Pelargonium zonale

El geranio zonal — el pelargonio de parterre por excelencia, con vistosas umbelas en escarlata, rosa, salmón y blanco sobre hojas suavemente zonadas y festoneadas.

Pelargonium zonale — the zonal geranium

Pelargonium zonale is the botanical name for the zonal geranium, the classic bedding "geranium" of pots and borders — bold rounded heads of scarlet, pink, salmon and white above softly scalloped leaves, often marked with a darker horseshoe zone. It is the species behind much of our bedding geranium range within the flower seed collection.

History & origin

Native to South Africa, pelargoniums were brought to Europe in the seventeenth century and became enormously popular as tender bedding and conservatory plants. Though universally called geraniums, they are a separate genus from the hardy true geraniums (cranesbills) of cooler climates.

The genus name Pelargonium comes from the Greek pelargos, a stork, for the long, beak-like seed capsule, while zonale refers to the darker horseshoe-shaped band, or zone, on the leaves.

Botanical characteristics

A tender perennial usually grown as an annual, it forms neat, bushy plants topped with long-stalked rounded flower clusters from early summer to frost. Sun-loving, heat-tolerant and superb in pots, it is a mainstay of our container-friendly flowers and our wider ornamental flowers, flowering tirelessly with very little fuss.

Growing Pelargonium zonale from seed

Sow early — midwinter to early spring — in warmth, as seed-raised plants need a long start to flower the same year. Just cover the seed, keep it warm and bright, prick out and grow on frost-free, then plant into full sun in beds or pots once warm. Deadhead for continuous bloom. Our flower growing guide and flower sowing calendar cover the timing.

Ready to grow geraniums? Browse the varieties or learn the basics first.

Related categories: Geranium · Container Flowers · Ornamental Flowers · Annual Flowers · All Flower Seeds

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¿Es el geranio zonal realmente un geranio?
Botánicamente, no. Las plantas de parterre que llamamos geranios son pelargonios — un género separado y sensible al frío, distinto de los verdaderos geranios resistentes (geranios de prado). ¿Por qué se llama zonale?
Por la banda más oscura con forma de herradura, o zona, que marca las hojas redondeadas de muchas variedades. ¿Cuándo debo sembrar la semilla?
Siembra pronto, desde mediados de invierno hasta principios de primavera, con calor — las plantas criadas de semilla necesitan un largo arranque para florecer ese mismo verano. ¿Son buenos en macetas?
Excelentes — amantes del sol y tolerantes al calor, están entre las flores para contenedor más vistosas y fiables.