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Pelargonium peltatum
Also called Ivy geranium, Peltated Geranium, Ivyleaf geranium, Ivy-leaved pelargonium, Ivy Leaved Geranium, Ivy Leaf Pelargonium, Kaffir Sorrel
Hanging geranium (Pelargonium peltatum) is a trailing perennial from South Africa, grown widely in hanging baskets and containers. It needs bright light, good drainage and fairly dry conditions between waterings.
Pelargonium peltatum is a scrambling purple
perennial plant with five shallow or deeply lobed, circular- to heart-shaped, somewhat fleshy leaves, sometimes with a differently coloured semicircular band, that has been assigned to the cranesbill family. It carries umbel-like inflorescences with 2–10, white to mauve, bilateral symmetrical flowers, each with a "spur" that is merged with the flower stalk. It is known by several common names including ivy-leaved pelargonium and cascading geranium. It is native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. In its home range, it flowers year round but most vigorously from August to October.
In 1700, Willem Adriaan van der Stel, Governor of the Cape Colony, introduced the ivy-leaved pelargonium to the Netherlands. Sir Francis Masson shipped the species to Great Britain in 1774. P. peltatum has been used to develop many garden hybrids that are called "ivy-leaved pelargoniums". The species and its hybrids can be very easily propagated through taking cuttings. It grows best on well drained substrates such as sandy or loamy soils, is not sensitive to soil acidity and is drought resistant, but it neither tolerates shading nor frost. The ivy-leaved pelargonium is cultivated on a large-scale for landscaping and as an ornamental plant for use in gardens and containers, as well as being used as a houseplant.
The ivy-leaved pelargonium natural distribution consists of parts of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa. The species has escaped cultivation in climates somewhat comparable to South Africa including in California, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, Spain and the Canary Islands, Portugal and the Azores Islands, France, Italy and Greece. It may behave rather weedy.
The leaves of the ivy-leaved pelargonium can be eaten as a vegetable and have a tangy taste. A bluish textile dye can be made from the petals.
Sorrel Leaf Pelargonium · Hooded crane's bill · Large Flower Pelargonium · Sweet scented geranium · Zonal geranium · Scarlet geranium · Butterfly Storksbill · Rasp-leaf pelargonium · Black Pelargonium · Night Scent Pelargonium · Grapeleaf geranium · Geranium
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pelargonium peltatum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
