At least I'm assuming it's a pelargonium. I bought it at a local nursery this spring and it's tripled in size. It has hairy soft leaves that smell like peppermint.
Does anyone know what kind of pelaronium this is?
The blossoms are small and pink. Not much to speak of. I might have had more if the plant had been in full sun all day.
I'm pretty sure its Pelargonium tormentosum.A lovely plant grown for its scented and soft hairy leaves.In its native habitat (Cape Province, South Africa) it grows in semi-shaded moist conditions.
Sure enough!!. Thank you. I don't know why I didn't think to ask earlier.
So . . . to overwinter in zone 9. In the garage, monthly watering. Or does it need to stay in the house?
Crazy. I did lots of searches on peppermint geranium and didn't ever see the info that is out there. Have I lost my brain?
Anyway, I did see one site that says it makes both an excellent houseplant and that it's hard in zones 7 through 11. Good news. I recommend this plant highly. It's huge now - about 2 feet across - and I haven't had to do anything other than water it this summer. And the fragrance of the leaves is a lovely soft scent.
Katie, I have this pelargonium growing in a bed, and it dies back here in the winter but comes back. If I shelter it behind a lattice screen, it doesn't even die back. It's one of my favorite plants!
That's good to know. We typically (last year wasn't typical) don't have much snow, but we do have freezing and thawing, which is hard on some things. I'm thinking that it can handle the cold (28 lowest) if I can keep it on the drier side (?). Would love to see a photo of yours.
This photo isn't my plant, but I took this last Saturday on a garden crawl in Carmel. How gorgeous is this???
Oh, wow. That's very cool. I guess I just didn't get that it was such a sprawler. The leaves on mine are so big . . .
I used to have mine in a hanging basket, where it was really pretty. But we had an unusually cold winter and the frosts got it. I bought another one that I put in a raised bed near my koi pond in part shade, and I mulch heavily year-round. It doesn't like the high temps we get in the summer, either.
Interesting. Don't know why I didn't know about this particular Pelargonium before. I love its size, it seems pretty trouble-free. And who can resist that refreshing scent? I may try this in the ground next year and see how it does. Cranesbills tolerate our temps well here.
Gilroy - I've never been there. Garlic festival right? That has always sounded to me like a very fun day!
I love both the scent and the softness of the fuzzy leaves. The blooms are just totally boring!
Yes, we're the home of the world-famous Gilroy Garlic Festival. I was one of the MANY volunteers for 15 years---I helped direct traffic. The town really opens its doors for this event, which is a fundraiser for lots of programs. Great food, crafts, local wines, etc., etc. I've talked with people from all over the country, and even the world, who have planned an entire trip around the festival. Some folks come every year. We even have a little "RV Town" that springs up in the designated area of the parking lot up to 3 days before the festivities start, and there's quite a competition to be the first one there!
That's way too cool. There are so many good uses for garlic. And I can eat a whole roasted garlic bulb in a sitting. Yum.
Hi. This appears to be P. Tomentosum. They are wonderful! Louise
Thanks, Louise. I agree. I'm just now trying to figure out what I'm going to do to overwinter it here. If I could just keep the cats from eating it, I'd bring it inside.
It hangs beautifully, which is what I've learned to do with catnip for the same reason.
I amazed your cats EAT this !! My 6 would never think of it ! [Try wheatberry seed & sprout some grass for them
or get spider plants]. But it should survive well in zone 8 outside. Or you cld just bring it on & let kitties feast away. It will sure keep their systems in top shape ! {I hope THEY go outside !] Louise
It's huge, though, and it would take quite a bit to install something that would support it. I might try what I used to do with big plants, which was to put rocks at the base to stop them from digging in the dirt. And they aren't kittens anymore, so that might just work now.
As far as plant eating goes, my cats really don't get it. They eat any and all houseplants . . . and then throw them up. It's one or two cats, to be honest. And it's not because they crave grass. Panda just has a nursing fetish - we're still working on keeping her from licking my face when I'm in bed at night.
Of course, she might not like the peppermint-y smell. Last winter she decided to take a nap in Sahara's crate:
Interesting...I have grown peppermint geranium (p. tomentosum) and mine always had small white flowers and the velvet leaves and I've always known it to grow in shade. You say that yours has pink flowers. Now I have a peppermint geranium that popped up on its own...growing in sun, leaves 6-7 inches across, not the typical velvet leaves, and pink flowers. Anyone have this or any ideas?
Oh, meant to post photo along with it:
WCG - Is that all growth from this year? Wow. And it smells like peppermint?
I'm not sure mine will come back - I haven't seen any signs of life, so I have to hope that the nursery at which I found it last year will have it again. In retrospect, I would say that the flower I had was white with pink/magenta on it.
It has grown that much since Fall and it was larger..... it's been cut back since it wants to sprawl into a narrow path. I've just not encountered this one before and I've brought home some good pelargonium books, but haven't found one like it yet. It's probably just a variety that I've not seen before, but I'm wondering if there's the off chance it's crossed. Whatever it is, it certainly is vigorous!
Vigorous is good . . .
Yep.... :)