About
Purple Heart' is a dwarf stellar cultivar with single orange flowers. The flowers are set against a foil of green, palmate leaves with dark purple centres; hence the cultivar name.
About the 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
Growing conditions
SunlightFull sun
Soil typeLoam
Soil pHAlkaline, Neutral
Soil moistureWell-drained
AspectEast-facing, South-facing, West-facing
ExposureSheltered
UK hardinessH1C
Plant details
Plant typeBedding, Conservatory Greenhouse
HabitBushy
FoliageEvergreen
Height0.1-0.5 metres
Spread0.1-0.5 metres
Time to full height1-2 years
Suggested usesCity and courtyard gardens, Patio and container plants, Mediterranean climate plants
Care notes
CultivationRequires frost-free conditions and good light. Feed plants with a high potash fertiliser during the growing season to promote flowering. See pelargonium cultivation
PruningDeadhead regularly. Cut back hard if overwintering old plants indoors
PropagationPropagate by softwood cuttings of non-flowering shoots in spring or summer
Pest resistanceGenerally trouble-free, but may be susceptible to glasshouse pests such as aphids and glasshouse whitefly in spring
Disease resistanceGenerally disease-free, but may be susceptible to grey moulds, pelargonium rusts and pelargonium viruses