Discover 10 Different Colors of Geraniums to Liven up Your Yard

Written by Kimberly Magerl
Published: September 10, 2023
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When it comes to brightening up your yard with a burst of color and charm, few flowers can rival the versatility and beauty of geraniums. These beloved annual and perennial plants combine in a stunning array of colors, each offering a unique personality to your outdoor space.

From classic reds that evoke timeless elegance and soft pinks that add a romantic touch to rare blues that capture calmness and depth, geraniums offer a kaleidoscope of options to elevate your yard’s aesthetics. Discover ten different colors of geraniums to liven up your yard. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just beginning your green thumb adventure, these geraniums are sure to inspire and invigorate your landscape. 

1. Bi-Color

Bi-color geraniums, also known as two-tone or multi-colored geraniums, are captivating varieties of the traditional geranium genus Pelargonium. They display flowers with more than one color. Additionally, they often offer striking and eye-catching contrasts. Bi-color hybrid geraniums are typically regal or ivy-leaved cultivars. 

Regal bi-color geraniums offer intricate, multi-stemmed blooms with unique patterns, while ivy-leaved varieties create stunning cascades of color in hanging baskets. These colorful annuals are a fantastic addition to gardens and containers. They add a visual layer of interest to complement many color schemes. Lastly, there are many bi-color varieties to choose from, including:

  • Berkswell Harmony: This variety produces bold and eye-catching two-toned blooms that blend deep crimson upper petals and soft pink lower petals. Also, the Berkswell Harmony cultivar belongs to a group of scented bi-color geraniums called the Angel series, and this particular variety’s foliage has a distinct lemon smell.
  • Twilight Serenade: The petals on Twilight Serenade transition from soft lavender to rich burgundy, evoking the beauty of a serene evening sky. 
  • Sunny Fusion: As its name suggests, Sunny Fusion produces sunny yellow and fiery orange blooms. This bi-color variety embodies the warmth and energy of a summer sunrise. 
  • Celestial Dance: Plant this captivating variety to create a sense of wonder and mystery in your garden. It produces deep indigo and pure white petals. 
  • Crimson Zephyr: The petals on Crimson Zephyr transition from rich crimson to soft pink, resembling a gentle breeze of color. 
Are Geraniums Poisonous to Dogs or Cats- Pelargonium

Most geraniums are drought-tolerant.

©tony mills/Shutterstock.com

2. Blue

True blue geraniums are rare. However, there are some varieties that experts refer to as blue geraniums, thanks to their bluish hues. More importantly, while these geraniums are often labeled as blue, the shade of blue varies depending on growing conditions and soil pH.

True blue flowers are challenging to achieve in the natural plant world, so these varieties offer the closest approximation to blue. They include: 

  • Rozanne: Geranium Rozanne is the best blue-flowering variety. It produces large, saucer-shaped flowers with violet-blue petals and white centers. The variety is known for its long blooming period and also its prized color. 
  • Johnson Blue: Bright blue-violet flowers shine bright on Johnson Blue. They have a low-growing habit, making them an ideal choice for garden beds. 
  • Brookside: Brookside geranium boasts deep blue flowers with intricate veining. It is known for its elegant appearance and is often used in borders
  • Azure Rush: Another blue-toned variety, Azure Rush produces lavender-blue blooms with white centers. It is also one of the newest hybrid cultivars. 
  • Orion: Geranium Orion offers bright blue-purple flowers that stand out in a garden. It is also a rigorous and reliable bloomer. 

Johnson Blue forms dense, spreading mounds with abundant flower clusters.

©guentermanaus/Shutterstock.com

3. Magenta

Magenta is a vibrant and eye-catching color often found in various flowers, including certain types of geraniums. Gardeners praise magenta geraniums for their intense pinkish-purple hue. 

These varieties add a bold and lively splash of color to gardens, but the exact shade of magenta varies. Various factors influence the hue, including sunlight and soil conditions. Magenta varieties include: 

  • Dragon Heart: Bright magenta-pink flower with dark veining grace the Dragon Heart variety. 
  • Patricia: A popular choice, thanks to its striking color and reliability, Patricia produces deep magenta flowers with dark centers. 
  • Blushing Turtle: Geranium Blushing Turtle showcases magenta-pink flowers with a touch of lavender. 
  • Kashmir Pink: Kashmir Pink produces beautiful magenta-pink blooms. Gardeners also appreciate this cultivar for its long-lasting flowers. 
  • Summer Skies: This variety offers magenta-pink blooms with white centers, creating charming bi-color contrast. 
Geranium macrorrhizum.

Geraniums are incredibly deer-resistant.

©R R/Shutterstock.com

4. Pink

Pink geraniums are a popular choice and one of the most common colors. There are numerous varieties of pink geraniums, each with its unique shade of pink, growth habit, and characteristics.

Plant pink geraniums in various landscape settings, including borders, containers, hanging baskets, and cottage-style gardens, to add a soft and romantic touch to your outdoor space. Popular pink varieties to consider include: 

  • Ballerina: This variety produces soft, pale pink blooms with dark pink veining. It has a trailing growth habit, making it suitable for hanging baskets and containers. 
  • Pink Penny: Pink Penny offers bright pink blooms with a white eye. They are compact but prolific bloomers. 
  • Dusky Rose: They produce dusky pink flowers with darker centers to create an elegant and vintage look. 
  • Bevan’s Variety: Bevan’s Variety geranium produces deep pink to magenta-pink flowers with white centers. They are one of the most classic choices for gardens and borders. 
  • Rise and Shine: This unique annual blooms bright pink flowers with dark pink veining and white centers. 
  • Sweet Heidi: As its name suggests, Sweet Heidi offers soft pink flowers with white edges, creating a charming and romantic appearance. 
  • Summer Idyll: This variety produces light pink blooms with darker pink markings. They are compact but bushy.
  • Dreamland: Geranium Dreamland showcases pale pink flowers with white eyes, creating a dreamy and airy look. 
  • Splish Splash: Another bi-color variety, Splish Splash produces pink and white blooms that create a playful and unique appearance.  
Zonal geranium

Pink geraniums are a common ingredient in many love spells.

©aniana/Shutterstock.com

5. Purple

Purple geraniums, with their regal and captivating hues, have long been a favorite among growers. These blooms offer a sense of calm and sophistication, making them a timeless choice for your landscape. 

Enchanting shades of violet and lavender create a calming retreat or vibrant display. Explore some of the most popular purple cultivars: 

  • Purple Cranesbill: Gardeners prize this variety for its intense blue-violet blooms. It is a classic choice for those seeking a rich and vibrant shade of purple. Additionally, it is hardy with a mounding growth habit and is ideal for edging, beds, groundcover, borders, and rock gardens. 
  • Purple Pillow: This cultivar features velvety purple flowers that evoke a sense of luxury and opulence. Purple Pillow’s lush blooms create an inviting atmosphere for your outdoor space. 
  • Ann Folkard: This geranium showcases magenta-purple flowers with black centers that create an eye-catching and unique display. Also, its elegant appearance makes it astandoutt choice for mixed borders. 
  • Jolly Bee: Another blue-violet bloomer, Jolly Bee, blossoms with white centers, creating a captivating contrast. Its vibrant colors and compact growth habit are perfect for containers and small gardens. 
Agricultural Field, Beauty, Blossom, Botany, Close-up

Most geraniums thrive in full sun but prefer afternoon shade in hot regions.

©iStock.com/weisschr

6. Red

Gardeners everywhere choose red geraniums for their classic, eye-catching blooms. These flowers add a bold splash of color and a touch of traditional charm to your garden. Use red geraniums in a wide range of garden settings, from formal to cottage-style. 

Whether you prefer a bright and bold red or a deeper, more velvety shade, there is a red geranium variety to suit your garden’s design: 

  • Americana Red: This variety produces vibrant, bright red flowers with white eyes that create a striking contrast. 
  • Red Pandora: Red Pandora produces bright and fiery red blooms that make astandoutt addition to any garden. 
  • Boldly Red: As the name suggests, Boldly Red features bold, cherry-red flowers. Specimens are also vigorous growers and prolific bloomers. 
  • Maverick Red: Deep red flowers bloom across Maverick Red. Additionally, this variety offers a uniform and compact growth habit that is great for small spaces.
  • Tango Red: Tango Red geranium has rich, velvety red petals with dark green foliage that create an elegant appearance and contrast. 
  • Calliope Dark Red: This variety produces intense, dark red flowers. More importantly, this cultivar has high heat tolerance and versatility. 
  • Ringo Deep Red: Ringo Red offers deep red flowers and a mounding growth habit. Because of this, it is suitable for containers and borders. 
Blood-red geranium (Geranium sanguineum)

Wiccans believe red geraniums are protective plants.

©Jane Nadezhina/Shutterstock.com

7. Salmon

Offering warm and inviting hues, salmon geraniums infuse outdoor landscapes with a touch of elegance and vibrancy. These delightful blooms offer a range of coral and apricot shades, exuding an air of the exotic while radiating a sunny and comforting charm. 

Discover some of the most popular salmon varieties: 

  • Salmon Supreme: This variety boasts rich salmon-colored blossoms that steal the spotlight in any garden. It is captivating and creates a warm and inviting atmosphere, perfect for both traditional and modern landscapes. 
  • Coral Appeal: Coral appeal features delicate salmon-pink blooms with a touch of apricot, offering a soft and soothing presence in your garden. Additionally, Its compact growth habit makes it an excellent choice for contains and small spaces. 
  • Salmon Splash: This cultivar showcases vibrant salmon-orange flowers with splashes of white, creating a playful and lively ambiance. The variety thrives in sunny garden corners and as focal points in mixed beds. 
  • Apricot Twist: Apricot Twist presents apricot-colored petals with hints of salmon and white, forming a stunning bi-color blend of warm tones. Its unique coloration also adds a touch of sophistication. 
  • Sunset Dreams: This variety produces salmon-pink flowers with darker centers, evoking the image of a picturesque sunset. Its graceful appearance lends its beauty to garden borders and containers. 
  • Golden Apricot: Golden Apricot offers a blend of apricot and salmon hues, creating a cheerful and inviting display. Its vibrant flowers are a beacon of warmth for your garden. 
Salmon coral geranium flowers

Geranium houseplants only need to be watered weekly.

©Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons – Original / License

8. Variegated

Variegated geraniums offer a captivating twist on the classic geranium with their unique and eye-catching foliage patterns. While the blossoms of geraniums are well-loved for their vibrant colors, these variegated varieties steal the spotlight with their striking leaves. 

These cultivars add a touch of diversity and intrigue to your garden’s greenery. More importantly, their foliage patterns and colors make them standout additions to both formal and informal garden designs. Whether planted in containers, borders, or accents, variegated geraniums promise to capture the eyes and spark creativity in your outdoor space.

Variegated Varieties

  • Mrs. Parker: This variety might sound like your old English teacher, but it produces green leaves with creamy white edges that create a refreshing and elegant appearance. The variegated foliage also adds a touch of brightness to your garden, even when the plant is not blooming. 
  • White Mesh: White mesh showcases leaves with delicate mesh-like patterns of green and white, offering a unique and intricate look. Its foliage becomes a focal point in any garden bed or container. 
  • Crystal Palace Gem: This cultivar boasts silver-gray leaves with dark green margins, producing a stunning contrast. The variegated beauty thrives in sunny and partially shaded spots. 
  • Tricolor: Shades of green, white, and pink adorn the leaves of this geranium, creating a playful and colorful display. Also, its variegated foliage complements its pink flowers to add a burst of brightness and contrast to your garden. 
  • Happy Thought: Happy Thought offers green leaves marbled with cream and accented with pink. This delightful color combination adds a cheerful and whimsical touch to your landscape. 
  • Candy Dancer: Like Tricolor and Happy Thought, Candy Dancer also showcases leaves with unique patterns of green, white, and pink, resembling candy stripes. Its variegated foliage is a conversation starter in any space. 
Variegated geranium leaves

Some variegated geraniums produce showy flowers.

©Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons – Original / License

9. White

Pristine and timeless beauty await gardeners planting white geraniums. They bring a sense of purity and sophistication to gardens and landscapes. These delicate and elegant blooms serve as focal points, accentuating the surrounding greenery. 

Explore exquisite white geranium varieties to infuse your garden with elegance. 

  • Nimbus: Create a serene and peaceful garden retreat with Nimbus. This variety boasts pure white flowers that exude simplicity. 
  • Snow Sprite: Pristine white flowers with a touch of pink at the base blossom on this bi-colored variety. Snow Sprite is a charming variety that is also great for containers and beds. 
  • White Ivy: Belonging to the ivy-leafed group of geraniums, White Ivy features trailing white blooms. Its cascading growth habit is perfect for hanging baskets. However, the waterfall of white flowers works just as well in traditional containers. 
  • Tschelda: Another bicolor variety, Tschelda blooms pristine white flowers with hints of pale green at the center for a refreshing look. The variety’s understated beauty adds an air of elegance to the garden. 
  • White Cloud: White Cloud lives up to its name by producing an abundance of pure white blooms. Also, it is a prolific bloomer that is the perfect choice for a tranquil escape. 
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Geraniums are originally native to South

Africa

.

©Iva Vagnerova/Shutterstock.com

10. Yellow

Yellow geraniums infuse your garden with the warmth and radiance of sunshine, thanks to their bright and cheerful blooms. These vibrant flowers add a pop of color and a sense of happiness to outdoor spaces. Popular varieties include: 

  • Butterfly: Resembling fluttering butterflies, this variety boasts bright yellow flowers with contrasting brown centers. Also, this unique and eye-catching cultivar adds a playful and whimsical touch to beds and containers. 
  • Goldfinch: This cultivar produces vibrant golden-yellow blossoms that evoke the beauty of a sunny day. Its cheerful blooms also create a sense of warmth and optimism. 
  • Happy Face: Happy Face showcases sunny yellow flowers with striking dark markings in the center, giving them a cheerful but aggressive appearance. The bi-color variety adds a touch of joy and intrigue to containers. 
  • Yellow Champion: Vivid yellow blooms blossom from Yellow Champion. Also, the dark green foliage creates a striking contrast, while its compact growth habit makes the variety ideal for borders and containers. 
  • Bright Star: This variety boasts yellow flowers with unique star-shaped markings that add a touch of intrigue to its cheerful appearance.
  • Golden Symphonie: Create a harmonious and melodious display with Golden Symphonie. It produces deep yellow flowers with contrasting dark centers that add energy to outdoor spaces. 
Yellow jungle geranium in the garden with warm sunny in the morning. Scientific name is Ixora coccinea. Panicle of yellow flame of the woods among green leaves in the shrub. Maui yellow Ixora flower.

Yellow geraniums are a symbol of friendship and happiness.

©Apichan Thongkrajang/Shutterstock.com

Four Main Types of Geraniums

Geraniums deliver a diverse range of species and hybrids in many colors. Experts categorize the genus into four main types: Zonal, Ivy-Leafed, Regal, and Scented. Each type offers unique characteristics and is best suited for specific garden applications. 

1. Zonal Geraniums (Pelargonium x hortorum)

Zonal geraniums have rounded, often variegated leaves with dark “zones” or markings. They produce vibrant, single, or double blooms in various colors, including red, pink, and white. Zonal geraniums are excellent choices for garden beds, borders, and containers. They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil. 

2. Ivy-Leafed Geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum)

Ivy-leafed geraniums have trailing growth habits and glossy, lobed leaves. Their flowers come in a wide range of colors, including pink, blue, white, purple, and salmon. Additionally, they are perfect for hanging baskets, window boxes, and containers, thanks to their cascading growth. Lastly, they excel in partial shade and work well for enhancing vertical spaces.

3. Regal Geraniums (Pelargonium domesticum)

Also known as Martha Washington geraniums, Regal geraniums feature intricately shaped leaves and large, showy blooms. Their flowers come in a variety of colors, often with contrasting markings. Additionally, many bi-color varieties belong to the Regal type. 

Gardeners grow regal geraniums indoors or as patio plants due to their sensitivity to extreme temperatures. They thrive in bright, indirect sunlight and are ideal for adding elegance to indoor spaces. 

4. Scented Geraniums

Scented geraniums encompass a diverse group of species and hybrids, each with unique fragrances, including lemon, rose, and mint. They produce small, often inconspicuous flowers. However, gardeners prize them for their aromatic notes. 

Grow scented geraniums alongside herb gardens or as companion plants to deter pests and animals. They are excellent for fragrance enthusiasts, and many have herbal uses. 

Summary: 10 Different Colors of Geraniums

NumberColorSymbolism
1Bi-ColorBalance and harmony
2BlueTranquility, calmness, and depth
3MagentaEnthusiasm, love, and excitement
4PinkLove, gratitude, grace, and sweetness
5PurpleEnchantment, royalty, and elegance
6RedAffection, desire, courage, and determination
7SalmonEnthusiasm, energy, and a zest for life
8VariegatedDiversity and individuality
9WhitePurity, innocence, and simplicity
10YellowHappiness, joy, and friendship

The photo featured at the top of this post is © mutsu7211/Shutterstock.com


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About the Author

Kimberly Magerl is a content writer and data analyst specializing in lawn and garden, home improvement, roofing, and solar technologies. She enjoys growing fruits and vegetables in her garden, getting outdoors, and putting her toes in the sand. A resident of Texas, when she isn't gardening, Kimberly enjoys trying new recipes and cooking with her home-grown herbs.

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