🪷 Geranium
Pelargonium × hortorum
The porch-pot classic that asks for almost nothing and gives all summer.
Sun
Full sun, 6+ hrs
Days to harvest
Annual (perennial in zones 10-11); blooms summer through frost
Spacing
8-12 inches apart
Soil pH
6.0-7.0
How to grow
Set out transplants after all frost danger in average soil — geraniums bloom best when slightly underfed, so skip the heavy fertilizer. Pinch young plants to encourage branching, and don't overwater; soggy pots are the fastest way to kill them. In Florida, they shine fall through spring and sulk in summer heat — or bring pots indoors to overwinter further north.
Water & feeding
Let the top inch dry between waterings; they store water in fleshy stems and forgive missed waterings better than most.
Common problems
- Geranium rust — orange-brown pustules; remove affected leaves.
- Budworm caterpillars chewing buds — handpick or Bt.
- Leggy growth in too much shade.
Harvest
Deadhead spent flower heads down to the next leaf joint to trigger continuous blooming — the single highest-ROI garden chore there is.
Nerdy fact: What we call geraniums are actually Pelargoniums, from South Africa — true Geraniums are the hardy 'cranesbill' perennials. We've been calling them the wrong name for 300 years and the plants have never once corrected us.