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Pelargonium 'Best Red' (Z)

geranium 'Best Red'

A uniform, branching evergreen perennial with dark green lobed leaves with a dark purple blotch. Masses of large, scarlet-red flowers appear from June through to October

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Ultimate height

0.1–0.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

1–2 years

Ultimate spread

0.1–0.5 metres

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

South–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

H1C

Botanical details

Family: Geraniaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Evergreen
Habit: Bushy
Genus: Pelargonium can be perennials, sub-shrubs or shrubs, sometimes succulent and mostly evergreen, with palmately lobed or pinnately divided leaves and clusters of slightly irregular, 5-petalled flowers
Name status: Unresolved
Horticultural Group: Zonal pelargoniums are bushy evergreen perennials with fleshy stems, rounded, palmately lobed leaves often zoned with maroon, and single or double flowers in shades of purple, red, pink, orange and white, from early to late summer

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in fertile well-drained soil in full sun. Remove spent flowers. To overwinter, grow small plants in late summer from cuttings. See Pelargonium cultivation for further advice

Propagation

Take softwood cuttings in summer and overwinter plants in frost free conditions or take softwood cuttings in spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types

City and courtyard gardens
Cottage and informal garden
Patio and container plants
Bedding
Conservatory and greenhouse
Flower borders and beds

Pruning

Deadhead regularly to prolong flowering

Pests

May be susceptible to vine weevil, leafhoppers, caterpillars, thrips, fungus gnats and aphids. Aphids are generally more problematic on over-wintered plants

Diseases

May be susceptible to foot and root rots and grey moulds in wet soils. A virus may occur where cultivars are maintained by cuttings

Get involved

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