When Can I Expect New Blooms on Geraniums

[AmyMarie]

I winterized two hanging geraniums and they kept very well. They are now outside on my doorstep just in case we get a cold evening. Danger of frost usually ends around here the first week of May. Anyway, I would like to know what I can do to get some blooms to come about on these plants. I have liquid fertilizer but have not added it yet to their water supply. Some people who have winterized geraniums told me that they never got new blooms and just hung them as greenery. Any advice?

[Newt]

Hi AmyMarie,

It could take several weeks before you see blooms. If you have an organic fertilizer you might want to use that. Using a synthetic might get you lots of leaves and few blooms unless it's high in phosphorus, the middle number for NPK content. One thing I've found that encourages blooms is milk. Yup, the stuff folks put in their coffee. Just add a tablespoon to a half gallon watering can or add water to an empty container when you've used up the milk. The calcium and minerals seem to keep my houseplants blooming and is gentle to your plants like the organic fertilizers.

This is the best info I have for storing and caring for zonal (non-hardy) geraniums aka Pelargoniums.
http://www.bachmans.com/tipsheets/An...ggeraniums.cfm

Newt