Three years ago when I started The Frustrated Gardener this was my first ‘proper’ post. For some reason it has gone on to be one of the most popular articles I have ever written, so I have taken the liberty of updating and reissuing it. I continue to grow both species alongside one another, sometimes losing Geranium maderense in cold and wet winters. They always return from seed, often in the most surprising places, so provided you can get plants to flower once, you will never be without. I am currently bringing on two white cultivars of Geranium maderense named ‘Alba’ and ‘Guernsey White’. The latter were grown from seed and ‘Alba’ was bought from a nursery. When they do bloom, which I hope will be next year, it will be interesting to compare the flowers and see which is the purer white. I’d love to hear your experience of growing these lovely Mediterranean geraniums and any top tips for cultivating them successfully.
Madeiran natives Geranium maderense and Geranium palmatum are often confused by nurseries and gardeners, but are actually very different in terms of habit and hardiness. Both are large beasts, possessing gorgeous, fern-like foliage and sprays of pink flowers that go on for several weeks. Neither enjoys being baked, preferring light shade in the afternoon and moist but well-drained soil. They detest wet which, when combined with cold, can prove fatal. However, there the similarities end. Geranium maderense likes to prop its heavy crown up on a pylon of red-tinged leaf stalks (so don’t chop them off!) and frequently reaches 6ft across in my garden. It will mercilessly smother anything beneath it, so I site plants where they can spread their wings or take the consequences. After flowering, which takes 2-3 years from sowing, the whole plant generally dies. Occasionally offsets appear at the base of the trunk-like stem. They are often weak in comparison to the main plant and I find it’s better to start again with a vigorous young seedling.
Geranium palmatum has a more perennial habit (my oldest plant is 9 years old and has a trunk 2ft long), producing a wide Catherine-wheel of flowers rather than Geranium maderense‘s mushroom cloud of blossom. The leaves are slightly smaller and a fresher apple green, but still sprout from a thickened stem. They look their best early in the year, but any tired leaves can be snapped off with a sharp tug to the left or right which gives a neater appearance. I have never lost a plant of Geranium palmatum to cold, but in conditions that are not well enough drained they can be short-lived. Attempts to grow them in London where the soil is heavy clay have not been successful, yet they relish the raised beds in our seaside garden.
There is no question that Geranium maderense is the more glamorous and desirable of the sister species: the single flowers are fuller, more robust, brighter pink and produced in far greater profusion than G. palmatum. You will often spot Geranium maderense cultivated in greenhouses and there is a reason for that – it does not like any degree of frost. A light chill will at best cause damage to the leaves, which proceed to droop and yellow, but this in itself does not kill the plant as long as the crown is protected. What seems to put the final nail in the coffin is rot, which sets in to the damaged tissue as soon as the weather warms up again in spring. In some years all of my plants have survived snow and ice only to keel over and die in March, when the hollow stems perish. It’s enough to make a grown man cry. Another enemy, if you choose to grow Geranium maderense in a pot, is the vine weevil, whose grubs will quickly demolish the modest root system and cause the plant to collapse. This is always a tragedy, so I take precautions by using a liquid vine weevil treatment. Container cultivation is fine if it’s the only option, but plants never grow as large or flower so spectacularly.
It’s the atomic cloud of Barbie-pink blossom that gives Geranium maderense the edge, supported by a scaffold of old leaf stems. Flowering begins tight within the leaf rosette but the hairy stems rise quickly up into a cone and then finally fan out to form a huge ball of flowers 3-4ft across. These are very attractive to bees and butterflies and the end result is something akin to one of those fabulous lady’s swimming caps from the 1960s.
The show will continue into mid summer before the plant, exhausted, begins to collapse and die. During that time the seed pods lengthen, dry out and split in dry weather, distributing seed to every corner of the garden. I’d wager than every pot that leaves my garden goes with at least one little geranium seedling nestling beneath the main event, spreading my love for these plants far and wide. For colder gardens I’d always recommend starting with Geranium palmatum, but if you want the real deal and can hold your nerve then go for the G. maderense and be prepared to be dazzled.
Where to see Geranium maderense – you don’t need to venture quite as far as Madeira to see Geranium maderense, although this may be more fun than some of my suggestions. The Eden project grows masses of them in their Mediterranean biome and, also in Cornwall, they are plentiful in the Isles of Scilly where frost is rare. In London, The Chelsea Physic Garden displays plants in its Atlantic Islands glasshouse and Kew and Wisley cultivate them too.
Where to buy Geranium maderense – if you have the patience to grow from seed (and they are easy-peasy, even for beginners), then the standard pink version is available from Thompson and Morgan and Jungle Seeds. The only place I know that offers ‘Guernsey White’ is Seeds of Distinction. For plants, Cornwall is a good place to search as they are more frequently grown outside there. Car boot sales such as those at Hayle and Rosudgeon have good plant stalls with local favourites. The Lost Gardens of Heligan was offering large plants of Geranium maderense for a good price on my last visit this year. Plants can be purchased mail order from Burncoose and the variety known as ‘Alba’ from Special Plants (also as seed).
Categories: Container gardening, Flowers, Foliage, Perennials, Plants, Plants in Detail, Practical Advice
Yes, I think this was the problem with many plants – a growth spurt, followed by frost. It caught my lilac in London, and other plants in Suffolk
I lost a Mandevilla and a Lantana which had appeared fine all winter and then promptly keeled over just as it warmed up. I guess that’s just how it goes sometimes.
Yes you right… but I think we need to understand that many plants are really sensitive… maybe there are someone even more sensitive than humans… I don’t know you but I hate the cold… so I’m just guessing about these poor plants… 🙁
[…] Madeira and will grow outdoors in milder parts of the UK, like fellow natives Echium pininana and Geranium maderense. In the wild, D. canariensis favours humid woodland whilst D. sceptrum inhabits cloud forest, […]
[…] to our front door is currently restricted by two enormous, self-seeded Geranium maderense. I will gladly suffer this hardship for the chance to witness their atomic clouds of magenta […]
Pity I didn’t know about these before I visited the Lost Gardens of Heligan. But then I’m not ready to try the yet. They sound a good idea for my from garden though 🙂
If you would like any seeds let me know and I can always save you some this summer. For the first year it’s not a bad idea to grow them on indoors anyway 🙂
When do you sow the seeds of Geranium Maderence. Also where do you store them and at what temperature.
Hello Margaret. They will germinate at almost any time given the right conditions. I would start them off no later than March in pots on a very bright windowsill or in a greenhouse so that they are large enough to be planted out in late May or June. They will grow extremely fast if it’s not too hot and dry. This way you’ll have substantial plants by the time winter arrives. However it doesn’t matter how large they are – even a touch of frost will damage them. If you have an unheated or frost-free greenhouse that might be better.
In terms of seed storage, the same rules as for most other seed types – a cool, dry, dark place. Dan
Hi there – this article really made me smile.
I have a couple of maderense which I purchased as young plants and which have yet to flower….but I also now have hundreds of palmatum which I grew from seed believing they were madarense ……and which now seed all over my garden.
If you have some genuine spare madarense seed I’d be glad to try them out.
Kind regards
David Buchanan-Cook (Helensbank Garden)
Thank you David, I do have plenty just at the moment. Drop me a line to thefrustratedgardener@gmail.com and I’ll pop some in the post to you at the weekend. Dan
I discovered your site about geranium madarense and realised that the little seedlings I’ve potted up to give to friends from a plant bought 2-3 years is a geranium palmatum. Very disappointing. If you still have the genuine one or seeds please let me know. Michelle
Hi Michelle. I am sure I can spare you some seed. Please e-mail your details to thefrustratedgardener@gmail.com and I’ll send you some as soon as I am back from China. Geranium palmatum is a perfectly lovely plant, and will see you through winters that G. maderense won’t, but in terms of flower power there is no comparison. I am sure your friends will appreciate your gifts nevertheless 🙂
OK – I’m slightly confused now. I have grown G. maderense which appeared in a pack of mixed geranium seed from the RHS! I am now growing what I confidently believed to be G. palmatum, until I read your comment about palmatum not having the reddish tint to the leaves. Mine all have the tint – but are proving hardy as they have been left out all winter – albeit a mild one, but we have had frosts. They are still in pots waiting to be planted out this year if you think this makes any difference. Any clues?
Hi Emma. Email an image to thefrustratedgardener@gmail.com and I’d be happy to tell you what it is that you are growing. I think if your plants have survived frost looking good they are probably G. palmatum. Either way they will be lovely when they flower (which should be soon).
I’ve been trying to grow Maderense Geraniums for 5 or 6 years now when living in Penzance but kept losing them in the winter. Am now in Somerset and when visiting Boconnoc Flower Show last weekend I bought a Geranium Palmatum which I hadn’t come across before, having read the label and some of your comments I’m hopeful of being successful with this one!
Here in Guernsey, Channel Islands, both geranium madarense pink and the white “Guernsey” grow well and freely self seed everywhere.
You are lucky with your maritime climate there in Guernsey. Sadly every time I have visited it has been perishing! I bet where they self seed they look amazing?
They look lovely in wild hedgerows and along cliff paths. They’ve spread around my garden and even my driveway but easy enough to weed out where they aren’t wanted.
Dear sir/madam,
The big irony is that I am from Madeira and I’ve never seen the white form anywhere here. Would you have any spare seed that you are able to send?
I have seed and would be happy to give you some, but our customs regulations are very strict. If you know of a way that seed could be sent at your expense please let me know.
[…] Edward Verner: Yes it’s G. maderense that does that. I found a really thorough blog post comparing the two species, at https://frustratedgardener.com/2012/06/06/geranium-palmatum-versus-geranium-maderense/ […]
What about Geranium yeoi ( syn G.rubescens) which also hails from Madeira and is fairly hardy – more so than G.maderense/palmatum.
Good tip John. I’ve not grown this geranium, but judging by how well Herb Robert does in my new garden, I imagine it would do rather well. Will keep my eyes peeled for seeds.
Very envious of your success with geranium maderense. Have been trying for some years but the east midlands is a shade cold. On the other hand geranium palmatum love it with plants up to four feet high. I get my seed for maderense from Tresco and the palmatum just from self sets
I can’t offer any hope with maderense I’m afraid Steve. It just isn’t hardy and we lose ours in a cold winter. These are rare in Broadstairs but we endured several years where every plant was destroyed and I almost gave in. G. palmatum is a much better bet and the foliage is a lovely fresh green.
Some came through last winter but they can take a couple of years before flowering. This year’s plants are all in the most sheltered locations eg button of a wall
Very wise. I have done better planting mine beneath trees where the ground is drier in winter, snow is less likely to settle on the crowns and there is cool shade in summer. I noticed on Tresco they looked much lusher in woodland positions.
I am so glad to have found this site! I moved to this location (Arcata CA USA) 8 years ago and have been trying to figure out what has been growing wildly in the garden ever since. Local nurseries have been no help. This explains so much why some plants do so well and some just re-seed and die. But every year enough survive to put on an incredible display. I had thought they neded more water but this proves I was only trying to kill them. Without success thank goodness! Thanks again.
You are welcome Kathy. I imagine Geranium maderense loves your climate. Lucky you! Fab plant. Enjoy them, let them flower and then look after all the little seedlings that follow 🌸
I bought a 3-in pot of Geranium Palmatum from the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall back in June of this year. It was in flower, but quite a spindly plant. Once we planted it in our front garden it has really taken off and is currently still producing new leaves. My wife is considering moving it to a larger space; can it be transplanted successfully, and would the spring be a suitable time. Also can it be divided eventually.
Hello, in reference to “Canary Island natives Geranium maderense and Geranium palmatum are often confused by nurseries and gardeners, but are actually very different in terms of habit and hardiness.”
Both Maderense and palmatum are endemic to Madeira, so if you do find them in the Canaries they’ve been introduced.
(i know this has nothing to do with gardening, just a slight correction).
Hi Catarina. Thank you for the correction! You are, of course, correct. The clue is even in the name, so I am not sure quite how I managed to make that mistake!
There´s no G. maderense or G. palmatum intruduced in the Canary Islands. There is another species more: “Geranium reuteri” endemic to the Canaries.
Lovely article and photos. I have just germinated some Geranium palmatum seeds from the RHS. As I don;t have much space in my garden, could they be grown in pots? Or another suggestion would be some low raised beds on top of a paved drive?
Yes, they can be grown in pots. In fact, once you have flowered your Geranium palmatum you will probably find they plant themselves in all your pots and any gaps in the paving. However I would recommend using the largest pots you can find space for to allow the plants to reach their full potential. Geranium palmatum does not prop itself up as it grows, as G. maderense does, so might also need a short cane to keep it upright. Low raised beds also sound ideal, but beware the spread of the foliage could be 4ft or more!
Hello from New Zealand where I have just cut off the seed heads of Madrense Alba. The plant has gone yellow and the stems of the spent flowers are sticky. A few are brown and ripe but the majority are yet to ripen. I’ve put them into twin walled paper bags, Kleensaks, for the seeds to dry, ripen and fall out as I am going on instinct. Any advice for me?
Hmmmm …..well ….. in my experience the seeds ripen and the pods they are in explode, sending them everywhere long before the plant finally dies. The stickiness is slightly unpleasant but normal. I wonder if you have had some wet weather which has caused the plant to collapse at the root or has prevented the seed from ripening fully? Geranium maderense produces loads of seed so hopefully you have enough to foster the next generation. Good Luck!
A couple of years have gone by and I’m now quite experienced with G Madrense Alba seeds. I collect the flower heads, heads down, in a twin wall paper rubbish bag. I put them in a very warm location and listen to the seed heads popping. It takes at least three weeks. There are a great many seeds at the bottom of the bag. Best germination trick is to soak them in hot (not boiling) water overnight. Drain off water, allow to air dry and sow them in round deroma clay containers. Germination rate this way is stellar. Why they like the shallow rounds I do not know but I have tried other, deeper containers and they aren’t as vigorous. They are cool germinators, fourteen degrees Celsius in our spring weather is optimum. All my friends are growing it now. The wildings still appear near the parent plant and in crevices.
Hello Dan, just re read this post after a spot of freezing gardening and think I might have the G Madrenese seedlings growing aming some cuttings I was given. Would you have a minute to check them..please?
Yes of course, you can email me at thefrustratedgardener@gmail.com.
This is an awesome article! So glad you reposted it! I have the madrense and iam hoping it will bloom this year. It is in a big pot because we are cold and wet in winter. Iam going to the island of Maderia and the Scilly islands the later half of March and so excited to see!
Lucky you!! Both places will be wonderful I am sure Jeanne. The Geranium maderense in my garden have been finished off by the snow. I have some indoors, some in the greenhouse and some in the garage which I will use to replenish the garden when spring arrives. You are wise to keep yours in a pot, although they are never as magnificent as when they grow in the ground. Then they can reach 6-8ft across!
Aaargh! Just read this very interesting post as I have a G. maderense in a large (very heavy) stone pot in my garden in west Cornwall. Not flowered since purchase in 2016, so I was hoping for flowers this year. However, the snow and minus temperatures may well have scuppered my/its chances. Been out to have a look and the leaves are a little droopy. Crossing fingers xx
Hey Jude! Yes, you should have had flowers this year. You may get lucky. The leaves will probably turn yellow. If they do, remove the leaf part only and not the stem, which will form a prop for the vast flower head. If the centre is Black you might be disappointed, but do try again. West Cornwall is one of the few places in the UK where you have a good chance of success outdoors. Dan
Thanks Dan. I shall keep my eye on it. Otherwise I’ll have to go buy another plant and this time keep it in a pot I can lift into the conservatory at any sign of frost!
They are incredibly easy to grow from seed if you have the patience. They grow like weeds in my garden.
Most other geraniums grow well in my garden, I spend ages pulling out Herb-Robert! 🙂
I will see if I can get hold of some seeds.
Hi Dan, so I grew either G. mad or G.palm a while back and ended up with seedlings scattered about. I found one a couple of years ago and stuck it in one of the holes in a concrete block. It did well last year and now this year it’s enormous and flowering! It stayed out all through last winter in the open in Lydney, River Severn just North of the bridge. Will take a picture for ID please 🙂
Once flowering it’s very easy to tell the difference. If the flowers are appearing on lots of separate stems arising from the leaf rosette and splaying out at a 45º angle, then you have G. palmatum. This is the hardier one. If the flowers form a single ball of blossom ontop of a ‘trunk’, with sticky flower stems and leaf stems pointing to the ground and potentially starting to turn yellow, this is G. maderense. The latter will die after flowering but not before producing a gazillion seeds. The former will keep on going, resestablishing a nice rosette of leaves over the autumn and winter. It will also produce seeds if you allow it to. They come up like cress in my garden! Do let me know which one you believe it is. Dan
Just another word so I can tick the box for notifications 😀
Thanks for that ~ fairly sure it’s palmatum then ~ not sure I can add a picture ~ definite 45 deg angle though 🙂
OK, well, it’s a good’un. I visited a garden today where Geranium palmatum was running riot, filling in all sorts of gaps beneath trees and shrubs and looking wonderful. Let it seed once and you’ll never be without. Dan
What an encouraging description of growing the Maderensis. Thanks for sharing your experience. I have taken three leaf cuttings last summer, and they have all rooted. We watch this space. I am still waiting for the parent plant to flower this year for the first time!
We have Geranium maderense in a small back garden in Broadstairs. I planted it over 2 years ago and it is yet to flower. It is over 4feet across and looks in splendid health. My question is,has anyone any experience of moving a plant of this size and was it successful.We will be moving house soon and I would like to take it with us but if that will cause its demise I would rather leave for someone else to enjoy should it decide to flower next year.
Hi Pete. You will almost certainly kill it – either quickly or slowly – by moving it. Start again from seed in your new place and you’ll have a big healthy plant in no time. These are not plants that like to be moved or to be grown in pots. Dan
Hi Dan
I know this is an old post but I was wondering how you got on with the Guernsey White vs. Alba?
I have been reasonably successful with the pink although a plant I expected to flower this year didn’t my fault its pot grown and I have neglected the feeding a bit.
For others reading Great Dixter normally have plants of the pink form at a reasonable price.
We have missed visiting your wonderful garden this year (no chance of social distancing I know).
Hope your both keeping well.
Peter Wilcock
Dear FT
Thank you for your post about these two geraniums, which I discovered reading the Wikipedia Geranium maderense (the italics should have appeared here …) page. A note at the bottom of it provides the link to your blog page.
I garden, very reluctantly, in Alderney. Here, I think that G. maderense is the more present but
I have only been on the island for a year and I haven’t seen any flowering yet.
I shall take the time needed (first I’ll have to find it) to go through your blog posts, providing I can relax my guard against wishful gardening.
Best
Lyndsay
I have been growing Geranium Maderense in pots with great success for the past 3 or 4 years and over winter plants in a heated greenhouse. I have plenty of seed which germinates easily. In pots the plants get to 3 to 4 feet tall. I would like to get hold of some Guernsey White seed. Happy to swap!
Hi Duncan. Do email me at thefrustratedgardener@gmail.com and I’ll happily send you some seed of ‘Guernsey White’. Dan
Hi, I enjoyed reading all comments thanks. I germinated Guernsey White last autumn and have been growing them and potting on as required through this, sometimes very cold winter. I work in Stirling, Scotland and the plants are in a very basically heated polythene tunnel which I managed to keep just above 0 centigrade at coldest times.
Now in 1 litre pots and growing strong I was hoping they may flower this year once planted out in late May? Also regarding hopefully collecting true seed do they need to be kept away from Geranium palmatum.
As a point of interest I used to work on an estate in N.E Scotland at 200m altitude up in the hills and Geranium palmatum came through winters there, also prolifically self seeding. Though a tripod of short canes was required against the trunk to stop the plants being whipped out by the wind. Brian
Hello Brian. Thanks for your interesting comments. Your autumn sown seedlings won’t flower that quickly I’m sorry to say. It will be next spring if you are lucky, possibly the year after. Flowering starts in April and if they were going to flower you’d already see the centre starting to branch out with buds forming. They won’t flower any later in the year just because they are a bit behind. In my experience they generally need 2 winters before flowering.
I have palmatum and maderense growing cheek by jowl and they have never hybridised. I can’t say it wouldn’t happen, but it hasn’t happened with me and I’ve not heard of it.
Any temperature above 0°C seems to be fine and maderense grows strongly at cool temperatures. Often looks it’s best just before a frost annoyingly! You may want to keep in large pots and plant out next spring if they’re going to need protection over another winter? Dan
Hello Dan,
Thank you very much for your very informative reply. I guess that’s me going to be ‘the impatient gardener’ this year! Still I don’t mind as after 44 years of being a working gardener I still find an immense ‘good feeling’ at the anticipation of plants coming into flower, even if a year away.
In any case if the foliage is anywhere near as beautiful as G, palmatum I’ll still use them for that purpose this year, either in large pots or sunk into the border still in a decent sized pot,to be lifted in the autumn.
However I am using an en masse planting of my favourite G. palmatum with clumps of Acidanthera bicolor laced through along a border at the base of the castle wall where I work [Stirling]. Fingers crossed it’ll work. Brian
After trying a number of times to grow maderense and failing, my trifid sized plant is showing signs of flowering this year having hauled the large pot it’s grown in, outside during the summer and hauled it back into the conservatory in winter for the last two or three years, I’m finally being rewarded with its beautiful flowers (I hope!).
Yes, you’ll know by now if it’s going to flower as you’ll see buds forming in the centre of the leaf rosette. Well done for persevering. You should be in for a treat Mark.
This is definitely my kind of plant. Another terrific plant with maybe more lovely but similar leaves, growth pattern and of course atomic power is Crambe cordifolia. The sheer nebular like explosion of flower power will blow your mind. Lovely pure paper white flowers. Obviously you are not in the slightest bit timid of putting these things in small areas and nor should you be with this. Giant flowering sea kale I find attractive in leaf and flower. So after maybe more than a decade since this post and if you haven’t already you might like to branch out in pyrotechnics department and give it a go? gardening at the coast you may very well have.
I had no idea what it was originally, my nursery man pushed one into my trolley at Wisley as I was leaving one visit. It literally exploded (softly) in my face after planting, i was utterly charmed. Love surprises like this more than anything.
So do someone a favour and get yourself some Geranium maderense seed and scatter in appropriate corners of their garden and hope it thrives. Near a dry wall with shelter would be excellent. Judt don’t tell them until you can claim the credit.