Geranium biuncinatum

[Maggi Young]

Nice plant, Helen.... needs a  warm sunny spot . Acts like an annual here though it may persist in warmer gardens. climbs up about 2ms .... pretty flowers.

[Paddy Tobin]

Maggi,

You used  a word which my wife uses very frequently but which nobody else that I know ever uses - "doolally", as in "going doolally". It originated, I believe, with British troops awaiting transportation from a base, Deolali,  in India, the long wait they endured in less than pleasant conditions and the strain it had on their nerves; somewhat similar to "cabin fever", I think.

Paddy

[ranunculus]

Doolally is just up the road from Whitworth, Paddy!  It's where the wife comes from!

We have always used that word in the Booker household.  I wonder why?   

[maggiepie]

Maggi,

You used  a word which my wife uses very frequently but which nobody else that I know ever uses - "doolally", as in "going doolally". It originated, I believe, with British troops awaiting transportation from a base, Deolali,  in India, the long wait they endured in less than pleasant conditions and the strain it had on their nerves; somewhat similar to "cabin fever", I think.

Paddy

I took it to mean losing the plot, I will have to add this little beauty to my vocabulary.

[maggiepie]

Nice plant, Helen.... needs a  warm sunny spot . Acts like an annual here though it may persist in warmer gardens. climbs up about 2ms .... pretty flowers.

If it's easy to germinate then I don't mind if it only lasts a season, that is of course if it flowers first year.

[Lori S.]

I don't know what your garden centers are like, but they are sometimes sold here as bedding plants.  I can't remember if we've started them from seed, but I have this sense we did and that they do bloom first year.  (That they are sold as bedding plants supports that too, as most such plants are grown from seed here (rather than cuttings).)  Forms a tangled bushy vine covered in very bright flowers.

Edit: I should have mentioned that I'm referring above to the canary creeper.

[maggiepie]

Lori, the garden centres around here stick to the old tried and true perennials plus some new introductions.
Last year there weren't even any hellebores around.
The hardy geraniums available last year were millions of Rozanne, Brookside, Jolly Bee and a few sanguineums, oh and Purple Pillow and Ballerina.
That's about it, although to be fair I have probably missed a few.
Thank goodness for seed exchanges!!!
 

[Maggi Young]

We have always used that word in the Booker household.  I wonder why?   

I have said it before and I'll probably say it again................There's often a clue, Cliff!

[Diane Whitehead]

I managed to get seed of G biuncinatum from a seed exchange in 1996.
 I was overwhelmed, after years of salivating over its gorgeous photo in
Yeo's book.  I noted that it is an annual from Yemen, that one should
scratch the seeds, and that it will flower in winter in a greenhouse.

 I never got around to sowing the seeds, probably because the timing didn't fit in
with my usual seed-sowing, and I was busy freezing vegetables or
making jam or something when I should have sowed them.

There is an article about someone who was successful at
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/3139/biuncinatum.html

[maggiepie]

I managed to get seed of G biuncinatum from a seed exchange in 1996.
 I was overwhelmed, after years of salivating over its gorgeous photo in
Yeo's book.  I noted that it is an annual from Yemen, that one should
scratch the seeds, and that it will flower in winter in a greenhouse.

 I never got around to sowing the seeds, probably because the timing didn't fit in
with my usual seed-sowing, and I was busy freezing vegetables or
making jam or something when I should have sowed them.

There is an article about someone who was successful at
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/3139/biuncinatum.html

Diane, I too fell in love with the flower after seeing the pic in Yeo's book, I am going to turn my attention to some G. Ocellatum seeds.
I still have a long list of wants, they are way too addictive
I was lucky enough to get some geranium seeds in swaps, and the seed exchange and have a bunch of babies, I can't wait to see how they turn out.
Thanks for the link.

[mark smyth]

According to Robin Parer it seeds freely. To me that means invasive

[maggiepie]

According to Robin Parer it seeds freely. To me that means invasive

Mark, G biuncinatum or G. Ocellatum?

[mark smyth]

G. ocellatum

[maggiepie]

G. ocellatum

Then maybe I had better think twice.
Did she say if it was invasive in both warm and cold climates?

[mark smyth]

"G. ocellatum
geraniums (annuals)
(Saudi Arabia) Small, deep pink flowers with a black center on a sprawling plant; seeds freely."

Coming from Saudi Arabia it's very unlikey to be hardy