PlantFiles: Fish Geranium, Horseshoe Geranium, Zonal Geranium
Pelargonium x hortorum

Staple in gardens throughout central and southern CA. In central Ca, they are evergreen and if they are planted in a favorable location, will bloom through the winter. Very easy to propagate. I start new plants every year by just sticking the cuttings where i want them to grow, then in about a month, they begin to leaf out and bloom. They prefer full sun and and seem to not like a lot of water (which makes them rot) so i keep them on the dry side.

I hate to give it a neutral as it was GORGEOUS while it lasted... but it would take extra work for those of us in South FL, where we can get alot of rain. My geraniums did not survive, but I will definitely try them again, maybe if I plant them near the underhangs where they won't get as much water, but there they won't get as much sun! Fool that I am, I will probably purchase them again next year. ;)

An old favourite and with good reason. Pelargonium is a reliable and almost trouble-free annual that offers great colour and texture to the garden. I planted mine in a pot on my patio. Despite it being a hot, windy location, in a summer of drought and grasshopper infestation, it still performed well. Some people have successfully overwintered theirs and had them for years. A lot of people here call them "geraniums" and they are sold under that name, although technically that isn't accurate.

Often difficult to grow in the very wet summers in Florida, but dry summers are perfect for them. I try to keep them going all the time, but often need to replace them.

You can get seeds from a geranium by using a very small bristle paintbrush. Dip along the center of the flowers dragging pollen from plant to plant. Seed pods develop quickly. Let them dry out on the parent plant. Your next generation may or may not resemble the parent plants, but who knows what color and look it will have!

Geraniums are one of the mainstays of modern gardens; they thrive in containers. The foliage is interesting enough to provide a framework, even during its non-flowering cycles.

A favorite bedding and container plant, this tender perennial is grown as an annual in all but the warmest regions of the U.S. Plants have succulent leaves, which are circular, 2 to 3 inches in diameter and may be disctinctively marked or banded. Flower clusters of small florets arranged in a half sphere, appear throughout summer. Choose from white, pink, magenta, scarlet, lavendar, orange or salmon colors. Grown in average soil, keep regularly watered, especially in the hottest part of summer. Pinch off spent flowers to encourage a new flush of growth.