How Long Do Scented Geranium Flowers Last?

Scented geraniums or pelargoniums usually start blooming in warm weather, in spring or mid-summer and continue to bloom until autumn. If moved indoors for the winter, they can bloom all year long.

It varies by species how long scented geranium flowers last, but generally, you can enjoy blooms for a couple of weeks at a time.

Because scented geraniums can bloom all summer long, I discuss a few tips and tricks on how to make the best of the blooming season.

Make Geranium Blooms Last Longer

Whether your goal is to make geranium blooms last longer or to have it bloom more often, the tips below will help you achieve both, all the while keeping your pelargoniums healthy and strong:

– Watering

Geraniums have moderate watering requirements, but their watering regimen may need adjusting depending on how warm or cold it is.

Ideally, you should water scented geraniums deeply when the soil starts to feel dry. Watering less frequently, but more deeply encourages better root development, which in turn creates a stronger plant.

Be careful not to overwater. An easy way to avoid overwatering is to wait for the soil to dry between waterings.

You can also mix in compost into the soil which will not only add organic matter to the soil but also help it drain better.

– Fertilizing

Geraniums can do without the regular fertilizing since they’re not heavy feeders. However, in small doses, an all-purpose fertilizer such as Jobe’s Organic Fertilizer can make wonders for geranium blooms.

Not only will your geranium blooms last longer, but they’ll also be fuller and more vibrant. Fertilized monthly with a weak solution, scented geraniums will put out more blooms.

– Sun Exposure

From a bloom-producing perspective, full sun is ideal for most scented geranium varieties. However, from the perspective of how long scented geranium blooms can last, full sun exposure that lasts all day may not be ideal.

Therefore, if you want your geraniums to bloom but also to make blooms last longer, you need to aim for a location with partial sun.

That is, your pelargoniums should receive a couple of hours of full sun in the first part of the day, when the rays of the sun aren’t as strong, and partial shade in the second half of the day when the sun is the strongest.

Of course, the amount of sun pelargoniums should receive also depends on the variety. Some pelargoniums do much better in full sun, others in part shade.

Local climate conditions also matter. In cooler climates, full sun exposure is best, while in hot climates, part shade may work better for scented geraniums.

– Pruning

Pinching back wild shoots and growths can help the plant grow bushier and focus its energy on bloom production. Deadheading old blooms can also help with repeat blooming.

Prune in spring as new growths or shoots emerge. Cut with scissors or simply pinch back with your hands. Don’t prune excessively and focus mostly on wild shoots.

How Often do Geraniums Bloom in a Season?

It’s hard to gauge the number of times geraniums bloom during a blooming season. New buds and blooms appear constantly, even before old blooms fall off.

Blooming frequency also depends on the variety. Some scented geraniums will put out more blooms but less frequently, others may produce fewer blooms but more often.

One thing’s certain, however — if you follow the tips I discussed, you’ll have your geraniums blooming all summer long. Sometimes, late into fall until the frost sets in.

Therefore, the exact number of times your pelargoniums bloom in a season is not important. What’s important is that your plant continues to produce healthy blooms throughout the season.

Should You Cut Off Dead Geranium Flowers?

I’ve written about the benefits of deadheading certain plants before, and I’m going to recommend it even for pelargoniums.

Deadheading the spent blooms of your scented geranium has a number of benefits:

• It keeps the plant looking clean and tidy
• It stimulates repeat blooming
• It helps with the aeration of the plant, thereby preventing fungal diseases
• Helps bigger bloom production

Therefore, deadheading spent blooms will not only encourage more blooms, but it will also have a qualitative impact on blooms.

You can cut off spent blooms as new buds emerge, throughout the blooming season. Don’t just remove the flower cluster, but also the stalk it grew on all the way back to the first leaf junction.

Fading, diseased, discolored or otherwise damaged foliage can also be removed to stop the spread of potential fungal diseases, which can weaken the plant’s resilience and their ability to fight diseases.

Do Geraniums Bloom Indoors?

Scented geraniums can adapt to living indoors, not only outdoors. Indoors, they’ll need lots of sunshine to maintain their blooming ability.

Zonal geraniums (Pelargonium x hortorum) can thrive in containers and they’re especially suited for growing indoors.

If you move your scented geranium indoors in the fall, make sure to keep it in a sunny location. Ideally, the plant should receive about 4 hours of full sun per day.

If you continue to water it and even feed it, it can bloom even throughout winter. Outdoors, scented geraniums don’t stand a chance against frost and cold weather. They’re not at all cold hardy and behave as annuals.

Wrap Up

Scented geraniums will flower as long as the weather permits. Moved indoors in the fall and taken good care of, they can continue blooming.

Many factors will influence how often pelargoniums bloom and how long these blooms can last at a time. From light exposure to the plant variety and fertilizing, there are many things you can do to achieve healthy and vibrant blooms.

Make sure you’re watering and feeding correctly and that your pelargoniums receive enough light during the blooming stage.

Deadhead pelargoniums anytime you see blooms fading away to stimulate repeat blooming.

If you want to increase bloom production or blooming frequency, you can give my blooming related tips a try to see how they work out for you.