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prairie_northrose

What’s your favourite geranium / pelargonium?

prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago

‘Brocade Fire’ is definitely my new favourite geranium/pelargonium. I got it last year, grew it outside over the summer, and now have it inside for the winter.

Bright red-orange ruffled continuous blooms, which barely shed, but still look excellent when faded.

Bloom heads are smaller than modern varieties, but the size matches well with the frequency of the flowers.

And the foliage! Chartreuse lime green leaves with a glowing burgundy centre.

The physical texture of the leaves are the most velvety-soft I’ve ever felt compared to other varieties I’ve grown.

Does anyone have a favourite geranium / pelargonium?

Comments (12)

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    6 years ago

    PNR, I wish I had kept up my collection of fancy leaf geraniums, I had about thirty varieties that now most of which are pretty much impossible to obtain. If people these days were more into gardening than texting and facebook, then maybe more specialty plant nurseries would remain!

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    6 years ago

    Geraniums are probably one of the very best winter houseplants, they sure do not require much attention, little watering and bugs seldom bother them! I think I'll attempt in earnest to gather up a few fancy leaf types when I do come across them.

    I received two packs of 'Nano' geraniums from Park Seed and the little guys are now germinating nicely along with 'BullsEye' mixed from Vesey. All will go in containers on the back deck.

    'Nano' geraniums


  • Bourbon Milkshake
    6 years ago

    Scented geraniums will always be my favorite though lately I'm becoming curious about the fancy-leaved/fancy-flowered ones!

  • prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    FrozeBudd, I'll have to give the 'Nano' variety a try, I like the idea of a more compact geranium, especially if I bring them indoors during the winter. Right now, "BullsEye" is my most compact:

    If I'm ever in Kelowna BC, I'm tempted to stop here: http://www.thegreenery.ca/products/annuals/exotic-geraniums.html . It looks like they had 'Crystal Palace Gem', which has been on my wish list since I've seen it on this forum.

    Bourban, I am stunned at the variety of scents available in scented leaf geraniums - from nutmeg to oak! If I lived in the states I would be immersed in the Geraniacea.com website, some of the flowers on the scented varieties are very attractive too: http://geraniaceae.com/cgi-bin/listPlants.cgi?major=Pelargoniums&minor=Scented-Leaf . They also have 'Appleblossom Rosebud,' I wonder if it looks as good in person as online? It is the most stunning pelargonium flower I have ever seen....

    My variegated types are a little faded/leggy right now because they are indoors. I found the tag, this is indeed Mrs. Pollock:

    Here is 'Brocade Cherry Night', I hope it blooms, flowers are similar to the double rosebud type in a vibrant dark cherry colour:

    'Brocade Fire’ is still standing out, it's the only one blooming even with the limited indoors lighting.

  • prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    ‘Brocade Fire’ today. I can’t get over how much I like this variety:

  • nicholsworth Z6 Indianapolis
    6 years ago

    Brocade Fire is pretty..I don't know the name of mine..when it's growing I'll post a pic to see if someone knows what it is..

  • Bourbon Milkshake
    6 years ago

    @prairie_northrose what a disaster. My want-list just grew by a hundred!

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    The 'BullsEye' mixed has now all germinated (a dozen seedlings) and I'm looking forward to seeing the full spectrum of colors. Last year, I had grown 'Black Magic Rose', the leaf coloring wasn't near as bold and plants grew tall with blooms of bright neon pink, as compared to the more subtle coloring shown in online photos, possibly I had received mislabel seed, anyways the plants went to the compost pile at the end of the season.

    PNR I'll later update on the 'Nano' series as they grow and come into bloom. Your 'Brocade Fire' sure is an attractive plant, I'll have to keep my eye out for that one and 'Mrs. Pollock', which I've often seen available along with the tri-colored 'Mr. Henry Cox', these I've had in the past.

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    6 years ago

    I just noticed that my geraniums (pellies) that have managed to overwinter unscathed outside have been "pruned" by the local deer population :-) These are usually listed as 'deer resistant' but once again proves deer do not read those lists and hungry deer in late winter will eat just about anything!!

  • prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    FrozeBudd, ‘Bullseye Salmon’ flowers have the most lovely darker centres and faded lighter edges, I’m glad I found them last year! Here’s a bloom from today, I’m so glad this one is alive (there were six in this planter but I left them in the unheated sunroom too long and the others died because it got too cold):

    Gardengal, I hope the deer left some stems behind so your pellies grow back! I’m lucky not to usually have deer in my fenced yard, although there was a rare occasion where my neighbor found a couple of moose in his backyard munching away.

  • marguerite_gw Zone 9a
    3 years ago

    I have always loved 'Friesdorf', I can honestly say it's my favourite, with Red Black Vesuvius a second.