Geranium
Pelargonium × hortorum
📖 About this plant
One of the most popular flowering plants worldwide, garden geraniums produce cheerful clusters of flowers in pink, red, salmon, magenta, and white above rounded, often scented leaves. Many varieties have fragrant foliage that releases lemon, rose, peppermint, or nutmeg scents when touched. Prolific bloomers from spring through fall, they are equally at home in containers, window boxes, and garden beds.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
Full sun (6+ hrs)
Every 1-2 weeks
Moderate (40-60%)
13-24°C
Well-draining potting mix with loam, peat, and perlite; slightly acidic to neutral pH 6.0-7.0
Balanced liquid fertilizer (10-10-10) every 4-6 weeks during the growing season; excessive fertilizer reduces flowering
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- South Africa — Cape region; most modern cultivars derived from P. × hortorum hybrids developed in Europe
- 📏 Max height
- 30-60 cm
- 📐 Spread
- 30-60 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Spring - Fall
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Pink, Red, White
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial
- 📈 Growth rate
- Moderate
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Mildly toxic to cats and dogs — contains geraniol and linalool; ingestion causes vomiting, anorexia, and depression
- 🌱 Propagation
- Softwood stem cuttings (4-6 inch tips) in spring or late summer, or seed sowing in late winter
🛡️ Health & Safety
Mildly toxic to cats and dogs — contains geraniol and linalool; ingestion causes vomiting, anorexia, and depression
Common issues
- Botrytis gray mold in humid conditions, Edema from overwatering, Whitefly infestations, Rust on undersides of leaves
💡 Care tips
- Produces clusters of colorful flowers all season long,Scented varieties release fragrance when leaves are touched,Deadhead regularly to encourage continuous blooming,Bring indoors before frost to overwinter as a houseplant
