Golden Brilliantisima - tri-coloured leaf zonal pelargonium

 

Syn. Golden Brilliantissimum.  Golden tricolour.  Similar to Contrast, but base colour more yellow.   Small scarlet flowers.  Introduced in 1873 by Gibson and Park simultaneously.

I was given this plant a couple of years ago and I can never tire of it.  The leaves are so bright.  Like all the tri-coloured leaf pelargoniums, It is a slow grower, but worth growing.

I have been taking advantage of the mild weather to take more cuttings, which seem to be rooting fairly quickly.   I do have them in the heated propagator in the conservatory.     Those that have rooted are now potted up.  I will leave them in their 7cm square pots until spring when they will go into appropriate size pots.

Skies of Italy - Zonal Pelargonium

 

Zonal Pelargonium "Skies of Italy"

Raised by Derek Clifford and introduced in the UK in1970.  "Skies of Italy" has small single scarlet red flowers.   The leaves have a yellow edge, which is finely notched and have a chocolate brown zone.   Not often seen these days.

Now that autumn has arrived here in the UK I have been busy getting the greenhouses ready for winter.   All of the outside pelargoniums are now cut back, checked over for slugs and other nasties, and moved under the benches.   The bubble wrap is up, apart from the fronts which I leave until we get notice of a severe cold spell.  The fronts of each greenhouse faces south west and does not get the cold northerly winds.  I prefer to leave them un-bubblewrapped to let in as much light as I can.   So far, although we have had some cold northerly winds, it has been mild, so I have not needed to have heaters on.