Hardiness zones
Sunset All zones (cool season annual in desert locations)
USDA All zones
Landscape Use: Flower of landscape border accent, cool season flower bed annual, container plant or hanging basket for patios, herb. In Mediterranean climates such as southern and central california, geranium is a perennial landscape accent shrub.
Form & Character: Prostrate and spreading, trailing to upright and bushy, soft, engaging, informal.
Growth Habit: Evergreen annual to perennial, depending on species and geographic location. Some species are trinaling and spreading. Other species are stiffly uprigh and brittle to 4' in heigh with near equal spread.
Foliage/Texture: Simple leaves are rounded to heavily lobed (palmate veination), some scented, some pubescent, stems also can be pubvescent; medium texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Flowers heavily clustered on long stalks, five petaled ranging in color from white, pink, salmon, rose red, purple. Doubel and multi-colored flowered variants occur. Fruit is a five-celled capsule, each cell containing one seed joined to a column produced from the center of the old flower. This beak-like column enables seed to be "thrown" when fruit are ripe.
Seasonal Color: Flowers most heavily in winter and spring.
Temperature: Frost and freeze intolerant, tolerates heat to 110 to 115oF.
Light: Full sun to partial shade.
Soil: Extremely tolerant of all soil textures, seems to do better in slightly to moderate alkaline soils.
Watering: Give water regularly in Phoenix,otherwise tolerates drought well in Mediterranean climates.
Pruning: None
Propagation: Absolutely easy!! Semi-hardened softwood cuttings root easily when stuck directly into soil outdoors in winter, seed, division.
Disease and pests: Few disease and pest problems in dry climates such as spittle bug. In wetter climates, many foliar and root pathogens such as botrytis, leaf rust, pythium, phytophthora, bacterial blight.
Additional comments: Geraniums as a group consist of about 422 species and many cultivated varieties of flowering annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are also commonly known as the cranesbills. Present day garden geraniums are prolific bloomers and are hybrids derived from several species including Perlargonium inquinans and P. zonale that are native to South Africa. These species were introduced into Europe in the early 18th centuryThe are simple to grow, carefree, and most used in Phoenix as a winter flowering annual in flower beds and container pots. Geraniums and Pelargoniums are much beloved around the world like roses.
