2 New Books ** Edible Plants: An inspirational guide to choosing and growing unusual edible plants and Woodland Gardening (Forest) [Paperback]. more >>
Search Page Content
   Bookmark and Share
   
    By donating to PFAF, you can help support and expand our activities
    Plant Suppliers: Click here for a List
Pelargonium crispum - (P.J.Bergius.)L'Hér.                
                 
Common Name Lemon Geranium
Family Geraniaceae
Synonyms
Known Hazards None known
Habitats Dry lower slopes in sandy soil amongst boulders in the south-west Cape[260].
Range S. Africa.
Edibility Rating  
Medicinal Rating  
Care
Half Hardy Well drained soil Moist Soil Semi-shade Full sun

Summary       

Physical Characteristics       
 icon of manicon of shrub
Pelargonium crispum is an evergreen Shrub growing to 0.7 m (2ft 4in) by 0.3 m (1ft).
It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower from May to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)


Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.
Pelargonium crispum Lemon Geranium


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:KENPEI
Pelargonium crispum Lemon Geranium
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Gothika
   
Habitats       
 South Wall. By. West Wall. By.
Edible Uses                                         
Edible Parts:
Edible Uses: Condiment;  Tea.

The leaves have a pleasant lemon aroma[238]. They are crushed and used to flavour soups, fruit dishes, jellies, sorbets, ice-cream, cakes etc[183, 238]. Cake pans can be lined with the leaves and the pastry will be infused with their essence[183]. An infusion of the leaves is used as a tea[238].
Medicinal Uses


Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Astringent.

All parts of the plant are astringent[4]. It can be harvested as required and used fresh[238].
Other Uses
Essential;  Pot-pourri.

An essential oil is obtained from the leaves and young shoots. Strawberry and citral-scented[46], it is used in perfumery and soap making[61]. The leaves are dried for pot-pourri and for making herb pillows[238].
Cultivation details                                         
Requires a light well-drained neutral to alkaline soil in a sunny position[188, 200]. Plants are tolerant of some shade[238]. In order to maintain their native habit, plants require fairly dry conditions in a very sunny position[260]. Plants are not very cold-hardy in Britain, tolerating temperatures down to about -3°c[260]. They generally require greenhouse protection but might succeed outdoors when grown in a very sheltered warm spot in the mildest parts of the country[1]. They can also be grown in containers that are placed outdoors in the summer and then brought into the greenhouse or conservatory for the winter[238]. The plants need to be kept fairly dry in the winter[200]. The bruised leaves release a strong lemon scent, rather like lemon verbena[245]. Very tolerant of pruning, they can be cut right down to the base in the autumn when bringing them back indoors, or in the spring to encourage lots of fresh growth[238]. A number of named varieties have been selected for their ornamental and/or culinary value[183, 238].
                                                                                 
Propagation                                         
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Stored seed should be sown in early spring in a greenhouse. The seed germinates best with a minimum temperature of 13°c, germination usually taking place within 2 weeks though it sometimes takes some months[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. If trying them outdoors, plant them out in early summer and consider giving them extra protection during the winter. Cuttings succeed at almost any time in the growing season but early summer is the best time in order for the new plant to become established before winter.
Plant Suppliers: Click here for a List

      You can download this page as a PDF

Expert comment                                         
 
      
Author                                         
(P.J.Bergius.)L'Hér.
                                                                                 
Botanical References                                         
200
                                                                                 
Links / References                                         

[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4]Grieve. A Modern Herbal.
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[46]Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants.
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[61]Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man.
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[183]Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[188]Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[238]Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses.
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[245]Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World.
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
[260]Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

Readers comment                                         
 
Elizabeth H.
Cleo Carrick Tue Jun 10 2008
Is this plant toxic to cats and/or dogs?
Elizabeth H.
jackie Tue Dec 29 2009
does it flower?
Elizabeth H.
david Tue Dec 29 2009
It has pink flowers, this is usually covered under "physical characteristics" at the top of each page.
QR Code

What's this?

This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to our website pages. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by mobile phone (smartphone) cameras. This QR Code is unique to this page. All plant pages have their own unique code. For more information about QR Codes click here.
1. Copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, website, magazines, newspaper etc and even t-shirts.
2. Smartphone users scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to the webpage the QR Code came from.
3. Smartphone users quickly have information on a plant directly for the pfaf.org website on their phone.
Rate This Plant                                         
Please rate this plants for how successful you have found it to be. You will need to be logged in to do this. Our intention is not to create a list of 'popular' plants but rather to highlight plants that may be rare and unusual and that have been found to be useful by website users. This hopefully will encourage more people to use plants that they possibly would not have considered before.
     
                                                                                 
Add a comment/link                                         

If you have important information about this plant that may help other users please add a comment or link below. Only comments or links that are felt to be directly relevant to a plant will be included. If you think a comment/link or information contained on this page is inaccurate or misleading we would welcome your feedback at admin@pfaf.org. If you have questions about a plant please use the Forum on this website as we do not have the resources to answer questions ourselves.

* Please note: the comments by website users are not necessarily those held by PFAF and may give misleading or inaccurate information.

Subject : Pelargonium crispum  
             

Links To add a link to another website with useful info add the details here
Name of Site
URL of Site
Details

                                        
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
   
 

All the information contained in these pages is Copyright (C) Plants For A Future, 1996-2012.
Plants For A Future is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Charity No. 1057719, Company No. 3204567,
Web Design & Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Some information cannot be used for commercial reasons or be modified (but some can). Please view the copyright link for more information.