Geraniums are bright and colorful flowers, and they are very popular. However, there are many choices to make when purchasing a geranium. Although geraniums are very easy to care for, make sure you understand how to care for geraniums before you purchase one.

When you're deciding what kind of geranium to buy, you should consider where you will be placing it. If you want a few colorful flowers to brighten an otherwise boring flowerbed, consider traditional geraniums with bright red blossoms. These are also a great choice for window boxes and other containers, but there are also many other suitable choices. For example, the hanging geranium drapes gracefully over the edges of window boxes or other containers. Double flowered varieties or geraniums with variegated leaves, among many other types of geraniums, are also excellent choices for adding color and interest in a small space.

Some new varieties of geraniums are useful as well as beautiful. For example, some varieties are said to repel mosquitoes. Others are scented, and these varieties make wonderful potpourri besides adding scent to your garden.

All of these varieties of geraniums share some common characteristics. They are sold as annuals, but can live from year to year in a warm climate with proper care.

When choosing a geranium plant, you should examine the plant carefully. Choose one that is short and bushy instead of tall and stringy, even if the shorter plant is not blooming. The shorter plant will be healthy, and will blossom more in the long run. Also make sue that the plant is not root bound, by checking for roots growing out of the bottom of the pot. The plant will not grow well if its roots have already run out of room in the pot.

Once you select and purchase new geranium plants, water them before transferring them to another pot, to your garden, or for use in any landscape design. Then, carefully remove the geranium out of its plastic pot. If it is a little root bound, gently pull the roots apart so that they can have room to grow in the new pot. Then, place the plant in your container, or in the hole you have created in your front yard. Fill the hole with soil, but do not mount the dirt so high that it buries the plant's stem. Press the soil down, and then water your new geranium thoroughly.

To finish planting your geraniums, mulch the area around the new plants with two to four inches of mulch, again remembering to leave the stem uncovered. Further in the growing season, fertilize your geranium with plant food, and pinch off any faded blossoms. If you properly care for your geranium, it should flower all the way until the first frost in the fall.

To enjoy your geraniums even further into the fall, you can pot your geraniums and bring them inside, where they will continue blooming through the winter. You should place them on a sunny window sill to provide them with the natural light to which they are accustomed.