Pelargonium Ideas, Tips & Guides

When we picture geraniums, we think about plants that are growing in the border, or small pots, or window boxes, thriving with beautiful flowers. However, do you know that these can be trained to grow as mini trees, too?

This list is divided into two parts–Geraniums and Pelargoniums! Each variety brings grace and beauty in the form of flowers, especially when paired with other colorful species.

The beautiful balcony plants on the terrace at the London house of Henrietta Courtauld of the Land Gardeners

We bring you a beautiful array of blooms that resemble impatiens but also offer a different charm with their vivid hues and lush foliage!

Pots and containers offer the gardener great versatility and are a fantastic way to experiment with planting and design. From short-term bedding displays to permanent features of small trees and topiary, planting in pots adds another dimension to the garden, softening corners, brightening dull spots and providing instant, yet easily changeable, results.

I wasn’t expecting a lot from today’s count, but mild temperature in the week leading up to Christmas Day must have given things an unseasonal boost and I have had some surprises in the last few days. Having noted it was still only in bud, I wasn’t going to include sarcococca in the total until I came out of the back door again a little later and was instantly hit with an almost overwhelming fragrance: tucked under foliage and sprawling ivy was a clutch of fully open blooms, doing what they do best and perfuming the garden from several metres away.

Indoor Mosquito Repellent Plants aren’t just for the decoration – they hold the key to repelling these annoying insects through their unique aromatic oils and compounds!

Blooms are almost non-existent in the garden at the moment after several days of frost, but I had two options: another pelargonium from the Coop, or stems of the overwintering Salvia ‘Phyllis Fancy’ in the working greenhouse. The latter, which never made it back into a border last year after its previous overwintering, remaining in its pot in disgrace, won the toss. After continued underperformance, I have been on the point of banishing it altogether, but now plan to give it a reprieve, albeit keeping it in a pot rather than giving it border space. However, I am not holding my breath…

Although bubblewrapping the Coop in the middle of last week was abandoned after less than an hour, due to numb fingers, there was enough time to notice that two of my 2022 purchases of dwarf pelargoniums were in full bloom and looking surprisingly pretty, considering the time of year. This knowledge was stored in my head and formed the basis of today’s vase, with a single white bloom of P ‘David John’ forming the focal point. He was joined by three stems of Argyranthemum ‘Grandaisy Pink’ (now in the Coop too) and a clutch of foliage from Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’. The latter is in dire need of pruning, but for the time being I shall just remain selective about where I snip any foliage from!

Imagine your home graced by the captivating hues of deep purples, striking pinks, and even electric blues. These not-your-average, Houseplants of Unusual Colors, are more than just a visual treat; they’re a conversation starter and a testament to the incredible diversity of nature’s creations!

Now that the arbor is up, I need to think about surrounding it with plants. I have climbing achocha and mashua which might (hopefully) provide some shade. Once you’ve eliminated the possibility of heat stroke, you’re left with that other perennial summer problem – pests. How do you stop bugs great and small from bugging you, or committing suicide in the jug of Pimms?

Ryan and I have (finally!) moved into our new house! And, whilst we had the use of a van, we collected all of the tall plants from the allotment. So the first refugees from my old garden have arrived in their new home. As well as my Christmas tree, there’s two cobnuts, a crab apple, a golden bamboo, a rosemary and a lavender, the medlar and one that remains unidentified until I can have a good look at it.

Andrew Drake

…well, one bee, although there were several on the echinops above, E Arctic Glow’, when I was trying to take a photograph, but they wouldn’t stand still or long enough! The garden, is, however, currently swarming with bees and butterflies, which is good to see.

Check out these stunning Types of Geraniums that can be a great addition to both home and gardens. We have picked the best ones for you!

This fancy Pelargonium was new to me. I bought the plant whilst on holiday at a specialist pelargonium nursery in Stokesley Yorkshire some years ago.

Regal Pelargoniums or exotic Geraniums are getting more fancy and colourful. This pink frilled flower is called Reba Regal. I grow Regal pelargoniums for in house but they can go outside after the last frost although some flowers are a bit susceptible to rain damage.

I have a strong liking for Pelargoniums (which I will call Geraniums from now on). They are still producing lots of colour and variety late into October. Because we suffer strong winds and early frosts up on the Pennines of Yorkshire I am in the process of protecting the varieties I am keen to keep through winter.

Great plants for the herbaceous border, these hardy Geraniums are top notch plants that are easy to grow and cultivate.

I have tried to grow several Pelargonium varieties this year and been pleasantly surprised at the various forms and colours I have succeeded in producing.

I have flirted with geraniums for several decades but never achieved the full satisfaction of a great display. Now I have a new plan to dedicate an area in the garden, dare I call it a zone? to some of these colourful plants. To give me an incentive to dedicate time and effort I have given it a name Pelargonia as I thought Geraniumistan was going to confuse the issue with cranesbill geranium or hardy geraniums.

There are two great uses for Geraniums that make it worth growing these fine flowering plants. Outdoors they make fantastic border plants and the red varieties are very popular in formal bedding schemes. The second use is as a long flowering houseplant and if you deadhead and feed you plants you will get lots of geraniums from one windowsill plant.

Sorry this is not a new geranium nursery or supply business although I wish it was. It is  just a follow up and continuation of my earlier promise  to keep updating my new found enthusiasm for Pelargoniums.

Yes it is well past time to look at geraniums again. Since this blog started there have been over 60 pages of tips about geraniums. The most popular have been about scented,  regal and dwarf geraniums but zonals and bedding also retain much interest. (You can find these and more links by using our search button).

My mother very successfully grew Geraniums (pelargoniums) as indoor pot plants for many years. For the majority of gardeners the zonal geraniums are an outdoor feature of brightly coloured flowers that are often treated as annuals.

I am trying to establish some good stock or ‘mother’ plants. These should be strong healthy plants from which I can take cuttings. I feed them up and disbud to get stems rather than flowers. The first step is to select plants you want to replicate. You want to aim for quality stock of a variety you like. I am interested to see if the children from the 2 tone plant below have similar characteristics.

Mid March and I have just spent some enjoyable time and effort on my Pelargonium stock plants aka Geraniums.

Zonal Pelargonium aka Geranium

I’ve always known that South Africa is the home of the pelargonium, but even so I was amazed by the sheer diversity that exists there in the wild. From vibrant red species tumbling down cliff faces,  to large pink-flowered shrubs on the road verges to the subtle beauty of Pelargonium triste in amongst the wildflowers of the veld, everywhere we looked there were examples of this highly adaptive plant.