Scarlet Geranium (Pelargonium inquinans)

Tender perennial, grown as houseplant
Description: Velvety green foliage studded with clusters of bright scarlet flowers throughout the year.
Habit: Grows into a 2 to 3 foot mound in the garden
Culture: Prefers full sun and rich, somewhat heavy, well-drained soil; easily propagated from cuttings in late winter or early spring of plants carried over indoors
Hardiness: USDA Zone 10 and above

Imported from South Africa into Britain by the early 1700s, this species geranium was an exciting novelty that became one of the parents of our modern bedding geraniums. It is thought to be the species grown by Jefferson in the President’s House. Upon his retirement in 1807, Margaret Bayard Smith, a Washington socialite, asked for a geranium he was growing and Jefferson replied: “It is in very bad condition, having been neglected latterly, as not intended to be removed ... if plants have sensibility, as the analogy of their organization with ours seems to indicate, it cannot but be proudly sensible of her fostering attentions.”

Arrives in a 2.5" pot.