Geranium Blog

Attar of Roses

Pelargonium 'Attar of Roses'

This darling baby is called Attar of Roses. Attar means perfume and this is so, so appropriate of this scented geranium. It has a wonderful, powerful rose scent.

Book Review: 1001 Pelargoniums

1001 Pelargoniums Author: Hazel Key Photos: Martin Ambery-Smith Publisher: B.T. Batsford, London 184 Pages This book is mostly a picture book but, oh, what pictures! Each chapter has a brief introduction neatly defining which Pelargoniums belong in that group. Each picture is captioned with the Pelargonium name and a short description. This book makes a nice 'coffee table book'. You can spend five minutes with it or an hour. It is also very useful for Pelargonium lovers to help them develop an understanding of the various types of plants that make up this wonderful genus.

click to enlarge	Front cover of 1001 Pelargoniums
click to enlarge	Content page. Did you know there were this many distinct groups of Pelargoniums?
click to enlarge	Page 51. This is the first page of the Scented-Leaf Pelargoniums chapter.
click to enlarge	Page 62. Another page in the Scented-Leaf Pelargoniums chapter. MMMmmm! Yummy!
click to enlarge	Page 181. It turn's out the author's favorites are the Pelargonium species plants. I think I shall require a few of these!

No Scented Geraniums in Las Vegas Nurseries and No Good Answers

All spring I have been checking in with my two favorite local nurseries to be sure I didn't miss the arrival of the scented geraniums. "Not until mid-May," was the response. That seemed kind of fishy because all this time they've been knee deep in other Pelargoniums: zonals, ivies, Martha Washingtons. Of course, scented geraniums are not much different from their near relatives as far as when they grow and bloom. And in every year previous, finding scented geraniums has been easy enough.

Since mid-May, the excuses have become more interesting:

• "Probably all the rain in California."
• "We have a new buyer."
• "Hurricane Katrina."
• "Fuel prices are too high."

This situation is just plain weird. California wholesale growers, Las Vegas nursery people - How about it? Is this how you celebrate the 2006 Herb of the Year?

Seed Patrol Update

Pelargonium 'Sandalwood' with flowers and seedheads

While deadheading this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find a few seedheads on P. 'Sandalwood'. This is not a species pelargonium, as far as I know, so it will be interesting to see what develops. Sandalwood is a woodsy scented geranium.

In other seed news, I learned that Upright Coconut Geranium is a species pelargonium: P. elongatum.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Cannas and society garlic after the 'Great Divide'

I divided up an overly thick clump of cannas and two clumps of society garlic. This resulted in 4-3 gallon pots and 6-1 gallon pots of cannas and 9-1 gallon pots of society garlic. And what will I do with it? I have in mind to have a plant yard sale in a couple of weeks.

Below is a shot of the Juliet tomatoes. So far they seem to be very productive and trouble free. In a couple days we will sample the first one. As the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding!

Juliet tomatoes producing up a storm

Seed Patrol

Pelargonium odoratissimum (apple) with flowers and seedheads

Both Apple and Celery Geranium are now producing seedheads. I have managed to collect a little seed already from Apple, but none yet from Celery. They are both species pelargoniums so the seed should be viable. Rooting cuttings are the faster, easier method of getting new plants, of course, but this is a quest for knowledge and experience!

Pelargonium ionidiflorum (celery) with flowers and seedheads

More Leafcutter Bee Mischief

This afternoon I stopped by my mom's house and learned that the wonderful watering wand we gave her for mother's day was no longer spraying! I tried blowing air through it and it was stopped up for sure. Upon disassembly, the problem was found to be a leafcutter bee's nest.

These bees are really looking for trouble! First they attack my scented geranium flowers, and then they plug up my mother's watering wand. Hardly the work of beneficial insects!

Prince Rupert Gives Us a Smile

Pelargonium crispum 'Prince Rupert Variegated' (lemon)

Darling little Prince Rupert Geranium openned his first flower this morning and was happy to pose for a picture. Prince Rupert is an especially nice choice as a potted plant in "small space" locations such as the porch railing or window sill. Whether its blooming or not, this scented geranium is always visually interesting!

A Kiss from a Prince

Pelargonium crispum 'Prince Rupert Variegated' (lemon)

My woes over the leafcutter bees quickly faded when I spotted this bud on Prince Rupert. I swear it wasn't there this morning when I watered! The bud shows a tinge of pale pink. Maybe I should bring it inside until it blooms! Prince Rupert is a lemon scented geranium.

A Surprise Find

Seedlings of Pelargonium grossularioides

Isn't it great when your plants give you presents? I found these seedlings of Coconut Geranium beside the pool. There were four for sure and another possible, but too tiny to tell for sure. They can be moved to a pot easily at this stage. When they get bigger they seem to resent being moved.

Seeds of Upright Coconut Geranium

Seeds of Pelargonium 'Upright Coconut'

Upright Coconut Geranium has simply enormous seeds! The seedheads are about 5 times bigger than those of regular Coconut geranium, seen here. I don't know if these seeds will reproduce true, but curiosity demands that I find out! Below is a picture of how they hang on the plant. They look sort of comical, so big on a still small plant!

P. 'Upright Coconut' with seedheads

Who Gets the First Bite?

Hot Banana Peppers and Juliet Tomatoes

These peppers and tomatoes are container-grown. I always grow Banana Peppers, but this is the first time I have ever grown Hot Banana Peppers. I think we can safely say they are vigorous producers! The same goes for the Juliet Tomatoes. They are described on the tag as an oblong-shaped cherry variety. The two biggest ones are almost as big as a Roma Tomato!

Tiny Elvis dines on a hot banana pepper

Tiny Elvis is a desert tortoise who resides in our backyard. We are growing a variety of peppers and some collard greens especially for the tortoises. They also like grass, tomatoes, gaillardia, roses, scabiosa, squash, and zonal geraniums. Fortunately for me, they are not too interested in the scented geraniums - just an occasional bite now and then.

Brilliant Baby

Pelargonium 'Brilliant'

This baby Brilliant Geranium gives us a nice detailed closeup. Meanwhile, mother Brilliant says, "Admire my shapely, bouffant loveliness!" This nice round shape occurred with no intervention on my part.

Brilliant Geranium mother plant

Heat Brings Explosive Growth

Pruned on 3/5/06

Temperatures here in Las Vegas, NV have been in the high 80s to mid 90s. Scented geraniums LOVE this weather! The picture above shows a 16" pot with two Rose Geraniums (P. lucaeflora) and one Chocolate Mint Geranium (P. 'Chocolate Mint'). Most of the growth you see below has happened in the last 2-3 weeks! Combined container plantings like this are a great way to get maximum impact from your scented geraniums.

Rose Geranium and Chocolate Mint Geranium

Another Look at Lime Geranium

Pelargonium 'Lime'

Three weeks ago, one of the baby Lime Geraniums kicked up its heels and bloomed. The big parent plant is just now getting around to blooming. That's okay, because I really whacked it back to nearly nothing in February. Lime is a tall grower. It sends up long straight branches and when they get too tall, they lean over and send up more tall branches from the fallen branch. I guess a little trimming would keep it more shapely, but allowing it to continue as usual is entertaining as well!

Praying Mantis Update

Just 12 days after hatching, I sighted one of the baby praying mantids - and without the camera at hand! Already at one inch long it was double its original length. Its body looked as thin as a thread, but probably not for long. While I was looking at it, it seized a tiny bug and gobbled it down! We hadn't seen any since the day after hatching, but I suspect that if we saw one, many more are hiding close by!

UPDATE 5/8/06: Okay, now I got a picture. The little mantis came back at the same time in the evening. He is upside down. The dark dot is his head and he is holding his 'hands' out front in the 'praying' position.

Praying Mantis juvenile, 1 inch long

Nutmeg Geranium Sparkles

Pelargonium x fragrans (Nutmeg)

Nutmeg Geranium is just so elegant: silvery green leaves and understated yet plentiful white flowers. The lightest brush raises the spicy smell of nutmeg. This scented geranium grows as a neatly shaped mound and stays smallish.

I'd like to add a special welcome to Garden Voices readers! May our garden paths cross often.

Oooo! Aaaah! Brilliant Geranium

Pelargonium 'Brilliant'

Brilliant Geranium has the brightest neon pink flowers you can imagine. It is a pineapple scented geranium.

Strawberry Geranium Takes a Turn

Pelargonium 'Strawberry'

Strawberry Geranium started blooming today. It looks strawberry-ish, doesn't it? I was surprised that the flowers are larger than the tiny serrated leaves. Most of the flower stalks hold two buds only. This scented geranium has a sweet strawberry scent.

Ginger Geranium Flutters Her Eyelashes

Pelargonium 'Ginger' is amazing! It is quite large, about 2 1/2 feet tall, and the flowers are large, too. Ginger is a spicy scented geranium.

Rare Pelargoniums

Matt Mattus blogs about rare plants in Growing with Plants. I know you'll want to read his enjoyable post on Africa's rarest pelargoniums. Matt gardens in Massachussetts USA.