Pelargonium gibbosum

The Pelargonium gibbosum, also known as the Drooping Pelargonium, is a unique and perennial botanical species native to South Africa. It is characterised by its curious pale yellow flowering with a surprising nocturnal scent, intense and pungent, a more or less climbing habit that often requires staking, and succulent-like vegetation. This frost-sensitive plant loves the sun and dry soils. A curiosity to be discovered!

Discovered in 1789, growing on the southwest coast of the Cape in southern Africa, in well-drained soils with very little water and plenty of sun, Pelargonium gibbosum is a plant of the geranium family that is rarely cultivated but very unique due to its yellow flowering, a shade rarely observed in pelargoniums. The plant has a tuberized stump that can reach up to 8 cm (3in) in diameter over time. Tentacle-like stems, bearing swollen nodes that inspired its vernacular name of Drooping Pelargonium, emerge each year from this robust stump. Eventually, they can measure up to 4 cm (2in) in diameter and 80 cm (32in) in length, or even more. In its environment, to stand upright, protect itself from wind and animals, this pelargonium grows inside bushes, which explains why its leaves are absent at the base of the stems. As a result, the plant can exceed 2 metres (7 feet) in height in order to bloom its flowers. From a distance, one might think that it is the bush that is flowering, so intertwined are their vegetation. Its light green foliage, with a succulent appearance, consists of cordate-based, lobed, undulate, pubescent, and thick leaves. Flowering occurs from June to October, in the form of somewhat loose false umbels, grouping 10 to 20 small pale yellow flowers measuring 15 mm (1in), light, perhaps less spectacular than those of classic perennial or annual hybrids, but more authentic, and particularly fragrant at nightfall. The scent of this flowering depends on each individual's perception.

Pelargonium gibbosum is cultivated like a cactus and reveals a unique fragrance in the evening. So, plant it in a pot or in the ground, in a place where you can smell it, along a path or in a pot on the terrace, under a window or in the conservatory. We were captivated, one day after the rain, by a bed of fragrant geraniums and spent long moments immersing ourselves in a symphony of delicate scents. In mild climates it can survive winter outdoors, if winter temperatures do not exceed -4°C (24.8°F), and it is a plant that withstands summer drought perfectly and requires very little maintenance, making it valuable for dry gardens, for example by the seaside. Botanical geraniums are plants of difficult climates and soils, with cold being their main enemy.

Note: Attention, our young plug plants are professional products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them under cover (conservatory, greenhouse, cold-frame) at a temperature above 14°C (57.2°F) for a few weeks before being installed outdoors once the risk of frost has definitively passed.