Geraniums for a monsoon garden?
In Morocco I have seen outdoor hedges with man-made geraniums (Pelargonium x hortorum, Geraniaceae), but so far we have failed in finding suitable cultivars for Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. With many species being native to South Africa, we fear the heavy Chiang Mai monsoon rains in August – September kills them. Geraniums are popular in Sweden, where they are grown outdoors in pots in summertime, and then kept indoors in wintertime. If anyone in a lowland monsoon climate have had success in growing a particular hybrid, please let us know!
Red geraniums mixed with blue forget-me-not (Myosotis sp., Boraginaceae) and garden pansies (Viola x wittrockiana, Violaceae) are exotic to Thais visiting Gripsholm’s Castle in Sweden.
Eric Danell & Ketsanee Seehamongkol
Hi Eric,
Surfing on internet, I found this article. with some interesting info. It is in Dutch, but you can translate with google of course.
It sais there are two tropic species; Pelargonium graveolens en de Pelargonium odoratissimum.
The family name is Geraniaceae, Geraniums and Pelargoniums belong to this family but they are not the same. http://www.gielenaroma.nl/index.php?page=pelargonium—geranium
If you need some help with translation, I live in CM my email is joop.deleth@gmail.com
Joop
Thanks Joop!
Indeed we should try some tropical Pelargonium.
Yes, the English horticultural terms are confusing: ‘geranium’ in English refers to the scientific genus Pelargonium or ‘pelargon’ in Swedish, while ‘Geranium’ with capital ‘C’ refers to the scientific genus often called ‘hardy geraniums’ in English.
We are still in Sweden but should be happy to see you when we return.
Cheers, Eric
Perhaps ask a resident of Cairns?