African Geranium

Wed, 08/12/2009 - 8:48am — Kathy Ormiston

Photo Credit:

Rebecca Schoenenberger

Botanical Name:

Pelargonium sidoides

Pronunciation:

(pe-lar-GO-nee-um sih-DOY-deez)

Common Name:

African Geranium

Plant Type:

Perennial

Mature Size:

1 ft. wide and tall forming a dense mound

Water Requirements:

Low: water every 3 weeks until the root ball is wet

Sun/Shade Requirements:

Full to half sun

Flower Color :

Dark purple

We love Pelargonium sidoides elegant dark purple flowers and dense mound of
silver-gray, heart-shaped leaves. Masses of the dark purple flowers keep coming all the way through mid-December with or without deadheading. Even without flowers, African geranium still looks great in the garden because of its attractive foliage.

This is a geranium that thrives in low water situations and in full sun. We've also seen it do well in part shade with generous water. This cultivar seems to be more cold hardy than other Pelargonium. The only regular maintenance it needs is occasional deadheading of spent flowers and that's only necessary if you enjoy deadheading. All in all it doesn't seem to be a very picky plant.

Like most Pelargoniums it is very easy to propagate from cuttings.