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Photo Credit: Park Seeds

The velvety, dark leaves of this zonal geranium are a perfect foil to its salmon-colored flowers.

Come springtime, you’ll find all kinds of these geraniums in just about every garden center. There are lots to choose from – with flower colors including white, red, peach, salmon, coral and dark orange. You can even find bicolor bloomers if you look hard enough. Most of the geraniums you see are single-blossomed, but there are quite a large number of double-flowered varieties available, too.

Like many other plants, the flowers of zonal pelargoniums rise up above the canopy of leaves. The technical term for this flower structure is “pseudo-umbel.” I tell people to think of it as an umbrella of flowers – with the oldest flowers being at the top of the umbrella and the future blooms held underneath.

Why is this important to know? Because it helps when taking care of your geranium. Deadheading this plant isn’t simply a matter of breaking off the entire pseudo-umbel. You should take the time to clip out the old top flowers as they fade so the younger flower buds underneath can take their place. This also prolongs the bloom period for each flower head and gives your geranium a neat and tidy appearance. Just try not to let your zonal pelargonium deadhead naturally – the flower blossoms will tend to fall and stick to the leaves below, damaging healthy foliage.

Of course, zonal pelargoniums aren’t all about the blooms. In fact, it’s the foliage that earned this plant its name: “Zonal” refers to a darkened band of tissue in the leaf. This pigment is pronounced and darkens as the plant ages. But it’s not the foliage that made the plants so popular with gardeners around the country – it’s the fact these geraniums are tough, as well as beautiful. Nevertheless, to keep your zonal geraniums robust and pretty, it’s good to know a few things.