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Upon purchase pelargoniums should usually be transferred to larger containers or planted out in the garden in frost-free areas. With the exception of most of the erodiums and some of the geraniums in the Rock Garden section of the Geranium List, the plants do not like to be confined. Please take them out of their pots, and plant them in reasonably fertile, well-drained soil. They respond much better to free root run in the open ground. Like many perennials, geraniums and erodiums look their best after several years in the garden. Clump size increases, ground covers cover the ground, and they hold their own in landscape schemes.

The approximate season when plants come into flower is indicated in the Catalog by the following: Sp.(Spring), Su.(Summer), and Fa.(Fall). In our climate (Zone 9b), most geraniums and some erodiums are dormant, or at least resting, from late November through February. Don't panic if your plant disappears over the winter. It should reappear with greater strength in the spring.

All mature and acclimatized plants of geraniums and erodiums on this list can survive to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, and many to much lower temperatures, with the exception of G. canariense, G. maderense, G. palmatum and G. incanum and most of the other South African geraniums, and G. traversii and its hybrids whose lower limits are about 20-25 degrees Fahrenheit, depending their location in the garden. Where known, approximate USDA hardiness zones are indicated, following the plant descriptions.

Height is listed first followed by width (12x15"). Size descriptions in the Catalog are for general reference. Soil, placement, and culture can greatly change plant size. Few if any garden pests appear to bother these plants. (Please communicate with the Nursery if you encounter any particularly troublesome pests or disease.) Some geraniums listed in the sections devoted to Shade, Ground Covers, and Borders and Bedding bloom in flushes, and blooming time can be prolonged by shearing the vegetation after the first flush of flowers. Don't even think about cutting back any biennials.