Geranium Blog

Heat Tolerant Scented Geraniums For Desert Dwelling Gardeners

Desert dwelling gardeners face a daunting array of problems. Triple digit temperatures, high winds, low humidity all create difficult challenges. Zonal geraniums have a rough time in the Las Vegas summer. What about the scenteds? Good news: Many scented geraniums live happily with our weather extremes.

I thought a list of the most heat tolerant and trouble free would be useful. Everything on this list I have grown for over a year in Southern Nevada. They perform well with only the basic care - no special treatment. (Basic care is defined as water, fertilizer, repotting as needed and half day of sun.) This list is not meant to be definitive and will most certainly grow longer in the future.

Heat Tolerant Scented Geraniums For Desert Gardeners:

• Pelargonium 'Attar of Roses' (rose)
• P. crispum (lemon)
• P. crispum 'Minor' (lemon)
• P. 'Dr. Livingstone' (lemon-rose)
• P. grossularioides (coconut)
• P. limoneum (lemon-lime)
• P. lucaeflora (rose)
• P. ionidiflorum (celery)
• P. 'Mint Scented Rose' (mint)
• P. odoratissimum (apple)
• P. 'Old Scarlet Unique' (pungent)
• P. 'Orange' (orange)
• P. 'Roller's Satinique' (pungent)
• P. 'Sandalwood' (woodsy)
• P. 'Strawberry' (strawberry)

Which worthy, hardworking young scented geraniums will make it to the Heat Tolerant List next? What pitfalls await them? Which scented geraniums have been "deselected" from the List? And why, why, why? You'll read it all here first.

You're So Unique

Pelargonium 'Old Scarlet Unique'

Old Scarlet Unique just loves to have her picture taken. She is constantly trying to draw attention to herself. If you want her to keep blooming - and of course, you do - be careful when deadheading to only remove the spent umbrels, NOT the branch that the umbrels are on! These branches will continue to produce flowers all summer.

The Uniques are an old group of Pelargoniums from the 1800s. They are treated as scented geraniums and include the apricot types. P. 'Old Scarlet Unique' is a pungent scented geranium.

Shocking Red

Old Scarlet Unique knows the meaning of the word "RED". The leaves are very fuzzy and this gives them a distinctive silvery appearance. Scarlet is a pungent scented geranium.

Still Blooming in June

Pelargonium 'Sandalwood' (woodsy scented)

Sandalwood Geranium is outblooming every other scented geranium in the yard! It's normal for them to slow down in the heat of the summer, but Sandalwood just isn't ready for a rest! It is in the shade most of the day except for about 2-3 hours of sun.

Others still blooming - a bit more modestly - are P. 'Old Scarlet Unique' (pungent), P. 'Mexican Sage' (spicy) and P. 'Brilliant' (pineapple). Two more that have just never quit since I got them is P. ionidiflorum (celery) and P. odoratissimum (apple).

Old Scarlet Unique, New Photo

Here is a nice picture of Pelargonium 'Old Scarlet Unique' with an entire bloom cluster open. Today we enjoyed a light rain and a rest from outdoor gardening.

How Red Do You Want It?

Pelargonium 'Old Scarlet Unique' fully opened two flowers today. The flowers are larger than most scented geranium flowers. They are similar in size to the flowers of a zonal geranium. The two top petals each have a dark splotch.

Bud Watch Scarlet Alert

P. 'Old Scarlet Unique' raised eyebrows around here with a shocking display this afternoon. For her part, Scarlet blew a kiss and demanded, "Who are you calling old?"