Stellar Pelargoniums (‘Geraniums’)

I don't think that I've ever seen a stellar pelargonium anywhere in person, except in my own house. Every year, I usually grow a couple plants from seeds and keep them in pots. The flower masses are long lasting and will stop people in their tracks. These are basically zonal pelargoniums, but with star shaped flowers instead of the standard flowers you normally see with the "geraniums" at a local garden center. (Or half the flower gardens in the United States.) I suspect that companies mass producing plants for consumers want the most colorful, simple, basic geraniums they can crank out. They don't want to mess with a bunch of variations on a theme that are untested and may, or may not, sell.

However, these can be fairly easily grown from seeds in a pot indoors. You could use either indirect bright indoor light in a window. Or keep them under a plant light. Even a shop light will do if you have the space. But they can be grown in the same way as any other geraniums you've had in the past, and used in the same ways. Whether in a pot or planted in the ground in your flower bed.

The best way to get your own stellar pelargonium is probably to search online for seeds, and grow them yourself. The flower masses I've seen are about 5" across, and there may be a couple of those masses on a single plant. Generally they can be found in that range of colors between white and red, so that would include variations in between such as pink and salmon. You can buy seeds in a specific color, or a mix of everything.

If you love flowers and gardening but dread long winters without gardening, these are great indoor flowers that will keep you going while you patiently wait for spring. You can even time the blooming so it happens in the dead of winter.

I think I bought a packet of stellar pelargonium seeds about 7 years ago and I've been growing the same plants ever since.From the same packed of seeds. A couple weeks ago I decided to plant about 20 of those seeds and had about 100% germination (of seeds that I bought 7 years ago!). I will of course follow up with some photos of these plants once they bloom as it was a mix of colors.

The Aley Acres seed shop on Etsy.

Dahlias, Notes from a Gardener book on Amazon.

Floral Art and Landscape Painting Etsy shop.

TikTok, some gardening posts.