An Elegant Yellow Pelargonium

P. oblongatum

An elegant and beautiful species pelargonium from northern Namaqualand on the north west coast of South Africa.  The name, P. oblongatum, refers to the oblong underground tuber which can grow to 15 cm and the plant needs to be kept dry during its dormant period. The flowers are large and the colour is the most beautiful butter-yellow.  My photo's were taken during a visit to the National Collection of Pelargoniums at Fibrex Nursery.  

I went to the Woking Fuchsia & Pelargonium Club last evening. The topic was orchids and I picked up a couple of tips on growing the orchids I have.   And there were some lovely slides as well.  I did not realise what a large family of plants they are, even bigger than the geraniaceae family.

A honey of a pelargonium



Honeywood Suzanne

This is a really pretty 'feminine' pelargonium.  Honeywood Suzanne is another dwarf frutetorum type zonal and was hybridised by John Thorpe.   This was released in 1986 by John's own nursery near Reading, Berkshire, which he ran for over 25 years until he retired in 1993.   Honeywood Suzanne has white semi-double flowers with a pink blush to the centre.  It flowers prolifically for most of the year.

John hybridised several pelargoniums with the prefix 'Honeywood'.

After a wet start to the day, we had a warm and sunny afternoon.   The last of the dahlias are now in trays drying off in the greenhouse.  I also moved the sempervivums under the cover of my small plastic covered greenhouse for the winter.   The plastic cover on the greenhouse is fine, but the zip has broken on the roll-down door, but this doesn't matter because they are perfectly hardy, but I need to keep them dry.

Charmay Hampshire

Pelargonium 'Charmay Hampshire'

I love this plant!  I first saw it in Australia a few years ago and it was one of the ones I brought back to the UK, and I am so pleased that it survived.  It is a frutetorum zonal, i..e it has P.frutetorum as an ancestor.  P. frutetorum has a lax growth habit, but does not trail as the ivy leaf plants do.    Charmay Hampshire flowers prolifically with pretty pale salmon pink semi double flowers on  a dwarf plant.

Charmay Hampshire was hybridised by Ken Attfield of Australia - Charmay is the prefix to all his plants.  Ken was originally from Basingstoke in Hampshire and I imagine this is where the name comes from.  

I have given this plant to a couple of the nurseries so I hope they will release it one day so others can enjoy it as much as I do.  I have given cuttings to friends and they have all enjoyed growing it.

Yesterday I made a start on digging up the dahlias.  There are still some to do, but it has rained most of the day here so I hope I can get out in the garden and finish getting them up tomorrow.

  

The Sad Geranium

Most growers of pelargoniums will know the history of Pelargonium triste - it is supposedly the first pelargonium to be grown in this country in 1632.   It was originally known as Geranium Indicum noctu odoratum; the Sweet, or Painted, Crane's-bill, and also The Sad Geranium.  Indicum because it had been thought that sailors brought the plant to this country from India, without knowing that the ships had also called at the Cape of Good Hope where the plant was collected.   The flowers have a sweet night scent, hence noctu odoratum.  Sad Geranium, or triste, because the flowers are mostly a dull yellow colour with brown or yellow markings.   




Pelargonium triste



The plant grows from an underground tuber, with several smaller tubers.  These have been used to treat diarrhoea or dysentery.

As you can see, the leaves are deeply divided and carrot-like.

Pelargonium triste is found in sandy soils in the western regions of the Cape Peninsular.  Here in the UK my plant has just produced leaves and will, hopefully, flower early in the new year.   When the flower fades, so do the leaves and then I just put the plant under the bench and forget all about it until September when I see leaves beginning to appear.  It really does have a very sweet scent at night, and just one plant will fill my small conservatory with scent during the evening.  

Sweet Turkish Delight

Turkish Delight

Shown by Ken Abel at the 2007 BPGS Show at Capel Manor, he won a first with this, and it's not hard to see why.  

Turkish Delight is a dwarf zonal with bright green leaves which have a wide brown zone.  The flowers are single and a bright orange-red colour.  Hybridised by Ian Gillam of Vancouver, Canada and introduced in 1984.   

If you want to know how Ken grows his prize winning plants, take a look at his website: http://www.prize-pelargomiums.com/

Found at Kew



P. Kewense

Pelargonium Kewense (or sometimes Kewensis) was found at Kew Gardens around 1934 and is thought to be a cross between P. scandenss  and P. zonale.  I think P. Kewense has the most beautiful red of all the pelargoniums.  The single crimson red flowers are quite unlike any of the other red pelargoniums.  It is a dwarf plant which I find grows into a well branched plant almost by itself and is in flower most of the summer.  Although P.zonale is said to be one of the parents, it does not appear to have the usual  horseshoe shape zone on the leaf.    Pelargonium Kewense is well worth adding to your collection.

I've been putting up the bubble wrap on the second greenhouse today - although a larger greenhouse, it is not so high as the first one and so is much easier for me to deal with without resorting to a ladder.  

So all the plants are wrapped up for the winter.   Of course, I have far too many plants, and what will I do when they all begin to grow?  Some have been eliminated, but quite obviously not enough as I have run out of room and need to juggle them all around again.   But it's a good excuse to be out in the greenhouse

We had our first really heavy frost last night  - minus 4C.  Fortunately I had covered the plants in the greenhouse with fleece so they were not affected.  But the dahlias are now blackened, so I will be lifting them this weekend.