TOW Tuberous Pelargonium -- old information from M. Vassar
Mary Sue Ittner (Mon, 30 Aug 2004 07:51:03 PDT)

Dear All,

I found this from Michael Vassar when we discussed this while I was doing
the topic of the week on the IBS list for those in cold areas wondering
about summer growing Pelargoniums:
"Some summer growing species in section Polyactium are:

P. schizopetalum. Large rosettes of coarsely lobed leaves. The flowers are
rather straw-colored and have red fimbriated petal edges. Reputed to have a
bad scent, I don't find the scent bad at all.

P. bowkeri. Finely divided leaves in fairly tight rosettes. Light yellow
flowers with pinkish fimbriated petal edges.

P. luridum. A very variable species, with leaves entire to leaves so
deeply divided that the leaves consist only of the ribs. Flowers are on
tall stems (plants are usually found growing in tall grasses) and flowers
vary from pure white through shades of pink to light yellow.
Very easy to grow and maintain."

And from another note:
"Summer growing Pelargonium species are relatively tolerant of moisture
when dormant in winter if the planting mix drains well, but are best if dry
or nearly dry when dormant."

Also on propagating Pelargoniums:

"Pelargonium species are easy to propagate. Almost any piece of root or
stem will root and form a new plant. Adventitious buds and then growth
shoots will develop on any callus tissue forming at the TOP of a piece of
root. I take the side tubers off large tubers, plant them up like cuttings
with the tops 6mm above the soil. I find that light induces callus and
shoot formation. Keep the planting mix just slightly moist until growth begins.

Seeds, when obtainable, are usually easy. Remove the seeds from the papery
husk which has the "feather". Either scratch a small hole in the end of the
seed or cut off a very small piece of one end of the seed. Called
scarification, this allows water the quickly enter the seeds. Non-scarified
seeds can be remarkably slow to germinate. (An experiment in England showed
germination even after 10 years on non-scarified seeds.) I have planted
seeds up to 14 years old and had 90% germination. I plant winter growing
species seeds in September after the hottest part of the summer and as the
night temperature is beginning to cool down. Summer growing seeds should be
scarified and planted in Spring."

Mary Sue