r/Pelargonium

I spotted some seeds for this one a while ago, thought I'd give it a go. Sown October last year. Only two plants out of the 20 seeds purchased pulled through, however it's better than nothing.

I was a bit stupid because I had up to five seedlings per pot, and when it came to dividing them I lost a couple due to transplant shock. Think I transplanted them too early.

The leaves smell like artificial pineapple, I love it. 😂🍍

I shall try to not make a habit of this, but once in a while I think it’s nice to compare Northern Hemisphere Geraniums with Southern Hemisphere Pelargoniums. Especially when there is a botanical story.

At the weekend I visited a friend’s medieval physic/herb garden.

One plant in flower was a UK native - Geranium sanguineum, or Bloody Cranesbill.

It’s hard to see in the photo but the flowers have red veins giving its Latin name sanguineum (“blood-red”).

But its common name comes from its medical use of treating the “bloody flux” - what we’d now recognise as severe dysentery.

Under the old Doctrine of Signatures, plants resembling a disease or symptom were thought to treat it.
So a “bloody” plant for “bloody” diarrhoea made intuitive sense at the time.

There is some science too:

Bloody cranesbill contains significant amounts of tannins—compounds that:

- Tighten and contract tissues
- Reduce secretions
- Help constrict small blood vessels

In a condition like dysentery, where the bowel is inflamed, bleeding, and producing frequent loose stools, this would:

- Reduce diarrhoea
- Help limit bleeding
- Soothe irritated intestinal lining

It also has weak antimicrobial activity.

But remember this is medieval science - experimentation where doing nothing would be fatal so you might as well try.

Plants are a wonderful source of medicine because nature and evolution have found ways to synthesise chemicals.

But modern medicine is an extension of medieval medicine - researching better and better treatments. Modern herbology and homeopathy arent. Best stick to medically prescribed treatments for things as serious as the bloody flux.

I had several pots with different Pelargonium grown from seed that I still needed to divide into individual celled trays, I finally decided to just get it out of the way. I had been a bit reluctant because the transplant shock can result in losses.

1 : Top tray is P. denticulatum, which I planted out into a tray with two P. crispum . Middle tray is P. appendiculatum. Bottom tray is P. tongaense.

2-4 : P. appendiculatum. Floofy! First time I am encountering this species, I'm not very well versed in the geophytic Pelargoniums.

5-6 : P. tongaense. I had six in the one small pot, didn't want them getting too crowded. The flowers on this one are gorgeous (vibrant red), and I found the seeds to germinate quite readily.

I split them as gently as I could, but the roots are quite fragile. I then applied Kelpak (a seaweed extract) as a foliar spray to help aid the transplant shock. They're all looking slightly mopey currently, which is to be expected.

Going to keep these trays indoors and out of direct sun for a week or two, and hopefully at least some pull through. Hold thumbs!

I was recently a bit naughty in sharing a Northern Hemisphere Geranium sanguineum in flower, for comparison with Southern Hemisphere Pelargoniums.

Both are colloquially known as Cranesbills. In the Northern Hemisphere Geranium pratense is probably the easiest to see why.

This is my Pelargonium aridum, just before the flowers open, and the resemblance to Cranes and Storks really shows.

Aridum is a low-growing to shortly caulescent xerophytic subshrub, with small, grey-green, finely pubescent leaves, often developing a somewhat thickened, semi-succulent stem base and fusiform tuberous red roots, shown here when I repotted into one of my Great Grandmother’s pots:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pelargonium/s/3nBtpUpGJp

Native to the arid western regions of South Africa, particularly within the winter-rainfall zone (e.g. Little Karoo, Namaqualand and adjacent semi-desert areas - apologies my South African geography is poor). It inhabits rocky slopes, gravel flats, and well-drained sandy or stony soils, often in exposed positions.

My young P.triffidum is my next species to come into flower. I’ve photographed it next to P.kewensis as well as some normal zonales for comparison.

So…Triffidum refers to “it growing like a triffid”. What have I let myself in to…?

What I have found out is Pelargonium triffidum is a rather sculptural pelargonium with a semi-succulent, branching habit. It typically forms a loose, upright to spreading shrub, with fleshy stems that become somewhat woody with age. The foliage is finely divided to deeply lobed, giving a light, airy texture that contrasts with its more substantial stems.

Leaves are usually grey-green to mid-green, sometimes with a slightly glaucous sheen, and may be softly aromatic when brushed.

What I can confirm is it produces delicate umbels of small, five-petalled flowers, creamy and marked subtly with deep purple tones near the centre.

Pelargonium triffidum is native to South Africa, where it occurs mainly in the southern and south-western Cape region.

It’s typically found in rocky, well-drained habitats—often on slopes, outcrops, and seasonally dry scrubland where soils are poor and drainage is fast. Like many Cape pelargoniums, it is adapted to a climate with winter rainfall and hot, dry summers, storing moisture in its semi-succulent stems to get through dry periods.

In the wild it tends to grow in scattered, localised populations rather than forming dense stands, often tucked among low shrubs or in crevices where competition from larger plants is limited.