Undemanding to care, blooming for several months and such bright pelargonium because of the similarity is often called geraniums. But still it is a separate numerous genus, and photos of species and varieties of room geranium will help to understand the existing diversity of these amazing plants originally from South Africa.
Indoor geraniums such as
Indoor geraniums growing on window sills, on loggias and balconies, as pictured, can look like grassy or semi-shrubs with upright or falling stems. All geraniums are distinguished by the highest decoration. Attention is drawn not only to simple or double flowers of all shapes and colors, but also to the unique leaves of the plant.
They can be wide, almost round, figured rugged, palmate, smooth corrugated, green and variegated.
The long-known fame of indoor geraniums as spectacular and unpretentious plants has led to the last hundred years:
- received a great variety of varietal forms of pelargoniums;
- open and cultivated wild species;
- appeared interspecific hybrids.
Therefore, the modern classification of the genus represents about 250 independent species for plant lovers, and the gradation of indoor plants adopted by the international community of growers suggests using their own designations based on external signs, as in the photo, varieties and species of room geranium:
- Stellar - star-shaped roomgeraniums, their varieties and hybrids;
- Tulip - tulip-shaped pelargoniums;
- Unique - room geraniums unique;
- Zonal - zonal or bordered home varieties of pelargonium.
- Angel - room geraniums angels;
- Colored Foliage - variegated varieties;
- Cactus - cacti-shaped pelargoniums;
- Ivy-leaved - Ivy-leaved geraniums, which can be standard sizes, as well as dwarfs and miniatures;
- Miniature and Dwarf - miniature and dwarf plants of indoor geraniums;
- Regal - the royal geraniums;
- Scented-leaved - scented geraniums.
lush flowering zonal or bordered( Pelargonium zonale)
All kinds of hybrids and varieties of this species Geranium room, as in the photo, grow well in a home on balconies and even on city flowerbeds. This is the undoubted leader in popularity and the number of cultivated varieties, of which there are today about 75 thousand.
Among other domestic perennial geraniums, zonal plants are easily recognized by their characteristic foliage color. On a bright green background, darker areas are clearly visible, which gave the name to the whole species of indoor geraniums, as in the photo. The flowers of the zonal pelargonium can be both simple and double.
When describing geranium varieties, in the photo, and in the names of plants, use the following gradation in the number of petals in the corolla:
- non-double flowers consist of five petals - Single;
- semi-double flowers include 6 to 9 petals and are designated Semi-Double;
- terry geranium flowers consist of 8 or more petals - Double.
Terry varieties are sometimes called peony geraniums, which is somewhat wrong. There is no such group of plants in the internationally recognized classification.
The flowers of the zonal geranium differ not only in their pomp and size. The days when only the red geranium was on the windows were long gone.
Depending on the variety and variety, pelargonium is pleasing to the eye with umbrella buds of all shades of pink, cream, burgundy or crimson. Not uncommon plants with white, multi-color and even with yellow corollas, as in the photo varieties of geranium called First Yellow Improved.
But these are not all the strengths of the room geranium. Special attention at florists use varieties with a flower shape that is not typical for a species.
Rose Flowers( Rose-bud Zonal pelargoniums)
An example of this is a rose-like geranium with terry showy flowers, which resemble miniature English roses in structure and appearance.
This variety of room geranium, its name and photo of flowers have been known in the world since the century before last. The first information about plants was published in the "Bulletin of the Royal Gardening Society of Britain" in 1876.But in our country, rose varieties - have not yet become widespread and are found only in the collections of the most enthusiastic flower growers.
Tulipe-room geraniums( Tulipe-bud pelargonium)
A century later flower growers received plants of home geranium with flowers, which, even in full bloom, are not revealed, remaining inbud stage.
As a result, this pictured room geranium is called tulip. The beginning of the variety was given by spontaneous mutation, and the few varieties and hybrids of tulip geranium that exist today, sometimes grow or reproduce, sometimes try to return to their natural form.
Stellar Indoor Geraniums( Stellar Zonal Pelargonium)
In the middle of the last century, growers of Australia managed to obtain indoor geraniums, which have an original corolla shape, not similar to the varieties that existed before.
Because of the acute-angled, narrowed petals, room geranium, in the photo, is called stellate.
Currently, there are at the disposal of flower growers varieties and hybrids not only with simple and terry flowers of all shades, but also stellate pelargoniums with bright multicolor foliage.
Cactus-shaped domestic geraniums( Cactus Pelargonium)
Obtained at the turn of the 20th century, cacti-shaped geraniums are extremely rare today. A characteristic feature of these plants is large flowers with narrowed, sometimes needle-like petals, giving the corona a sloppy, disheveled appearance.
Domestic Pelargonium( Carnation Pelargonium)
Indoor geraniums, in the photo, amaze with a variety of flowers, colors and species. One of the most unusual is the clove-colored variety of zonal pelargonium with jagged petals, which give similarity to the flowers of carnation.
Pelargonium Ivy-leaved Pelargonium
Most ampelous varieties of room geranium, as pictured, belong to a large group of pelargoniums and leaves resembling dense green foliage of ivy. Because of this similarity, numerous varieties with simple and large double flowers are called ivy.
As shown in the photo, ampel geraniums are plants with creeping or falling stems reaching one meter in length. In culture, these varieties are indispensable for vertical gardening, and for decorating hanging baskets. Potted pelargoniums are also used as ground cover plants.
The leaves of the ampelous geranium are dense, leathery, unlike the zonal variety, completely smooth.
The variegated ivy geranium forms are very interesting, as in the photo. 
Royal Pelargoniums( Regal Pelargonium)
Many indoor geraniums were obtained as a result of selection work and hybridization between species. Thanks to such efforts, royal pelargoniums appeared with flowers up to 7 cm in diameter.
The peculiarity of these varieties and hybrids consists not only in the sizes of simple and semi-double rims, but also in their multicolor coloring. The petals always have spots, streaks or specks of contrasting tones.
Pelargonium Angels( Angel Pelargonium)
Pelargonium Angels look like plants of the “royal” variety. But the flowers here are somewhat smaller, and the existing varieties were obtained from the crossing of pelargonium curly with large-flowered.
Angels are mostly ampelous geraniums, as in the photo, forming a lush crown of shoots with medium-sized monophonic foliage.
Pelargonium Unicum( Unique Pelargonium)
Hybrid plants derived from royal and brilliant pelargonium have been called unique. This group belongs to the oldest varieties, although it is not so easy to find plants in the collections of growers.
Although the flowers of this variety, as in the photo room geranium, look like flowers of royal plants, but they are much smaller. But the foliage is often dissected, corrugated, and also has a pleasant smell.
For example, the green of the geranium variety depicted in the photo called Paton’s Unique has a sweetish fruit flavor.
Scented-geraniums( Scented-leaved Pelargonium)
It is the smell of pounded leaves of geranium that drew the attention of a person to this plant. Before the century before last, the main attention in the selection of indoor geraniums was paid not to the beauty of flowers, but to fragrance, because plants served as “living deodorants”.
Similar varieties and hybrids of fragrant geranium are popular today. They do not hit the bright flowering or the shape of the inflorescences, but are used for flavoring culinary dishes, and for household fragrance in the storage of bed linen or outerwear.
Depending on the type and variety, as in the photo, room geranium, its leaves can smell of all kinds of fruit, mint and roses, nutmeg, carrots or pine needles.
