Pelargoniums are quite high maintenance in my climate.They need always attention. Taking off faded blooms, old leaves, pruning and general maintenance for plants growing in pots. Some I grow in the garden borders, but still they need a lot of attention to look good.
I have grown this double, salmon one for ages.
This is a bright red,(in the picture it looks orange) the old fashioned type of Pelargonium, which is still my favourite.Pelargonium is a genus of flowering plants which includes about 200 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly known as scented geraniums or storksbills. Confusingly, Geranium is the correct botanical name of a separate genus of related plants often called Cranesbills. Both Geranium and Pelargonium are genera in the Family Geraniaceae. Linnaeus originally included all the species in one genus, Geranium, but they were later separated into two genera by Charles L’Héritier in 1789. Gardeners sometimes refer to the members of Genus Pelargonium as "pelargoniums" in order to avoid the confusion, but the older common name "geranium" is still in regular use, and most garden 'geraniums' are in fact 'pelargoniums', as opposed to true geraniums or cranesbill.
Species of Pelargonium are evergreen perennials indigenous to Southern Africa and are drought and heat tolerant, and can tolerate only minor frosts. Pelargoniums are extremely popular garden plants, grown as annuals in temperate climates.
The first species of Pelargonium known to be cultivated was Pelargonium triste, a native of South Africa. It was probably brought to the botanical garden in Leiden before 1600 on ships which stopped at the Cape of Good Hope. In 1631, the English gardener John Tradescant the elder bought seeds from Rene Morin in Paris and introduced the plant to England. The name Pelargonium was introduced by Johannes Burman in 1738, from the Greek πελαργός, pelargós, stork, because part of the flower looks like a stork's beak
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelargonium please click if you like to know more about Pelargoniums.
Believe it or not;
Planting
One for the mouse
One for the crow.
One to rot,
and One to grow.
Photos from my garden TS
I still couldn't tell the difference between pelargoniums and geraniums ;-) Now I can always recall this post for identification. Thanks for this informative post. Love your salmon one.
ReplyDeleteFor precious plants, I normally make a point to grow another as 'backup' but nowadays it has been hard due to lack of space.
Stephanie this is what I do. I make cuttings from plants which are not so readily available which I do not want to lose. Thank you for your visit.
ReplyDeleteThat was interesting history on what I call "geraniums" in error (but it does sound better to my ears). I never knew the pelargonium name came from the Greek word meaning "stork." I like that little rhyme. Planting multiples is a good practice...just in case. One out of four is a good shot at success. : )
ReplyDeleteFloridagirl, thank you for your visit. I still call them geraniums but I thought I better use the right term on my post. Botanical names are always juggled around.
ReplyDeleteHi Titania, looks like you have some lovely varieties. We have quite a lot of different varieties of Pelargoniums growing in the Eastern Cape. I was not able to identify the one you commented on as it was not included in my field guide, which covers a more southerly area. Did you see the one I posted on 2 October.
ReplyDeleteIt is autumn over here with quite cold mornings and nights but I still can see many balconies with mostly red Pelargonium flowers which falling down in cascades. What a wonderful sight it is! As I wished to have the same on my terrace, I planted 9 seedlings of various colors in my flower pots but I am not satisfied. There were no as many flowers as I hoped and expected. I am afraid I planted them too late of this spring. The plants still look so healthy and if our summer lasted little longer it seems to me that there would be more flowers. Your Pelargoniums and their colors are really so gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteSeit diesem Jahr stehen bei mir wieder Geranien, obwohl ich diese Pflanze nicht besonders gern habe (sie sind mir irgendwie verleidet, weil man sie überall sieht). Aber es sind die roten Geranien, die meine Mutter während Jahren überwinterte und die den Eingang zum Haus schmückten. Ich konnte sie einfach nicht fortwerfen....und kann es auch jetzt nicht. Also werden sie auch bei mir (hoffentlich gut) überwintern und nächsten Frühling erneut blühen. Du Glückliche hast in deiner Klimazone natürlich kein Problem mit dem Ueberwintern dieser Pflanze.
ReplyDeleteEs liebs Grüessli,
Barbara
This is a very informative post, it's always nice to learn something new. I planted some geraniums this spring in pots on my front porch and they are still blooming like crazy, though they do look a little worse for the wear.
ReplyDelete