Pelargoniums, called bedding or tender "Geraniums", are evergreen perennials that are usually grown in pots and enjoyed around seated areas or doorways, then moved inside to a sunny windowsill during winter. They are often used as annual bedding, and can potentially survive a mild winter with some protection.
The varieties that we grow all have scented, edible leaves that can be used as kitchen herbs or dried for pot-pourri. They flower profusely from about May to September if you deadhead regularly and feed them a little high-potash tomato feed twice a month; if they overwinter in a hot conservatory, they can flower even longer.
They like rich, well drained compost and full sun. Water them well during the growing season, then in winter, dial it back and let the compost almost dry out between each watering: it is the moisture as much the cold that they can't stand, and Pelargoniums in borders are more likely to survive if you keep the rain off them and the immediate soil.
Pelargoniums are cousins of hardy Geraniums like Rozanne, and quite similar in appearance, but they are South African in origin and although adapted to diverse conditions there, it is obviously much wetter and colder in Britain.
Browse all of our annual bedding plants.
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