- Most common cause: Missing pruning
- Drought stresses them out
- Lack of nutrients or wrong fertilization
- The plant is frozen
- Diseases or pests are involved
- tips and tricks
In addition to its fragrant leaves, the scented geranium impresses with its flowers. They usually appear in summer and can be present until autumn. But if the flowers don't appear, the guesswork is great. What's happening?
If the scented geranium does not bloom, there can be various reasons
Most common cause: Missing pruning
Scented geraniums bloom on the shoots they develop in spring. That means: If you don't radically cut your scented geranium down to 10 cm in spring after overwintering, you risk that no flowers will form in summer.
Drought stresses them out
Furthermore, lack of water can be the reason for a lack of flowering. Even if watering the scented geranium is not the main focus in care, it should not be forgotten. Watering is particularly important during the main growing season between April and September.
Lack of nutrients or wrong fertilization
A lack of nutrients can also be to blame for the lack of flowers. But as a rule, this Mediterranean plant is content with a low supply of nutrients. The following must be observed when fertilizing:
- fertilize sparingly
- Discontinue fertilizer application from August
- fertilize before flowering and after
- use organic fertilizer
- do not use fertilizers that are too high in nitrogen
- dose special bloom fertilizer moderately
The plant is frozen
The scented geranium is an extremely frost-sensitive plant. If you plant them too early, for example in March, you should not be surprised if no flowers appear in May/June. Planting out early carries the risk that the plant will freeze to death due to late frost.
Diseases or pests are involved
Last but not least, diseases such as gray mold and rust can be the cause behind the missing flowers. A disease attack weakens the plant so that it has no energy for flowers. On top of that, pests can bring disaster. Although pests such as spider mites and aphids rarely appear on the scented geranium, they can put a stop to the development of the flowers by feeding on them.
tips and tricks
Even if your scented geranium isn't blooming, the scent of its leaves will still drive away mosquitoes and other bugs. No flowers are required for this.