As soon as the Ice Saints are over on May 16th and there are no more cold snaps to be expected, it will be high time to replant the balcony with fresh summer flowers. Pelargoniums, commonly referred to as geraniums, are ideal both for an impressive solo appearance and as a planting partner for numerous other flowering plants.
What flowers can you plant with geraniums?
Geraniums can be combined well with petunias, magic bells, cape daisies, golden two-tooths, hussar buttons, purslane flowers, vanilla flowers, zinnias, blue daisies, men's faithful or verbena. Choose planting partners with similar location and growing conditions.
Select suitable planting partners
Numerous different summer flowers are suitable, depending on whether you prefer a colorful mix or a more coordinated color. However, flowers cannot be grouped together at will, but should be cleverly combined according to suitable location and growth conditions.
Consider location preferences
This primarily includes whether the selected plants have similar requirements in terms of location and care. Flowers that prefer semi-shady to shady locations (such as begonias or fuchsias) will not be happy with sun-hungry neighbors such as geraniums. The same applies to care: If they are placed in the same planter, the requirements for moisture and fertilization should complement each other. Plants that consume heavily are also heavy feeders, otherwise you will quickly have diseases and pests in your balcony box.
Good planting partners for geraniums
Geraniums harmonize very well with the following plant species, among others:
- Petunias (Petunia)
- Magic Bells (Calbrachoa)
- Cape daisies (Osteospermum)
- Gold Bident (Bidens)
- Hussar buttons (Sanvitalia procumbens)
- Purslane frog (Portulaca grandiflora)
- Vanilla flowers (Heliotropium arborescens)
- Zinnias (Zinnia elegans)
- Blue daisies (Brachycome multifida)
- Male faithful (Lobelia erinus)
- or verbenas (Verbena).
Colorful or would you rather have more balanced colors?
Now it's time to do justice to your aesthetic ideas. Once you have found suitable planting partners, you should now sort them according to your preferences. You have various options: Do you want a cheerful, colorful balcony in different colors or would you like it to be more balanced in color, for example in shades of pink and white or purple and blue?
Planting balcony flowers
Once the above questions have been answered, you can now start planting the flowers.
Selection of planters
First of all, you need to choose planters that match the flowers you have selected. You can choose between different styles, depending on which plants you prefer. Braided balcony boxes (€29.00 on Amazon) in white or other colors that match the flowers go very well with geraniums and other summer flowers. White geraniums, for example, fit perfectly into red flower boxes, red and pink ones also fit into green ones.
Planting spacing
But whichever planter you choose, always pay attention to the planting distance of the individual flower types! Geraniums, for example, require a distance of around 30 to 40 centimeters from their neighbors, other species more or less. Planting too closely can lead to stunted growth and thus loss of flowers.
Tip
By the way, geraniums can be combined not only with numerous summer flowers, but also with grasses.
