorful and long flowering. But this can only be achieved with careful care of the culture. One of the important points remains top dressing. Despite the fact that the iodine solution is very useful for the plant, but it alone is not enough.

Throughout the entire growing season, mineral fertilizers will also be introduced, which will be an excellent prevention of various diseases.