Rose geranium

Pelargonium graveolens

Rose-scented leaves for sugar, cakes and tea; every windowsill 'geranium' started out on these hillsides.

Type: shrub · perennial vegetables, greens and herbs
Hardiness: zones 9 to 11
Light: full sun
Size: about 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide
Harvest: year-round
From: Cape provinces, South Africa
Drought-hardy once established
Here: Too tender to overwinter outdoors on the Lake Erie shore (zone 6b to 7a): grow it in a pot and bring it in, or treat it as an annual.

Good for: food, pollinators.

Native to: Cape of South Africa. Hardy in zones 9 to 11.

The story

Rose geranium was carried from the Cape to Europe in the 1600s and became the source of geranium oil, the perfumer's stand-in for rose. Victorian cooks lined cake tins with the leaves.

Planting

Full sun and well-drained soil. Grow it in a pot and bring it in where winters freeze.

Growing

Pinch the tips to keep it bushy. Cuttings root easily in a glass of water.

Harvest and use

Layer leaves in a jar of sugar, lay one in the bottom of a cake tin, or steep a few for tea or syrup. Small pink flowers feed bees.

What to watch for

Frost and overwatering.

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More perennial vegetables, greens and herbs

General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home