Pelargonium hortorum

Growing in Pots, Balconies & Indoors

Zonal geranium is a classic container and balcony plant (0.3-1.2 m). The grower rates it as not a deep-room houseplant, but it flowers happily on a sunny windowsill and is easily overwintered indoors in cold climates.

Quick Details

• Container Size: Small to medium pot, trough or window box
• Indoor Suitability: Not a deep-indoor plant; flowers on a sunny sill and overwinters indoors
• Best Spot: Full sun (some shade in fierce heat)
• Soil & Drainage: Free-draining mix
• Watering in Pots: Let the top dry between waterings – it dislikes being soggy

Indoors & On the Windowsill

• Windowsill: On a bright, sunny sill it keeps flowering; in a dim room it grows pale and leggy.
• Overwintering: In cold climates this tender plant is easily brought indoors to a cool, bright spot to survive the winter, then put back out when it warms – a key reason to grow it in a pot.
• Safety: Geraniums are toxic to pets – keep them out of reach of cats and dogs.

On a Balcony or Patio

• Sunniest spot: Give it the sunniest place on the balcony or patio and deadhead often for continuous flowers.
• Light & heat: Walls, railings and paving reflect heat and wind dries pots fast, so check moisture often and water more in hot spells.

Choosing the Pot, Soil & Long-Term Care

• Pot & drainage: A pot with good drainage holes; let the top of the mix dry between waterings.
• Potting mix: A light, free-draining mix – a good potting mix, or peat/coir blended with perlite or vermiculite.
• Feeding: Feed regularly for continuous flowering, as nutrients leach from pots.
• Long term: Refresh the mix each season or two; cut the plant back before bringing it in for winter.

Bloom & Edible Flower Guide

Quick Details

• Bloom Season: Spring, summer and autumn — and nearly year-round in frost-free conditions
• Time to First Bloom: Fast — plants from cuttings or seed usually flower within a few months and bloom in their first season
• Flower Appearance: Rounded clusters (umbels) of five-petalled flowers in peach, red, white, purple or pink, often bicoloured
• Edibility: Edible — the petals are edible for people; note that the plant is mildly toxic to cats, dogs and horses

Detailed Blooming Overview

Pelargonium x hortorum, the zonal pelargonium (widely sold as bedding geranium), is one of the longest-flowering plants you can grow. It carries dense, ball-like heads of bloom almost continuously in warm weather and, kept frost-free, will flower through much of the year. Deadheading is the single biggest thing you can do to keep it going.

Flower Characteristics

• Five-petalled flowers packed into rounded, umbrella-like clusters held on stiff stalks above the leaves.
• A broad colour range — peach, red, white, purple and pink — often with more than one colour per flower.
• Free-blooming over a very long season.

Bloom Care & Thinning

• Deadheading: Snap off whole spent flower heads at the base of their stalk; this is the key to continuous bloom.
• Feed and light: Full sun and regular feeding keep the flower heads coming.
• Using the flowers: The petals are edible for people, but keep the plant away from pets, which it can upset if chewed.