Geranium Blog

Pelargonium 'Abundance' - The Truest Plant Name Ever

Abundance lives up to its name in every possible way. It covers itself with blooms for a long period of time. Almost every blooms creates a seedhead. The lemon-scented foliage is thick and bushy.

I want to thank reader Jeanie for bringing Abundance to my attention. It's my favorite "new-this-year" scented geranium.

The Joy of Celery

All my geraniums are very pretty right now. I have a lot of exciting pictures coming up. Celery scented geranium is puting on a particularly fine display. The flower stems are very thin, so the flowers have the appearance of a flock of butterflies.

French Vanilla?

French Vanilla is very similar to Nutmeg scented geranium. I think French Vanilla's name is based on wishful thinking. To me it has a spicy citrus smell.

Early Bloomer: Nutmeg Scented Geranium

Nutmeg geranium is one of the early spring bloomers. Another tiny white flower, too. I'm watching for seedheads. The leaves have a soft velvety texture.

Amaryllis Fun

I grew four varieties of amaryllis this winter. Somehow I missed getting a picture of Pink Surprise. It was extraordinarily beautiful, I promise you. Sorry you missed it.

Picotee is reputed to have a purple picotee edge on the flowers. What a bunch of malarkey! It has a light pink picotee edge and stands in nicely for a white amaryllis. I am still enthusiastic about Picotee. It is strong and tall and already producing babies.

Lime Scented Geranium Roundup

How do the three Limes compare? P. limoneum is the most heat tolerant of the three. P. 'Lime' and P. 'Pink Champagne' dislike those ultra high desert temperatures, however they can be grown successfully in the desert with a little extra shade and close attention to prevent excessive dryness. Tough little Limoneum will lose a few leaves if over dry, but is otherwise hardly effected. It can handle more exposure to direct sun than the other two.

The best bloomer of the Limes is Pink Champagne. In fact, it might be one of the nicest bloomers of all the Pelargoniums! Lime is a very good bloomer as well. Limoneum is cute with smaller hot pink flowers.

All three are well scented, although I think P.'Lime' is a bit stronger than the other two.

Lemon Scented Geranium Roundup

The lemon scented geraniums generally have nice white flowers with some purple veining. Often the three lower petals are long and narrow, giving the flowers a primitive wildflower look. Spring Park Lemon puts on a showy and long-lasting display.

The leaves of the crispums are all small. This is a common trait of desert plants. All varieties of Pelargonium crispum that I have grown are tolerant of the heat although they appreciate some shade during the midsummer. Certainly they are worthwhile for gardeners in the desert Southwest.

Erodium reichardii 'Rubrum'

Erodium is a close relative of the Pelargoniums and Geraniums. E. r. 'Rubrum' is a low-growing plant with tiny scalloped, hairy leaves. It likes to grow in the shade during the summer.

More Glitter

White Glitter is usually speckled with random red spots. With the hot weather the flowers now show a wash of pink.

Tricolor Exotic

"Where is the third color?" you might ask. The lovely brown ring has gone away for the summer. I especially like the way Tricolor lifts up its flowers on extra long stems.

Pelargonium englarianum

Englarianum is so obviously a desert dweller. It seems quite at home here in Las Vegas! It is a very active bloomer. The bright pink flowers are about a half inch across. It is an upright bush with woody stems and very stiff crinkled leaves similar to the crispums. This is a rose-camphor scented geranium.

Golden Lemon Crispum

Golden Lemon Crispum sounds like a tasty bakery delight, but it is in fact a variegated scented geranium. The leaves are bordered in yellow and have a lemon scent. The flowers are light lavendar.

Coral Canna

The coral cannas (I don't know the "real" name) have burst into bloom. The flowers are speckled with deeper coral spots and there is just a touch of yellow at the center. The leaves are bronze. They grow about 3 feet tall. I grow them in a big pot next to the pool.

Pelargonium ribifolium

P. ribifolium is an incredibly exuberant bloomer. Smooth maple-like leaves have a sweetly pungent scent. The flowers are pure white with deep pink markings.

What An Angel!

Wychwood is a Pansy-faced geranium - a part of the Angel Pelargoniums. It grows as an upright little bush with medium green leaves. The flowers are deep plum on top with the palest lavendar lower petals. The foliage has a pleasant rose-citrus scent.

So what are the Angel Pelargoniums? They are floriferous, branching bushes that grow long stems. There are two groups of Angels: The original group was developed around 1825. This group's parentage is unknown and it is unscented. The modern Angel Pelargoniums were first developed in the 1930s. One of the parents of this group is Pelargonium crispum, the lemon scented geranium. So the scented-leaf factor was introduced.

Spring Park Lemon

Spring Park is a lemon scented geranium.

Pink Champagne

No bubbles here, but you might think you are drunk when you see the size of these flowers. They are just enormous for a geranium - 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" across. The leaves are leathery on sturdy erect branches. P. 'Pink Champagne' is a lime scented geranium.

How Hot Pink Do You Want It?

P. limoneum might have the pinkest flower ever. The roundish top petals give them a fat-cheeked look. The flowers are smallish - about a 1/2" across. The serrated leaves are small as well on thin woody stems that reach 2 feet in length.

P. limoneum looks nice displayed in an elevated position so the stems can hang down. It has the same free spirit quality as P. 'Strawberry'. In fact, those two look great together.

Pelargonium 'Roller's Satinique'

Roller's Satinique is another one of the Uniques. In fact it looks a lot like Old Scarlet Unique except for the lovely coral flowers. Very feminine. Roller's Satinique is a forest scented geranium.

A Gardenia Scented Geranium

I just wanted to show you how Arucana is coming along. She has developed into an upright bush with deep green maple shaped leaves. Heavy blooming has not stopped for even one day all spring. And now that hot weather is here, a very noticable sweet gardenia scent arises when the foliage is jostled. We have had temperatures of 90+ degrees(F) yet Arucana has easily tolerated the heat and 4 hours of direct afternoon sun. So many good qualities! Is this the greatest scented geranium ever? Stay tuned.