Geranium Blog

A Rambling Growth Habit

Peach is a variegated scented pelargonium. The variegated branches grow slowly. The plain green branches grow much faster. In order to maintain the varigation, the grower is to prune off the green branches. After dutifully trimming away for a while, I decided I was very impressed with the all green foliage. If allowed to go 'native', Peach develops a graceful, flowing look. And frankly, the yellow splotchy variegation can have a rather sickly look.

P. 'Peach' is an excellent choice for gardeners in the Desert Southwest. It is very heat tolerant and can be counted on to look nice even during the hottest hot spell (given adequate water and partial shade). Peach is also a very sweet bloomer.

A Weighty Question: If Pelargonium 'Peach' is considered a variegated scented geranium, does that mean that the unvariegated form is a different cultivar?

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.

Lime Scented Geranium Extraordinaire

Limoneum is a lime scented geranium with small leaves and a charming bad-hair-day way of growing. Always fun to look at and very tolerant, P. limoneum should be more widely cultivated.

Effervescent Pink Champagne

Pink Champagne is a very pretty scented geranium. It forms a neat branched bush and will grow relatively tall. Large pink flowers and a fresh lime scent make this pelargonium a very rewarding choice.

Lanky Lime

Lime scented geranium has upright woody branches that tend to be brittle. As they bend downs, they will start to branch out.

The Elegant Prince of Orange

Prince of Orange is an orange scented geranium with a sumptuous, upright habit. A bit of pruning will be in order soon to keep this one nice and round, but it seems to want to grow that way naturally.

How do P. 'Orange' and P. 'Prince of Orange' compare? Orange wins out on strength of scent, heat tolerance, size of flowers and length of blooming time. Prince of Orange is an excellent scented geranium choice, but Orange is just that much better. The only thing to do is grow them both.

Orange Geranium Growth Habit

Orange Geranium - my very favorite, you may know - has a graceful sprawling growth habit. It looks really nice in an elevated position, like a plant stand, where it can perform for all to see.

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.

Variegated Prince Rupert and His Evil Twin

Varigated Prince Rupert is a nicely branching upright bush. It is a very slow grower, but quite charming. The little green shoot coming up agressively from the roots is a reversion. A reversion can be assumed to be the unmutated original plant that the varigated form developed from. Therefore, the all green one is regular Prince Rupert. Both of the princes have a light lemon scent.

Small Plant Big Impact

Spring Park Lemon has just the loveliest manners. It forms a neat, upright, well-rounded little bush. The leaves are crispum-shaped, yet a bit larger in size than those of P. crispum. I think of Spring Park as an excellent windowsill plant because it can stay in a smaller pot and maintains a compact shape.

Pure Gold

Golden Lemon Crispum has a yellow border around the edge of each leaf that gives the whole plant an interesting golden color. Like the other crispums, Golden Lemon has long upright branches. It seems to keep a very neat appearance.

A Lemony Free Spirit

Crispum Minor has a free spirit appearance. Its growth habit is upright and the super-teensy leaves don't seem to weigh down the branches much. I must confess that this one of my favorite scented geraniums: heat tolerant, a vigorous bloomer and always fun to look at.

Fingerbowl Lemon Only Looks Dainty

Fingerbowl Lemon has smaller leaves than P. crispum. It has a tall upright habit and it grows like a rocket.

A Look At Growth Habit

Today I'm starting a series of posts on the growth habits of the various scented geraniums. How many times have you looked at a plant and thought, "Is it supposed to do that?" So - we'll start with the lemon scented geraniums.

P. crispum is the plain lemon geranium. It has an upright growth habit, but when a branch gets too long, it starts to lay down and new upright branches grow from the branch that is now horizontal. If the plant were in the ground, that horizontal branch would likely root and thus it would spread. The plant in the picture is now flat like a sail. I'm going to prune off about 2/3 of the long horizontal branch in hopes of encouraging more rounded growth.

Round Ball Topiary

Pelargonium 'Dr. Livingstone' has a roundish shape naturally

I am trying to grow this Dr. Livingstone geranium, also known as Skeleton Rose, into a round ball topiary. I am turning it a quarter turn once a week and may also do a little light pruning.

From Broken to Beautiful

Pelargonium 'Strawberry'

August in Las Vegas: we find ourselves saying things like, "It's so nice out - only 102!" I've been grooming my container plants - deadheading, trimming, and removing debris. Two of my favorite scented geraniums were injured a few weeks ago. A strong wind blew them off the railroad tie they normally sit on.

Pelargonium 'Strawberry' has recuperated beautifully with a zen-like grace. Pelargonium 'Orange' split three ways at the center trunk. I wasn't sure if it would make it, but it has and is now sprouting new growth at the center.

Pelargonium 'Orange'

New growth emerging near the split trunk

A Scientific Geranium Question

Pelargonium x fragrans 'Nutmeg' with red leaves (March 18, 2006)

Ronnie from the U.K. asks: Why do some geranium leaves turn an "autumnal" red now, June but others do not?

My answer: The different varieties of Pelargoniums often have very unique characteristics. The red leaves could be a response to some kind of stress like sudden change in the weather (hot days and cold nights). If the plant is otherwise healthy, there is nothing in particular to be done about it, but enjoy the show.

I am wondering if any one else has any thoughts on the phenomenon Ronnie describes.