page_title: Pelargonium
section_title: Cultivation
hierarchical_section_title: Pelargonium / Cultivation
caption_attribution_description: English: Pelargonium triste - Kenwyn Nature Park - Cape Town
context_page_description: Pelargonium is a genus of flowering plants which includes about 280 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly known as geraniums, pelargoniums, or storksbills. Geranium is also the botanical name and common name of a separate genus of related plants, also known as cranesbills. Both genera belong to the family Geraniaceae. Carl Linnaeus originally included all the species in one genus, Geranium, and they were later separated into two genera by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1789.
  Pelargonium species are evergreen perennials indigenous to temperate and tropical regions of the world, with many species in southern Africa. They are drought and heat tolerant, but can tolerate only minor frosts. Some species are extremely popular garden plants, grown as houseplants and bedding plants in temperate regions. They have a long flowering period, with flowers mostly in purple, red and orange, or white.
context_section_description: Various types of Pelargonium are regular participants in flower shows and competitive events, with numerous societies devoted exclusively to their cultivation. They are easy to propagate vegetatively from cuttings. Zonal geraniums grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 9 through 12. Zonal geraniums are basically tropical perennials. Although they are often grown as annuals, they may overwinter in zones as cool as zone 7.
caption: Pelargonium triste, the first species of its genus to be cultivated, here shown in its native habitat in Cape Town
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