Growing Annual Geranium (Pelargonium): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Annual geranium is the classic bedding and container plant most gardeners know from nursery six-packs, but it’s grown here from seed instead, which means starting well ahead of the season rather than buying an already-blooming plant.
Only transplant, no shortcuts
Direct-seeding isn’t recommended for this one; it needs an indoor head start. Sow 7 to 9 weeks before planting out for small cell trays, or 9 to 11 weeks for larger cells, covering the seed lightly at an eighth of an inch since light isn’t required for germination. Germination takes 7 to 10 days at 70-75°F. Space plants 12 to 14 inches apart in beds, or 3 to 5 plants in a 10-to-12-inch container.
Deadheading matters more than usual
Removing spent blooms regularly does more for this plant’s overall health and continued flowering than almost any other single piece of care. A geranium left to set seed on old blooms slows down noticeably compared to one that’s kept deadheaded through the season.
Annual geranium has no recorded companions or antagonists in our data. See the full companion guide for annual geranium for how it’s tracked. It’s well suited to container plantings in the Garden Designer, tolerating part shade with reduced flowering if a full-sun spot isn’t available.
Source: Geranium: Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Annual Geranium (Pelargonium) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Method: Start indoors: Start indoors from seed, then transplant outside. Annual Geranium (Pelargonium) needs a head start most zones can't give it by direct-sowing alone.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Annual Geranium (Pelargonium) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 1 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1-1.5 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- 'Maverick™ Salmon' annual geranium: Johnny's Selected Seeds sells this F1 as an easy-to-grow container classic, part of their standard seed-propagated Maverick line. (source)
- 'Maverick™ Orange' annual geranium (best for: bright container color): The same Maverick F1 line in a bolder orange, a brighter contrast than the softer Salmon and Appleblossom shades for a container that needs to stand out. (source)
Cited from the source shown next to each variety. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement.
Where to buy annual geranium seeds
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this page also go to other retailers we may earn a commission from as an affiliate, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products with a genuine consensus of positive, independent reviews. See the sources cited on each item.
See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing annual geranium (pelargonium)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Annual Geranium (Pelargonium): The classic bedding and container geranium, grown here from seed as an annual rather than as a cutting-propagated nursery plant.
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