PELARGONIUMS, COMMONLY CALLED GERANIUMS

by Marilyn A. Holt of Holt Geraniums

Now, where do I begin? Do I begin by telling you that pelargoniums, known as geraniums by the gardening public, are not just the standard bedding type you find in garden centres? Do I peak your interest by telling you that a stroll through my garden or greenhouse would introduce you to pelargoniums that you just couldn't imagine?

How about pelargoniums that when the leaves are rubbed will smell like a freshly opened can of pineapples, or freshly ground nutmeg? How about cocoanut scented, making you remember the smell of suntan lotion on a beach in Hawaii? There are scents that include orange, lemon, rose, ginger, allspice and apple - just to name a few. These are known as scented leaf pelargoniums and have been used since the 1700's for making ices and flavouring sugars, not to mention for potpourri, sachets and many other uses. When planted along a walkway, long skirts of ladies in Victorian times would brush against the leaves releasing the beautiful scents into the air. The leaves and flowers of pelargoniums are edible.

Now, how about pelargonium flowers that look like miniature rosebuds or tulips? There are also pelargonium flowers that look like carnations (dianthus really), dahlias or cactus. What about the ones that are bird's egg flowered and have specks of another colour on the petals? These unusual flowered are known as rosebud, tulip, carnation, cactus or bird's egg flowered pelargoniums and come in a variety of flower colours and sizes.

There are fancy leaf, coloured leaf, gold leaf, silver leaf and tri-colour leaf pelargoniums. The tri-colours are basically three colours - not including green, i.e. they will have white, yellow, red, pink or brown in addition to the green leaf. The gold leaf pelargoniums have golden green leaves, some with zone markings and some without. The silver leaf varieties are usually a regular green in colour with white either edging the leaves or blotched through the leaf, sometimes the veins are white. Fancy leaf pelargoniums cover a wide selection from frilly edged to serrated edge leaves with brown, reddish brown or black markings on these leaves, some also have blotches of another colour in the centre of the leaf. Flower colours for all these range from shades of red to all shades of pink with salmon, coral, mauve and purple also represented. Some reds are fluorescent and are absolutely stunning.

There are full sized zonals (of which all the above mentioned are included except the scented leaf), dwarf zonals - where the plants are over five inches tall but under eight inches tall; miniature zonals - where the plants are under five inches tall. Both dwarf and miniature zonals are well suited to window sills and are very popular amongst apartment dwellers and anyone that is confined indoors. There are tetraploids which are very large plants that also have extremely large flower clusters. The reason for the pelargonium's popularity is a well kept secret - they DO NOT HAVE A DORMANT PERIOD and will bloom 365 days a year if they get enough light, warmth and food. For those of you that live in a climate where the winters are cold but you get a lot of sun (Alberta) these plants will bloom all through the winter.

There are stellar pelargoniums - named because their flowers resemble stars in shape and their leaves are lobed like fingers on an open hand. There is a variety known as 'angels', the blooms of which resemble pansies and which do well in hanging baskets. Some angels have citrus scented leaves so you get a bonus. There are regals (commonly called 'Martha Washington'), species, ivy leaf (used extensively in hanging baskets) and all these come with plain green leaves or variegated with white or gold (yellow).

I haven't gone into extended descriptions of these plants here. However, you can find out more about them in their related sections on this website - just a click away. I have been hooked by these diverse and easy care plants that will reward you with flowers in the dead of winter as long as they get enough light and warmth and which of us doesn't need the brightness of flowers and the promise of spring during a long, cold winter?