Albuquerque Landscaping with Geraniums

You and your garden are missing out if you have never planted a hardy geranium in your Albuquerque home. These perennials survive as wildflowers across the world, so there’s a strong chance one will thrive in your yard. Geraniums come in various colors, from white to pale purple to magenta, and are known for their delicate, jewel-toned flowers, appealing leaves, and low mounding habit.

However, the word geranium is also the popular name for Pelargonium, a genus of sensitive bedding plants better suited for pots in US conditions than true geraniums. Still, true geraniums make excellent edging and filler plants.

The Geranium – Nature’s Hidden Gem

Geranium is an unpretentious beauty that may be used as a colorful ground cover to join shrubs together or tucked into pots where it can burst forth to beautify forest or cottage gardens. In addition, geraniums soften the margins of walkways when planted near them. They’re also a good option for tucking into rock crevices, where the spreading leaves and blooms soften the appearance of the rocks.

Geraniums are popular pollinator plants that bloom from spring to summer. While some say geraniums are deer resistant, I’ve had varied results; in certain gardens, deer feed on the flowers all the time.

Geraniums go well with taller plants like coneflower, Shasta daisy, and tall decorative grasses since they give contrast and don’t overpower their colleagues.

Keeping Them Alive

Geraniums prefer a little shade and moist, well-draining, compost-rich soil. Most geraniums are simple to cultivate from seed, but if that isn’t your thing, I suggest getting geraniums in four-inch pots as they proliferate quickly.

You should remove old flower stalks and foliage, then trim geraniums back to the crown to encourage new tidy growth in the winter. Give geraniums a slow-release fertilizer when a new leaf develops in the spring. Deadhead flowers as the season develops to extend the bloom time.

Geraniums can be propagated in the fall or spring by dividing clumps of existing plants, taking care not to damage the roots, and retaining as many plantlets by cutting back any stems that have formed.

In winter in Albuquerque, geraniums will want some protection from frost and may appreciate some mulch for added warmth.

Landscaping with Geraniums

Plant geraniums in masses for the best impact. They prefer partial shade but will tolerate the sun when they are young. A sunny bed does help to keep them vibrant. However, geranium flowers tend to be brighter and showier in full sun.

Geraniums make excellent edging plants because they hold their deep green color and are low growing. They can also be used in containers or mixed with other plants, such as ferns or lobelia.

The blooming period for geraniums is mid-spring to summer throughout the US (depending on your zone). However, different varieties bloom at other times, so you may want to create an additional bed for each array of geranium available to you if you want a long period of bloom.

Geraniums are called “hardy” because they’re hard to kill; they withstand pests and harsh weather well, so if you do accidentally kill one plant here and there, it doesn’t add up to much in the end. If you do lose a plant or two (this can happen when planting in the fall, as it’s easy to forget about plants after they’ve been buried by snow), you can simply replace them with new ones.

Geraniums are one of the hidden gems that make our gardens so beautiful and colorful – start planting yours today!