Pelargonium x domesticum
The regal pelargonium, as we know it today with its ruffling of the petal, giving it the impression of being a double flower, was not developed until 1877. These pelargoniums are the most important of the genus, offering a much wider variety of colouring and form, and they make outstanding pot plants. For beddingout purposes, however, they do not possess the virtues of the zonal pelargoniums. Older varieties tend to have a much shorter flowering season than the zonals, which flower continuously throughout the summer months, but in recent years new varieties have been raised which flower almost continuously in the summer. In the USA regals are also known as 'Lady Washingtons' or 'Martha Washingtons' and in Germany as 'Edel-pelargoniums'. Many of the regal and zonal pelargoniums grown at the turn of the century are still available today.
