Johnjoe - could you please tell us - are you talking about Pelargoniums - the ones that people grow in window boxes in the summer, or hardy Geraniums - cranesbills? It's not possible to give you an answer without knowing that.

I Think that is the one Pelargoniums it has a horse shoe looking leafs, Would you be able to tell me what the difference is between Pelargoniums Geraniums and Cranesbills Geraniums to be sure

Thanks

Pelargoniums do indeed often have a horseshoe mark on their leaves, which are large. The flowers are in clusters, in shades of pink, red, orange and white, and you break off the stem at the base to dead-head them...they're not hardy here, we take them in for the winter.

Cranesbill geraniums are hardy, some of them disappear under the soil for the winter. Their flowers are small, not normally in clusters, and the colours range from white, pink, violet to mauve. If you want to see some, look at the photos at the bottom of this page! (Ignore the Dahlia...lol)

All pelargoniums are tender, Johnjoe, but in reality, they will withstand up to ten degrees of frost, but won't tolerate being in a frozen solid container, and usually give up the ghost over winter outside from the wet as much as anything, which causes rot. I, too, had an ivy leafed pelargonium in a tub which had been there for ten years, was 5 feet by 4 feet, but it bit the dust last winter. Have put in a new one, but like you, it's only put on what one would expect for growth in a season. Yours, and mine, will get larger the longer it survives. Hopefully this winter won't be anything like as bad a last year's.

I will keep my fingers crossed with it's replacement

Many Thanks

Many of the older varieties of Pelargoniums are taller growing than those available in garden centers today. If you can find them, look for the 'Irene' series, and there are several others which may still be available, too. If all else fails, look for one that survived, or that someone took in the house, in your neighborhood, and ask nicely for a cutting.

alternatively pop down to Exmouth in Devon ( my home town) take a walk down to the docks, you will see pelargoniums growing over 10' tall by the front doors of some of the old terraced houses. Unbelievable growth. I'm sure they will give you a cutting or three. ( plus tell you they're life history, how noisey the tourists have been this year, how the planning dept has ruined the centre of town & while your here pop this letter in the box on your way Ta very much !!! ) Yep we're a friendly bunch alright. Keep well.

Hi there Johnjoe and welcome to a fab forum for all things planty!
I have some Pelargoniums that live outside all year round on my raised beds. The taller, shrubby ones are not generally hardy, though one or two may survive the winter against a house wall given shelter and good drainage.
You can check out my website for some geranium information:richardshardygeraniums.piczo.com the link is on the links page of the geraniaceae group website.

You can also get some great advice from the Geraniaceae groups website:

www.geraniaceae-group.org