Pelargonium x hortorum
Common Geranium, Zonal Geranium, Bedding Geranium, or Geranium
(Geraniaceae - Geranium Family)
FEATURES
- Form
- small- to medium-sized herbaceous annual
- mature size ranges from 12" to 18" tall and 18" to 24" wide, depending
upon cultivar
- spreading mound growth habit
- Culture
- full sun to partial sun
- prefers a moist, well-drained soil in full sun, with a light mulch
covering the soil to cool the root zone
- propagated either by seeds or rooted stem cuttings
- Geranium Family, with a number of significant disease (leaf spot, black
leg, blight, root and stem rots, rust) and pest (mite, mealybug,
caterpillar) problems, the most significant of which is Botrytis
blight
- abundantly available in flats, containers, hanging baskets, or seed
packets
- dead-heading of spent inflorescences allows for continuous bloom
throughout the Summer
- although Common Geranium diseases and pests are usually not severe in
outdoor situations, they can often be minimized by a combination of cultural
practices, namely:
- not planting too densely (allowing sufficient air flow to dry the
plants from rain, irrigation, and dew)
- not overwatering, and avoid splashing the foliage with water when
irrigating (such as by using trickle or soaker hose irrigation, or letting
the watering hose run on the bed area)
- removing infected plants (or plant parts) upon notice of pathogens,
and spraying afflicted plants upon notice of pests
- practicing crop rotation from one year to the next (i.e., do not plant
Geraniums in the same location year after year)
- removing freezed-killed plants in mid-Autumn, and overturning the soil
in Autumn for exposure to Winter freeze/thaw cycles
- Foliage
- leaves are 3" to 5" across, medium to dark green, cordate in shape,
bold-textured, thick, and oppositely arranged on the thick upper stems, but
very clustered at the base of the low-branching plant
- leaves have three to five shallow lobes with very crenate margins, with
the plane of the leaf blade not flat, but cupped at the cordate base,
causing water to pool at the bottom of the leaf blade that joins to the top
of the 5" long thick petiole
- leaves are sometimes "zoned" with a dark bronzed band halfway down the
leaf blade and parallel to (i.e., equi-distant from) the leaf margin
- foliage is somewhat pubescent, and exudes a strong fragrance or odor
when bruised, but not nearly as pungent as other Geranium hybrids that are
grown for their scent
- Flowers
- white, pink, red, salmon, orange, violet, and all shades in-between,
with bicolors and double flowering forms also available
- flowering from June until frost, in large showy spherical clusters atop
long stiff peduncles, with continuous bloom strongly encouraged by frequent
dead-heading
- inflorescences are bold-textured due to their size, shape, and being
held well above the foliage, and are found in either single-colored
plantings or mixed-color plantings
- Fruits
- the fruits are needle-like projections that radiate from the fruiting
head; however, the spent flowers are unnattractive and should be dead-headed
as often as possible, to encourage continuous bloom
- Twigs
- stems are thick, much-branching at the base of the plant, and acquire
prominent (but hidden) leaf scars as the lower foliage (with its swelled
petiole base) abscisces from self-shading and senescence
- Trunk
- ID Summary
- large spherical showy inflorescences rise above the dense, cordate,
green and zonally bronzed foliage, with thick stems and a scented odor from
the foliage when it is bruised
USAGE
- Function
- frequently used as a bedding plant for group or mass plantings,
foundations, entranceways, pathways, and borders
- also commonly used as a bold-textured accent in urns, hanging baskets,
window boxes, planters, and even as an indoor plant in Winter
- Texture
- bold texture
- average to thick density
- Assets
- Summer-long bold-textured flowering (especially when frequently
dead-headed)
- wide range of floral colors, in single or double flowers
- lush foliage is dense, medium to dark green, and often bicolored (with a
bronze zonal band)
- Liabilities
- inflorescences need to be dead-headed repeatedly after heavy bloom or a
strong rain, to remove the unnattractive spent inflorescences and to promote
continuous bloom
- several diseases and pests can significantly affect the foliage and
floral quality, especially during rainy periods in mass plantings
- leaf tip browning in hot, dry weather
- Habitat
- annual that dies with several frosts or the first hard freeze
- Common Geranium is of complex hybrid origin from several Geraniums, but
most species are native to South Africa
SELECTIONS
- Alternates
- Summer-flowering annuals with prominent foliage (Begonia x
semperflorens-cultorum, Coleus x hybridus, Senecio cineraria, etc.)
- Summer-flowering annuals with bold-textured, large floral heads
(Celosia [crested types], Cleome x hasslerana, Tagetes erecta, etc.)
- Variants
- many series and cultivars exist, based upon plant compactness, earliness
to bloom, consistent bloom, floral color or bicolor, single or double
flowers, inflorescence openness versus density, and bronzed leaf zonation
NOTES
- Translation
- Pelargonium translates from the Greek word pelargos as
"stork", again due to the similarity in shape of the fruits to a stork (or
crane's) elongated beak.
- x hortorum translates as "of gardens" and refers to its
domesticated usage as a complex hybrid.
- Geranium, the common name, translates from the Greek word geranos
as "crane", due to the similarity in shape of the seldom-noticed fruits to a
crane's (or stork's) elongated beak.
- Perennial Geraniums (not discussed here) belong to the genus
Geranium, most species of which are cold-hardy throughout temperate
zones, while Common Geranium (discussed herein under the genus
Pelargonium) is an annual in all but tropical regions.
- Purpose
- Common Geranium is a very popular annual for usage in beds and
containers.
- Summary
- Pelargonium x hortorum is a common annual noted for its
bold-textured clusters of floral heads, blooming all Summer long atop its
dense, medium to dark green, and often zonally-bronzed foliage.
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