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When I buy a geranium how can I tell if it is from seedlings or a cutting?

How can I tell if it is an annual or a perennial geranium?

You can't. Unless you have some way of determining the genetic provenance there is no difference in plants growth rate or form to tell a plant grown from tissue culture, a cutting, or a seedling.
Many plants clone themselves naturally to reproduce. They send a small shoot-like structure called a runner, along the soil. The runner grows into a new separate plant, which is genetically identical to the original plant - a clone. In taking cuttings we make use of this ability of a plant to regenerate itself. Vegetative propagation or cloning just produces more plants with specific qualities, like height, flower colour and quality than seed propagation since it is less likely to show variation.
Even if you had the parent plant you might not see much difference from them to their offspring. Most garden cultivars have been selected for their traits to breed true. Especially a plant like a bedding geranium. Only when hybridizing between species do you find easily traceable traits diverging between the first or F1 generation and the seed's haploid donors.

The perennial cranesbill (Geranium) vs. the annual we commonly call geranium (Pelargonium or Pellies) belong to two genera.
The first South African Pelargonium seed capsules were misidentified as geranium as a consequence they were called South African geraniums.

Cranesbills usually like moist cool or temperate not Mediterranean climates. This result is they have very different uses and culture requirements.

Geraniums have five equal-sized petals. Pelargoniums have two upper and three lower petals. However there are many double pelargoniums cultivars with more than five petals.

Annual geraniums are Pelargoniums x hortorum.
Cranesbills are

Gateway Garden Center's Perennial of the Week July 22,2010

Perennials the Shining Stars of Your Kitchen Garden

Perennials are the shining stars in a full bloom garden. Every year I look forward to planning and planting perennial flowers. It's probably my favorite garden experience. Because they blossom only three to six weeks you want to insure you always have plants in bloom. So just like annuals, you need to be aware of your plants specific growing needs. Be aware of their climate zones.

Perennials are a little fussier than annuals to temperature requirements. We generally buy our flowers from our garden center in order to take advantage of the short bloom seasons of these plants. The majority of perennials require well-drained soil conditions. If you have low lying areas in your garden it would be wise to not plant perennials there because standing water and soggy soil can damage the roots and very likely kill your plants.

If your garden annuals and other assorted plants require a richer soil than most perennials like you can find some perennials that also prefer those conditions. This goes back to knowing the plants requirements and if you can provide the optimum growing conditions for them. Talk to other gardeners that may be able to provide tips on your particle planting needs.

Perennials need less watering than your vegetables. My suggestion is to just keep an eye on them. If you notice they are beginning to wilt you know they are thirsty. Water the plants when they are young, or during unusually dry conditions. Make sure to water deeply or skip watering all together.

Keep in mind when your design your garden flowers to keep the shorter plants up front so as not to be hidden by the taller plants. When we plant our flowers we try to plant contrasting foliages next to each. This is our favorite method because the foliage contrast can be as appealing as your flowers. Water your perennials after you transplant them. After digging the hole fill it with water and let it drain before placing your plant in the hole. Water the plants deeply.

I hope you enjoy planning and planting your perennials as much as we do!

About the Author

Nancy Merkle is an long time amateur gardener from the Chicago area. She enjoys sharing some of her tips she has accumulated through the years with anyone that would like to visit her
website.

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What are the best perennials for Texas?

I live in TX and I can't go by what the plant tag says for whether they will survive or not. If I buy them that say "full sun" they die in full sun because it's too hot. They actually do really well in the shade. My entire front yard is pretty much full sun. I'm not a fan of cactus or anything ugly. Any suggestions on something I can plant that I will not have to replant every year?

I live in inland Australia and have the same problem. I have found if I check the label then halve the sun they recommend I don't get into too much trouble eg full sun = half sun, half sun=morning sun only etc.

A trick we use here is to plant nursery plants, usually a native to caste shade on the garden beds to get the plants going. The hot afternoon sun cooks my plants so I have large shrubs and trees on that side of the house and this shades my garden in the afternoon it makes a great difference when you create a 'micro-climate'.

My summer temperatures go up to105 deg F and winter goes down to20 deg F.

Here's a list of perennials that I have found hardy

Pennisetum setaceum (purple fountain grass) - many grasses do well, worth investigation if you like them.

Strelitzia nicolai (Bird of Paradise)

Artemisias - all varieties (also gray leaf plants are usually sun hardy)

Verbascum (Some grow wild in the paddocks here)

Cynara scolymus (Globe artichoke) - sounds funny but people love the leaves and always want a sucker

Iris - bearded (they grow them in the paddocks in my area for sale) You can get some beautiful colours - usually mail order.

Agapanthus

Acanthus mollis

Euphorbia (except chalmeleon)

Hemerocallis fulva (day lillies)

Kniphofia (red hot pokers)

Osteospermum (African daisy)

Phystegia

Sedums- especially spectabile

Stachys byzantia (all the gray and 'fluffy' leaf varieties only)

Nepeta x faasenii

Liriopes

Cannas (this was a real find - in the middle of a drought and water rationing at 105 deg they just didn't care) The purple leafed varieties such as 'Australia' add beautiful colour to a garden.

Origanum vulgare "Aureum"

Arcotsis (From South Africa)

Lavender

Achillea varieties

Leucanthemums (shasta daisies)

Campanula punctata (but none of the rest seem successful)

Chrysanthemums (hardy garden varieties)

Shrubs I have found particularly successful:

Chaenomeles (flowering quinces)

Euonymus japonica and other varieties even the variegated ones.

Spirea (except the variegated ones)

If you like them try some of the Australian natives -Acacia (wattle) or Callistemons (bottlebrushes).

Also check out mediterranian gardens on line.

I plant my perennials and I mulch heavily with hay - keeps the ground cool in summer and warm in winter and holds the moisture. I would encourage you to plant some trees. Half shade allows you much more choice in plants to select. Trees that love my heat - chinese elm (Ulmus), chinese pistacio (pistacia chinensis), and manchurin pear.

Beautiful Perennials for 2010

Perennials are pretty additions to your Landscaping

Is your yard missing something? Do you look at it season after season and it just never seems complete, there is just something missing but you aren't sure what it is. You have gorgeous flowering trees and shrubs but what is it, you begin to get frustrated…Perennials! You don't have perennials. Perennials can do many things such as add value and pleasure to your beautifully landscaped yard making it look full and complete.

But where do you start and what kind is best for your yard? There are so many kinds of perennials to choose from that sometimes it seems so hard to choose. You seem to walk around for hours looking at all the perennials but then they all start to look the same or you get one of those mail order catalogs in the mail and you sit and look at it for hours but you see so many that you want one of each.

The most common problem when it comes to planting perennials and landscaping your yard is that a lot of people plant too many different kinds and while this may work for someone who has a large, big yard for many with a small area it will start to look cluttered and then it will be hard to keep all your perennials apart. For the most part when you have a small yard or a small area to keep landscaped less is more but in gardening terms means…keep it simple. Select just a few different kinds of perennials for your yard instead of many different kinds by selecting just a few will bring emphasis to your landscaped area instead of making it look cluttered.

If you aren't sure what kind of perennials you want, try looking online. Looking online is the easiest and best way to find what perennials you like because here you can see colored pictures and many websites offer pictures of when it is small and also fully grown which allows you to get a mental picture of what you are purchasing. I know there has been many times that I have spent hours walking around garden centers and felt lost on what kind of perennials to get and ended up buying a shopping cart full of varieties that made my yard look cluttered and overwhelmed. I wish someone would have told me sooner about shopping for all my landscaping supplies online. It would have been so much easier and quicker.

There are many online sites to choose from. They have a wide selection to choose from with descriptions about the products and pictures so you can see exactly what you are getting. In no time you can have a professionally landscaped yard without paying a professional. At TN Nursery you can find a wide selection of perennials at affordable prices with high quality.

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