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'Geranium'

Dear Sue,
Thanks for yout message, good to hear from someone who gets the same sort
of heat we do.   I water my plants about every 6/7 days in this hot
weather.  I have to wait until the soil is absolutely dried out, otherwise
they will die with stem rot.  It was hard to get used to at first.  I have
now got into the habit of leaving them an extra day, when I see they need
water. I have come to the conclusion that they almost go into hibernation
in the heat.  They don’t grow much and really don’t need the amount of
water we would expect.  I do mark the calendar every time I water a certain
area .. (I have 4 growing houses around the place .. a case of putting them
where they woild fit!)  so I know exactly when I last watered.
I don’t have any in the ground any more.  In winter they get too wet,  and
in summer thet get the water from my sprinkler system, which seems to
incrrease the humidity.   The geraniums houses are all covered,  some with
polycarbonate and some with fibreglass sheeting.  In the summer I put
shadecloth covers over all of the roofs.  The walls in one ‘house’  are of
glass adjustable louvers, which work out very well and give the warmth they
need in summer (the afternoon sun side has a shadecloth awning to keep the
sun out in summer).  Other areas have either shadecloth sides,  or one area
,  being quite large is left open on 2 sides.
Yes Zonals are used in landscape areas but only where they can be watered
without wetting the leaves. Such as trickle irrigation.
Mine are mostly the new more sensitive varieies, which would struggle to
survive in the open.  A lot of them are English or German varieties and
have super large blooms .. great for competiton work in our Society.
    All for now
     Best wishes
        from Joan Steele
            Western Australia
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