Geranium

Geraniums bloom like few other plants will. Give them sun and a little deadheading and they'll throw clusters of red, pink, white, salmon, and violet flowers from late spring straight through to the first frost. They look as good spilling out of a hanging basket as they do anchoring a bed or filling a window box — which is exactly why they've been a porch and patio favorite for generations.

One name, several plants worth knowing. "Geranium" covers a few distinct types, each with its own strength. Zonal geraniums are the classic upright bedding plant, named for the dark ring on their leaves. Ivy geraniums trail and cascade, made for baskets and railings. Regal (Martha Washington) geraniums bring ruffled, two-toned blooms for cooler-season color, and scented-leaf geraniums offer foliage that smells of rose, lemon, or mint when you brush past. Hardy perennial geraniums (cranesbills) come back year after year in the ground.

Growing geraniums well

They ask for very little. Most geraniums want full sun to light afternoon shade and soil that drains freely — they far prefer to dry out a touch between waterings than to sit wet. Feed them lightly through the growing season, pinch back leggy stems to keep them bushy, and snap off spent flower heads to keep new buds coming. In frost-free zones the tender types stay outdoors year-round; everywhere else they're easy to overwinter as houseplants in a bright window or as dormant cuttings.

Shipped to arrive healthy. Every geranium is grown in our nursery network, inspected, and hand-packed in protective, season-aware packaging — and we honor the state-by-state agricultural rules that govern where plants can ship, so yours arrive ready to bloom.