STELLAR PELARGONIUMS

by Marilyn A. Holt of Holt Geraniums

Stellars are in the zonal part of the Geraniaceae family and have a most mysterious history.

An unusual plant was found growing in Australia. Exactly when it was first found is not know, however in the early 1950's this plant could be found throughout Australia, going under various names such as 'Chinese Cactus, 'Fiery Chief' or 'Sunstar'. No one knew where the plant came from. The plant was not listed in any plant catalogues or books between the period of 1890 and World War II. Colour slides and photographs of the plant were sent to the National Botanic Garden of South Africa, Kirstenbosch and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England but neither had heard of the plant.

The late Australian hybridizer, Ted Both, crossed 'Chinese Cactus' with an extensive number of zonals and produced a new race of hybrids. He produced plants in an amazing variety of colours in both double and single flowered forms. Mr.Both thought the plants resembled a plant called Pelargonium staphysagroides (now extinct) that was illustrated in a book by Sweet named 'Geraniaceae'. Mr. Both therefore marketed his plants in Australia under the name of 'Both's Hybrid Staphs'. They were known under this name for some years but in the United States the name 'stellar' meaning 'like a star' was used and is now the name most commonly seen.

Stellars are not well known and because of that they are not readily available to the gardening public through nurseries, which is a shame as stellars are easy care pelargoniums and bloom constantly.

The distinguishing features of stellars are their leaves and flowers. The leaves are deeply lobed, almost resembling the open human hand. The flowers are different than other zonals in that the top two petals are different in shape and width (sometimes in colour as well) from the lower three petals. The flowers are in a star shape, hence the name 'stellar'.

They are available in different leaf colours - gold with bronze zone markings, gold without any markings, green with bronze or black zone markings, plain green and just recently tri-colour - green and white with either pink or burgundy zone markings. The blooms are either single, semi-double or double and cover a wide range of colours, either in solids or splashed and streaked with another colour. For even more variety, they are available in regular, dwarf or miniature sizes.

As stellars are a member of the zonal family, they have the same cultural requirements. They like temperatures that we are comfortable with, warm during the day and cooler at night - but no freezing temperatures. Stellars do not require bright light to bloom - anytime during the winter months I can walk into the greenhouse and see at least a dozen different stellars in bloom, a plus during the time when most other plants aren't blooming because there isn't enough sunlight.

The regular size stellars can be planted in the open ground but the dwarfs and miniatures will do better in containers. They, like their zonal relatives, are suitable for full sun or partial shade, depending on the leaf colour. The less green in the leaf the less noonday sunlight they can tolerate. The gold leaf varieties brighten up a shady spot in the garden, turning the area from ordinary to extraordinary, and as they bloom in less light than normal zonals, you will have the added bonus of flower colour as well.