What is the Difference Between Zonal and Seed Geraniums

The key difference between zonal and seed geraniums is that zonal geraniums are a type of flowering plants that propagate through cuttings, while seed geraniums are a type of flowering plants that propagate through seeds.

Pelargonium is a genus of flowering plants that contains about 280 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs. These flowering plants are commonly called geraniums. Zonal and seed geraniums are two types of upright growing flowering plants that belong to the genus Pelargonium. They have several distinct features that should be known before planting in gardens.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Zonal Geraniums
3. What are Seed Geraniums
4. Similarities – Zonal and Seed Geraniums
5. Zonal vs Seed Geraniums in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Zonal vs Seed Geraniums

What are Zonal Geraniums?

Zonal geraniums are a type of flowering plant that belongs to the genus Pelargonium and propagates through cuttings. Zonal geraniums are genetically advanced plants. They get their name due to the “zone” of red, blue, or purple colour striping through the middle of their leaves. They are propagated with the goal of producing sturdy, stronger zoned leaves and shatter-resistant colourful flowers. Zonal geraniums grow and produce flowers fast. When it comes to structure, zonal geraniums are bigger and taller. They grow up to 24 inches. They also bear bigger flowers and leaves. The flowers are doubled. These plants do not produce seeds. Therefore, they are grown from clippings. Zonal geraniums are a common sight in nurseries as they have a colourful and vibrant appearance.

Typically, zonal geraniums are upright bushes covered with red, pink, salmon, white, rose, cherry red, or bicoloured flowers held on long stems above the plants. Furthermore, flower clusters have many individual flowers, giving a burst of colour. In addition, zonal geraniums benefit from full sun and moderate to rich, well-drained, moist soil. They are true flowering plants in many modern gardens.

What are Seed Geraniums?

Seed geraniums are a type of flowering plant belonging to the genus Pelargonium and propagate through seeds. They are the best flowering plants for garden beds. The flowers of these plants are in shades of pink, red, orange, salmon, violet, white, and bicolour. Seed geraniums normally bloom in summer. The height of seed geraniums is around 10 to 18 inches. Moreover, seed geraniums are a compact version of zonal geranium. Seed geraniums prefer lower temperatures such as 40° to 50°F (4° to 10°C).

Seed geraniums are slower to grow and flower slower compared to zonal geraniums. Furthermore, seed geraniums shed their blooms naturally in a process known as petal shattering. They will shed their colourful petals in a strong wind or rain storm. Therefore, these plants remain flowerless for a bit of time. Seed geraniums also have companion plants like Bacopa, Plectranthus, and Dracaena spikes.

What are the Similarities Between Zonal and Seed Geraniums?

• Zonal and seed geraniums are two types of upright growing flowering plants belonging to the genus Pelargonium.
• Seed geraniums are a compact version of zonal geraniums.
• Both geraniums prefer loamy soil with a bit of sandy texture to it.
• They are true flowering plants in many modern gardens.

What is the Difference Between Zonal and Seed Geraniums?

Zonal geranium is a flowering plant of the genus Pelargonium that propagates through cuttings, while seed geranium is a flowering plant of the genus Pelargonium that propagates through seeds. Thus, this is the key difference between zonal and seed geraniums. Furthermore, zonal geraniums are faster to grow and flower faster compared to seed geraniums.

The below infographic presents the differences between zonal and seed geraniums in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Zonal vs Seed Geraniums

Zonal and seed geraniums are two types of upright growing flowering plants. Zonal geraniums propagate through cuttings while seed geraniums propagate through seeds. Moreover, seed geraniums are slower to grow and produce flowers compared to zonal geraniums. So, this summarizes the difference between zonal and seed geraniums.

Reference:

1.  “Geranium, Zonal.” HowStuffWorks.
2. “Seed Geraniums.” Hutchinson Farm.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Geranium Zonal Flower Fairy Velvet” By Serres Fortier (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2. “Geranium seed dispersal” By Mike Young – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia