How to Grow and Care for Pelargoniums

Horseshoe geranium can be identified by looking for horseshoe-shaped patterns of color, or “zones” within the leaves. The bright blooms are attractive to bees, butterflies, and birds and come in many colors, including red, pink, salmon, and more. These plants are easy to grow outside in your yard or indoors in containers.

The rose geranium (*Pelargonium graveolens*) is a shrub native to some nations in South Africa. The plant is desirable to many for its decorative purposes - attractive white to pink flower clusters and fruits that resemble that of a stork’s long beak. The plant leaves produce economically valuable rose-smelling essential oil for the perfume industry.

Ivy geranium was first introduced to Europe by the governor of the Cape Province in the eighteenth century. The genus Pelargonium derives its name from the beak of a stork because of its fruits' resemblance to it.

A symbol of friendship, the regal Geranium or Pelargonium × domesticum, grows decadent flowers with an equally lovely fragrance. Beautiful trumpeted shaped flowers are available in a variety of bright colors including purple, pink, red, or white, and are surrounded by soft, velvet leaves. This houseplant loves summer and can be taken outside when the weather is warm.

Zonal geranium (Pelargonium hortorum) is an annual plant species that looks similar in appearance to other geraniums. The zonal geranium can be distinguished by its zone of red, blue or purple striping through the middle of the leaf. This species is typically a one-season bloomer, unlike other geraniums that are perennial growers and bloom year round. Zonal geranium blooms come in a variety of colors that include red, pink, burgundy, salmon and white.