Geranium is magnificent, despite its apparent simplicity, is considered to be a unique culture. Unpretentious to the conditions of planting and care, surviving in all weather conditions, it can grow in the same place for many years. About where and how to grow this perennial flower, we will tell in our article.
Botanical description
This is a hybrid species, which, in turn, has several varieties. They all have bright, large inflorescences, different shades of blue. Flowers are large, with 5 round petals, located in the same plane, and 5 sepals, collected in the corolla. 
On one branch there are up to 3 corollas. Flowering begins in June and lasts all summer.
The bush, with the proper agricultural technology, reaches a height of 60 cm. Thick bushes retain their decorative effect until deep autumn and even before the beginning of winter and are able to grow thick with a dense carpet.
Leaves on petioles, soft, velvety-pubescent, with serrated edges, dissected into 5 lobes. By the fall, they are "repainted" from green to different shades of red: from terracotta to orange.
Did you know? The name "geranium" comes from the ancient Greek word γερανός (geranos), that is, "crane". This is due to the shape of the seed box, which resembles the head of a crane or a stork. For example, in German, this plant is called "der Storchschnabel", that is, "the beak of a stork", and in English - cranesbill, that is, "crane" or "crane beak."
Popular varieties
Gardeners have always appreciated the magnificent geranium for the beauty of flowers, leaves and the shape of the bushes, and it is not surprising that in 100 years many varieties of this garden flora have been bred. Here are some of them.
Alan mayes forms a hemispherical bush with a height of 40 cm and a width of 35 cm. Flowers with blue petals, with dark blue veins, with a diameter of 4.5 cm. 
Blue blood grows in a round dense bush 30 cm wide and wide, which is decorated with flowers with a diameter of 4.5 cm, with blue or violet-blue petals with dark, almost black veins and a light shed. 
Mrs. Kendall clark - it is luxuriantly flowering bushes up to 60 cm high. The flowers are blue-blue with pinkish tint. 
Rosemoor - bush of medium height (approximately 45 cm) and width (within 35 cm), large flowers with a diameter of 5 cm, in which the petals are lilac-blue with dark blue veins and lilac-pink throat. 
Where to plant a magnificent geranium?
This hybrid is obtained by crossing Georgian and flat-breed geraniums and inherited from them all their “habits” and preferences.
Did you know? In the old days, European knights considered forest geranium a talisman: a dye was extracted from its colors, which was used to process raincoats.Usually these plants are planted in open areas of the garden landscape in the form of single plantings in the middle of lawns and lawns or as part of mixborders and rockeries.
Lighting and location
Both Georgian and flat-footed monocultures in nature grow in the meadows of the sub-alpine belt of the Caucasus, this fact is decisive when choosing a place for planting in the garden of their derivative - magnificent geraniums. 
It should be planted in sunny areas. However, it grows well in partial shade.
Soil requirements
Our hybrid, like his parents, prefers fertile soil. But more importantly, the soil was loose, not swimming (without stagnant water) and aerated. However, he can "agree" on a less rich soil, though without additional agrotechnology, he will develop more slowly.
Learn about the intricacies of caring for such perennials as ampelous vervain, Californian carpenterium, lanceolate starfish, white clover, Canadian sanguinaria, gloriosa, amber fuchsia, atsidanthera, tar, agapanthus, darmer thyroid, and Ivotius dredbar.
Features of reproduction and planting culture
In general, geraniums multiply either by the seed method, when seeds are sown for seedlings at the end of November or at the beginning of April, and then 2 years later they are planted in a flower garden, or by vegetative means, that is, by dividing the rhizome in early March or at the end of August.
But, since geranium is magnificent sterile, that is, it does not bear fruit and does not give seeds, its reproduction is possible only by the second method. This is recommended at the age of five to seven. 
To make the division of the bush, you need to chop off the necessary part together with the root system with a chopper or a shovel and dig deep (20 cm deeper than the root) into the tapered hole in the fertilized area (rotted manure or compost) and pour it with water.
Important! If you are planning a spring transplant of a geranium, then remember about possible frosts and protect the seedlings with covering materials, for example, AGREEN, LUTRASIL, AGRIL, NOVAGRIL.The youngsters easily take root in the new place and soon grows up. Plants should be planted with small islands: several bushes nearby, at a distance of 40 cm from each other, so that the roots grow in breadth and do not interfere with each other.
Agrotechnics growing plants
As it was said at the beginning, geranium is unpretentious to the conditions of planting and care, quietly developing in one place for many years, without transplantation and rejuvenation, as well as without the need to control weeds, because it grows more actively than weeds. 
And yet there are several requirements for care. Here they are:
- timeliness of watering. First, the moisture needed seedlings in the first time after planting on the flower bed. Secondly, any plants need watering after a long drought. And the rest of the time the magnificent geranium needs periodic watering, moderate even in hot summer;
- soil nutrition. Our hybrid, especially if it grows on moderately fertile soils, needs to be fed: at the beginning of the season - with nitrogen fertilizers, and in the middle of spring - with complex, for example, organic ones. By the way, if immediately after planting, sprinkle the soil with mulch, then its loosening will not be needed later;
Important! On very hot days, treating any geranium crops is undesirable because their leaves contain a lot of essential oil that can cause dermatological irritation.
- disease control. Geranium itself is a natural insecticide, that is, insects are not afraid of it, as well as most diseases. And yet because of the cold and high humidity there is a risk of getting sick. Here are the main diseases of geranium and their treatment: powdery mildew (removal of the affected areas, treatment of the bush Bordeaux fluid); gray rot (spraying with TMTD solution at the beginning of the season, removal of the bush); Alternaria (use of "Skor" type fungicides); spider mite (use of insectoacaricides);
- Geraniums need to be sheltered for winter, especially young bushes.
And yet, to ensure the splendor and duration of flowering of the bush, you need 2 times a year, in spring and autumn, to do pruning of faded greenery and peduncles.As the popular saying goes: “patience and hard work all will be done”. But magnificent geranium does not require a lot of work. She needs a little attention and a bit of love - and she will generously give you for it.
