Friday, March 5, 2010

gardener's question time



A few years ago I filled a whole garden bed with pelargoniums (commonly known as geraniums). I know they are deeply un-fashionable - which is why I suspect I like them - but they are also drought tolerant, have really nice flowers and you can neglect them and they don't mind.
My problem is this: I planted about 6 different colours - pink, two reds, variegated red and white, pure white and a really beautiful old pale pink that came from a very old plant.

For reasons I do not understand, all the geraniums are now the same pink (pictured).
I've looked in all my gardening books and on the internets and can find no explanation for this. One of my gardening chores for March is to Do Something about this bed, but if I rip the thing to pieces and re-plant will the same thing happen again?
Posted by at 1:53 PM
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7 comments:

  1. Could that pink flowered one have slowly taken over the bed, smothering out the others?
    Just a thought.
    Cheers, Sue
    ReplyDelete
  2. The pink one is an alien and is occupying the other mere plants

    signed
    a Non-Gardener
    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey lovely, here is a link that shows that others have experienced this http://www.au.gardenweb.com/forums/load/peren/msg0100094417090.html. they mention contacting the Pelargonium & Geranium Society & seeing if they have an answer.
    ReplyDelete
  4. Does it have anything to do with F1 hybrids? (Sounds good!!) In England pelargoniums usually die in the first frost unless you have green-fingers or a greenhouse! Because yours just keep growing then maybe they revert back to their original or dominant parent plant?
    How bizarre!
    I like the pink though and they look so lush.
    Good luck!
    ReplyDelete
  5. I do prune this bed heavily once or twice a year so I don't THINK smothering is it. But I'm thinking the reverting to the parent plant may be it. I found a flower whose petals started off pale pink and then looked as if the dark pink had been spattered on half the petals ( like the darker pink was bleeding through). I think the only solution is to rip everything out, start again with ONE colour and see what happens over a couple of seasons.
    Trina - because out winters are so mild pleargoniums are grown outside as perennial and last for years and years.
    ReplyDelete
  6. Pleargoniums - a new variety of PELARGONIUMS of course. Idiot typist.
    ReplyDelete
  7. Is it anything to do with soil makeup, etc? I know there are some plants that grow pink or blue, for eg, depending on the pH. Just a thought, not sure if it applies to geraniums. Let us know if you find out!
    ReplyDelete

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