Kalwerbossie, Rabassam, South African Geranium (Pelargonium sidoides)

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begoniacrazii Northern California, CA(Zone 9a) Oct 29, 2008

Kalwerbossie, Rabassam, South African Geranium
Pelargonium sidoides

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Post #5730963
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Calif_Sue Northern California, United States(Zone 9a) Oct 31, 2008

Perfect shot of this beauty!
I have had this plant for years now in my garden, it is one tough little thing, in the ground with 1/2 day sun, gets ignored yet keeps on going!

Post #5735872
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begoniacrazii Northern California, CA(Zone 9a) Nov 01, 2008

Thanks honey! I'm hesitant to leave it outside - our 17º may do it in. It goes into the green house for winter.

Post #5740151
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Calif_Sue Northern California, United States(Zone 9a) Nov 02, 2008

Eeek, yes, that may be a bit too cold. You need to move!

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southcherry Long Beach, CA Feb 14, 2009

I use this as ground cover in Long Beach, CA. It forms nice, large clumps but it doesn't seem invasive (so far--in the ground 3 years from a cutting, so far). It works as a xeriscape planting because it's very drought tolerant, likes the beach humidity and salt air, and tolerates both our 90 degree and 40 degree days. (Long Beach is same climate as South Africa).

Easy to propagate by clipping the babies, just like the spider plant. My original came from a soft wood cutting, and it took a lot of failures before I got one that rooted. All the babies rooted, so now I have lots of them. Drop the baby on moist soil and forget it for a few weeks, it will take off. I don't fertilize.

Supposedly the roots have an excellent antibiotic quality, and the plant has almost been wiped out of S. Africa by poor people who harvest it for the drug industry. I'm thinking about trying to farm the stuff because it really is easy to grow, doesn't seem to attract aphids, whiteflies, slugs, or spidermites (knock on wood) that everything else suffers from. Maybe it's that substance in the roots that is repelling them. Sort of an unknown plant, but seems to have lots of desirable traites.

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