Matt's Plants & Co – Australia

Geraniums (or Pelargoniums) are possibly the easiest plant to propagate.

I started off with a few cuttings from my grandparents’ garden and they’ve blossomed ever since.

My grandfather cut a bunch of them out of his wide-ranging garden and handed them to me in a bucket with water.

I potted them up that warm night at the start of Autumn and placed them in a sunny position.

They flowered soon after and remained bright before it got too chilly. They would blossom in a beautiful red; a flower would appear, die off, and another would take its place.

Geraniums are a very hardy plant. I put the cuttings in the ground out the front, buried them with mulch, and they began coming through in good time.

But they need a good pruning after they’ve finished flowering in the warmer months to come back to life in Spring. And when I say a “good pruning”, I mean a hard pruning.

On another note, you may have heard the term Pelargonium thrown around while talking about a plant that looks similar, so what is the difference between a Pelargonium and Geranium?

It mainly comes down to the shapes of the petals.

Some have given up and use the term Geranium for both, while others are adamant to use the correct terms.

They’re both part of the same family (Geraniaceae), but the ‘Laidback Gardener‘ recently put the issue to bed in response to a reader comment.

“Pelargonium flowers have 2 upper petals and 3 lower ones: the lower ones are usually smaller. Geranium flowers have 5 petals too, but naturally symmetrical and of equal size. That’s the basic rule.

“However, some hybrid pelargoniums have been bred with equal-sized petals, so they are exceptions. Other than that, there are no shrubby or climbing Geraniums, so those must be Pelargoniums. Also serrated leaves are likely linked to pelargoniums.”

So, if you’re not much having much luck in the garden and you’re wondering what plant never dies, I’d have to say it’s the Geranium.