The Elkes (Geranium sanguineum ‘Elke’) are doing fine. They made it through the winter and have been blooming the whole summer.
Bought few more to the new flowerbed I have been building to have some reliable bloomers in it.
Their flowers are a bit delicate when it comes to rain and wind but new ones emerge often so it is not a big problem.
My geranium finally started to bloom! It took months from the flower to recover from the darkness of a long winter.
The poor thing looked pathetic in the spring – pale and dry.
I started it from a seed and managed to enjoy its beauty last summer. Nice thing about the nano series is that it remains quite small. So in the autumn I took it inside and to my big surprise it survived.
That usually does not happen to my geraniums. The flat is simply too hot and dry. Happy that this little thing made an exception.
Some of us are just tougher than the others and do not seem to care about the coolness.
Having a balcony high up seems to have its benefits. When you look down to the ground in the morning you can see the whiteness of the frost but it does not reach up to the balcony. If the frost manages to sneak higher it does not get as cold as on the ground level.
This usually gives the geraniums an additional month to bloom.
The Mavericks are still blooming and in this weather the blooms last long. The colors remain striking and it almost seems that the pelargoniums are having the time of their life.
With some luck they will make it to December. Incredibly resistant to the cold nights and low temperatures.
PS. Grew Nanos and Mavericks this year and it made me realize the huge difference between the different varieties of geranium. Nanos remained tiny and Mavericks filled the balcony with massive leafs. Both made beautiful flowers and did well in the pots they had.
My Nano Pink pelargoniums finally stated to bloom!
I planted the seeds in November. I was so sure that blooming would start early in the summer. But was I wrong.
The summer here in the north has been coolest one during this century and this has delayed the plants. My geraniums have grown slowly like everything else this summer.
Pelargoniums tolerate cold well and that is why I moved the seedlings to the balcony in May which was too early. Cold slowed their growth.
But everything is now well and I can enjoy the bright pink blooms.
Nano is a very small geranium variety. My plants are only 6 inches tall which makes them perfect for my balcony.
PS. I bought the seeds from http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com and each one of them germinated.
The first snow arrived few days ago and it is dark and cold outside. It is a perfect time to start planning for the next spring. I want my geraniums to bloom early in the summer and this is a right time to start growing them.
There are so many varieties which makes it hard to choose. This time I ended up buying three different colors. The ones I ended up with were Maverick White, Maverick Scarlet and Nano Pink.
I have never grown these varieties before so I am excited to see what I end up having. At least the start has gone well. Germination was supposed to take two to three weeks but it only took three days which took me by surprise.
Geraniums are so easy and thankful flowers. The bloom all the time and tolerate heat and cold. It is the end of November and I still have one blooming in my balcony. It has survived the heat of the summer and first frost.
PS. I bought my seeds from Swallowtail Gardens and each seed germinated and have been happy with my purchase.
I was not able to resist the temptation. I saw a package of pelargonium seeds in the store. It was December and the darkest time of the year. But still the best time to try to grow pelargoniums for the next summer.
I knew that my apartment with its merciless central heating was way too hot and dry for my experiment. Pelargoniums like a bit cooler and moist growing environment. Anyway I decided to give it a try.
Pelargoniums are survivors. The can take the most relentless hot summer days and tolerate the bite of first frosts. They just keep on blooming where only few flowers make it.
To my big surprise everything went well. All the seeds germinated and each little seedling made it through the winter with the help of my grow light. In the spring I was able place them in to my balcony and enjoy watching them to flourish. Now it is early September and with a bit of luck I can still enjoy their blooms for two more months.
PS. This winter I think I will saw the seeds already in November to ensure that they start blooming a bit earlier. And I guess I will try few more colors since there are so many available.
Gardening in the North 