Geranium plant is not blooming
In May I bought a large geranium plant which had beautiful salmon colored flowers. The complex where I live was going to power wash the exterior of our homes and we were told to remove any plants from porches, which I did. Thinking it was only for one day I put the plants in the garage. However, due to a problem with the vendor, the washing was delayed a week and the plants were in and out of the garage three times. All of my other plants are now blooming and doing very well except the geranium plant. I've enclosed a photo. The plant looks healthy and it's in the same spot where I put the container every year. I'm getting new leaf growth but no buds. Approximately every three weeks I water with plant food. Do you have any thoughts on why or how I can get some new flowers before the summer is over? The plant was gorgeous when I bought it at the greenhouse.
Thank you very much.
Answer
The plant seems to be growing well except that some of the leaves look yellowish on the edges. From you picture, the newer growth looks better than the older growth with the yellowing edges. The light edges could be from the time spent in the garage or from a lack of fertilizer, but I suspect it is from its vacation in the garage.
You say you are feeding it every three weeks which is probably okay but I don't know the concentration of the feeding or what kind of fertilizer you are using. Feeding is tricky: if you overfeed, the plant puts out lots of foliage and sometimes, depending on the kind of fertilizer, grows leaves instead of flowers but the foliage is a good deep green. A high nitrogen number (the first of the three numbers that describe the fertilizer, usually written on the bag or box.) promotes foliage which is usually a good green. A high middle number, phosphorus, promotes more flowering, The third number Potassium is for general health and good root development. Since the leaves in some cases have a yellowish cast to them, check and be sure you are using the correct amount of fertilizer. Another thought would be to buy a fertilizer with a high middle number and see if that helps. However, I suspect the trouble may be simply that the plant resented going in and out of the garage and now that it is in the "geranium spot" in your garden, it will soon put out flowers and continue to have new growth the correct color.