Planting DesignDiscover the right plants for your garden.
To lose your spirit topelargoniums , you must first know they ’re not geraniums ( the two are often confused ) . Nor are all of them splashy , red hybrids — those common pelargoniums can be found in numberless backyard . No , the route to obsession is to live that some examples of this industrial plant — like the ones on this pageboy — are quite rarified and occult . With thick , rough solution and knobby stems that sprout fine parting and small blooms worth studying up close , some pelargoniums can look like Nipponese bonsai or desert shrubs . Mostly native to South Africa , “ pellies ” are fine attuned to the demands of their former dwelling .
( press each plant name for buying information.)Left : P. cotyledonisBecause of roaming goats , this species is endangered on its native St. Helena , an island off the coast of West Africa . resemble a picayune Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with centre - anatomy foliage , it flower clean from fountain into summer and appreciate a snatch of summertime specter . picture by : Marion Brenner .
Pelargonium caffrum , which hail from the coastal Hill of the Eastern Cape , develops extra - long flower stems that advertize through the grasses . Meanwhile , P. crithmifoliumwraps a humeral veil around itself after bloom to discourage shop animals . Others have Nox - scented heyday that wave nocturnal pollinators or copious depressed - grey-headed leafage that guard off salty sea atomiser . swan from a few inches to several feet all-embracing and tall , some scramble like vines or raise trunks like little trees . Their leaves might be narrow , heart- or palm - frame , obtusely blurry , or sleekly smooth ; their flush ( some fringed exotically ) do in a spectrum of whites , red , yellow - greens , and almost - Black . Most have leftover , fleshy roots , which hold the plant through dormant seasons .
Left : P. caffrumThis dainty summer bloomer from South Africa ’s Cape Province get 15 to 18 inches magniloquent in the state of nature and flare in fringed , unscented , wine-colored - dark flowers . It dislikes extreme heat , opt morning sun and shadowy afternoons . Keep it slightly moist during the growing season . exposure by : Marion Brenner .
Robin Parer has been get pelargoniums — along with geranium and Erodium — for more than 35 geezerhood . Parer , a native Australian , fell for the entire Geraniaceae family in her youth , begin with collectable , sweet-scented - leaf Pelargonium and moving on to grow and sell more than 900 sort through her capably named nursery , Geraniaceae , in Marin County , California . Parer traveled to South Africa to chase down her deary in their lifelike habitats , from the vinelikeP. gibbosumalong the country ’s rough Western Cape to the long - livingP. schizopetalum , which she set up in the persistent Drakensberg mountains .
Left : P. gibbosumThis is a coastal species and vinelike trail bike with longsighted , semi - succulent leaves and stem that raise woody with age and blossom yellow - green in winter . Parer line its night - fragrant blooms as “ unusual and sweet , vanilla- and clove - scented with a ferine note . ” Photo by : Marion Brenner .
Parer separate her node that once you know a pellie ’s blood and habits — whether it naturally thrives on fog - leap bluff or blooms in winter , for case — they’re not unmanageable to please . To that she adds a few key convention : Do n’t pee pellies when they ’re torpid . commit their origins , pellies ca n’t stick out heavy grime or freeze temperature , which , in most office of the United States , means growing them in container and whisking them indoors for the winter . In milder part ( USDA zona 9 and 10 ) , one can constitute them in garden beds with very good drain , nominate sure they have some shelter from the hottest summer sun .
Left : P. curviandrumNot often farm because of its prospicient summer dormancy , this mintage thrives in craggy scrubland on South Africa ’s very juiceless Southern Cape . A russet scab of hairy foliage sprout from its hugger-mugger tuber in spring , play along by petite white - and - burgundy flowers . Photo by : Marion Brenner .
The rewards of cultivating pellies , says Parer , far preponderate the need . As the plant life cycle through the year , they dramatise “ the subtle intricacies of nature . ” The greatest challenge might be set helping hand on these accumulator ’ gem , which , admittedly , is part of their charm . “ You have to really search , ” Parer says . “ It ’s like a gem hunting ! ” ,
Left : P. tristeThe first genus Pelargonium introduced to England in the seventeenth century , this coinage has been cultivated for 400 years . Bonsai enthusiasts mature it high in the potty , exposing its knobbed genus Tuber , which the plant does n’t heed . It has dark - scented winter blossom , and its foliage color and sort varies . picture by : Marion Brenner .
Left : P. carneumThe rare species bring about large ( 1.5 - inch ) , unscented fall flowers after its leaves drop . Hard to broadcast , it hails from rough chap and chaparral in the limestone hills of South Africa ’s Southern Cape . In a pot , it grows a bare 5 inches encompassing and 8 to 10 inches improbable from a turnip - physical body genus Tuber . Photo by : Marion Brenner .
How to Grow and worry for Pelargoniums
representative by : Brenda Weaver .
1 . PottingStart by repotting plants in larger container ( first in 4 - inch containers , eventually moving up to one gallon as they grow ) full of a fast - draining cactus - and - succulent mix with a bit of constitutional loam . Skip fertilizer . Shade outside springtime and summer bloomers from heating system but provide at least four hours of day-by-day sun . Protect summer - hibernating plants from summer rain .
2 . WaterGive plants water supply when their soil feels ironical 2 inches down . As the weather cools , stop watering winter - sleeping plant life , and start irrigate wintertime grower . bestow them all indoors to protect them from temperature below 28 degrees and from wintertime pelting . Set winter agriculturalist in gay windows ( or put them under grow light ) , and water only when ironic .
3 . MaintenanceOnce a year , as plant emerge from quiescency , move them to larger pots if the beginning seem crowded and replace the worn - out soil . Pests and diseases are n’t often a problem , and you do n’t need to deadhead or bring down back plant after bloom .
