African Geranium

The midnight magenta flowers open for much over the year with the main show through spring and summer. The leaves have a mid fragrance and velvet sheen and grow to form a dense rosette. Incredibly frost and dry tolerant once established.

Use this resilient Pelargonium in rockeries, towards the front of garden beds or in pots. The leaves hugs the ground forming a healthy clump while the flowers hover a above. Dry, frost tolerant, incredibly hardy and easy care evergreen perennial with a long flowering season.

This Pelargonium has been used as a medicine for colds and flu in South Africa for centuries. It grows in a similar manner to P. reniforme with comparable foliage and vigour.

Plant Pelargonium sidoides in moderately fertile to humus rich, well drained soil in a sunny spot. Water in well to establish, it takes plants four to six weeks for their roots to penetrate and access the moisture in the surrounding soil. It is dry tolerant once established, severe dry periods may trigger dormancy but when the rains return so will this little soldier. Add a slow release fertiliser in spring to encourage the best blooms and strong growth. Remove spent flowers and foliage to tidy.

Pelargonium sidoides hails from South Africa where it grows in open grasslands on clays soils, shale and basalt.