|
Updated June 5th, 2008
By Robin Corwin - LCF Outlook
Pelargoniums
Name a plant that grows prolifically
in window boxes or dry
areas of the garden, takes our
summer heat, doesn’t need a lot
of water, never gets bugs, carries
colorful blooms most of the year,
and propagates itself easily from
a broken-off stem stuck in the
ground.
Pelargoniums! Mistakenly
still called geraniums, they are
members of the Geraniaceae family.
The genus contains more than
250 species, mostly native to
South Africa. Since the Cape is an
area with a climate very much
like ours, they do so well here that
they’re often taken for granted.
There are six recognized
groups of pelargoniums, each
with its own charms: Ivy-leafed,
Regal, Zonal, Scented-leaf,
Angels and Uniques. Ivy-leafed
geraniums have ivy-shaped, waxy
foliage. Great trailers for pots, for
spilling over walls or down a hillside,
when planted from a fourinch
container they quickly
become a carpet of flowers.
Blooms are held in umbels at the
ends of arching stalks and can be
single or bi-colored, single or
double-flowered.
Regals are also known as
“Martha Washingtons.” The
leaves are very showy, often
resembling those on a cucumber
plant with toothed rather than
rounded margins.
Zonals have slightly fuzzy,
ruffled leaves with a horseshoelike
ring of color in them. Their
stems swell when watered, holding
this moisture for use during periods
of drought. Dying stems shrivel
up and can be easily snapped
off. The leaves of zonals have a
musky smell to ward off predators
and the blooms are large and
showy.
Since their flowers are
insignificant, scented-leaf pelargoniums
are grown mostly for their
fragrant foliage. Popular choices
include fuzzy-leafed peppermint,
lemon-scented varieties, nutmeg,
apple, chocolate and rose. The
leaves are used in teas, salads,
cooking and baking. Most stay
compact and small, but the fuzzyleafed
mint pelargonium spreads
quickly to become a mounded
groundcover.
Angels are also called pansyfaced
pelargoniums. Crosses
between regals and scented varieties,
their flowers are abundant,
smallish and almost always
blotched or streaked with a second
color.
In the Unique category are a
variety of hybrids, most with regaltype
blooms. Some sport star-like
or tulip-shaped flowers and various
leaf shapes and colors from almost
black to silver gray, some spotted.
Give pelargoniums plenty of
sun, free-draining soil and not too
much water or fertilizer. They
don’t handle prolonged freezes,
but quickly regenerate from cuttings.
If you beg a cutting from a
friend, you’ll probably be hooked
for life.
 |
