Geranium maderense Album

The Geranium maderense Album is the white-flowered form of a botanical species (with pink flowers) native to the island of Madeira. It is a perennial evergreen plant full of variegation but with a short lifespan. It forms a majestic clump composed of an axis bearing large, highly dissected, dark green leaves with magnificent patterns. Curiously, the leaf petioles help it rise to 1m or more in height. In spring, a flowering occurs, consisting of a profusion of small white flowers whose impressive volume rivals that of the foliage and evokes wonder. Sensitive to frost, except in mild climates, it is best cultivated in a pot to protect it during winter.

The Madeira Geranium is a member of the Geraniaceae family, just like the Pelargonium on our balconies (incorrectly called "Geranium") or the Erodium found in our countryside, which readily invades fruit orchards and other plots. The Geranium maderense is one of the beautiful surprises that the Macaronesian flora offers, a region that includes the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde. Cousin to our Geranium species, most of which form low cushions or medium-sized plants, the G. maderense is a perennial in XXL format, similar to the G. canariense (or G. reuteri) of the Canary Islands, which is also affected by gigantism. This uncommon Geranium is native to the laurel forest of Madeira, a humid subtropical forest that hosts laurels, hence its name, and is also found on the island of Tenerife. It has been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's prestigious Award of Garden Merit for its ornamental qualities.
'Album' (white in Latin) is the white-flowered form, while the species-type flowers are mauve-pink. Considered a short-lived perennial, often treated as a biennial, it is a semelparous plant, meaning it only flowers once in its lifetime and then dies after producing seeds. This Geranium can take 3 to 4 years from the original sowing before flowering. It forms a central axis, which rises as new leaves appear. These leaves are highly decorative, palmate in shape, measuring about twenty centimetres in diameter, and deeply dissected, reminiscent of the cut and elegance of certain tropical ferns. Their glossy surface enhances their dark green colour, especially since the long petioles are dark red. They spread 360° around the central stem, with the oldest trailing down to the ground. The petioles then serve as stilts for the plant, so when the older leaves turn yellow, only the leaf blades should be cut, while the petioles should be kept. They dry out, harden, and form a scaffold to support the entire plant! At maturity, the Geranium exceeds 1m in height and is ready to bear its impressive flowering, reaching up to 1.20m in diameter. In spring, usually in April, many small flowers (up to 300) carried by long flower stalks form a huge dome above the foliage. With five rounded petals, the flowers are white with a pinkish-purple centre. The sepals and flower stalks are covered in tiny hairs that capture light and further enhance the aesthetics of this extraordinary flowering. The enormous inflorescence captivates throughout spring, extending into summer, before fading and forming seeds that will spontaneously reseed in the garden. The flowers, pollinated by insects, give way to long green fruits that "explode" when ripe, releasing a large quantity of very fine seeds.

This exceptional plant should be cultivated in pots in most regions to be protected from frost during winter. The leaves are destroyed at -2°C and the entire plant dies at -4°C, which limits its planting in open ground to mild areas. It will allow you to create a subtropical-inspired bed by associating it with other spectacular plants, such as the Beschorneria yuccoides, which forms a rosette of large blue-green leaves from which emerges a flower spike that reaches the size of a person. The Syagrus romanzoffiana, a fast-growing palm tree, will further accentuate the exoticism of your decor with its coconut tree-like appearance, as will a few clumps of Hedychium, an ornamental ginger with a fiercely tropical look, featuring large tender green leaves and especially splendid flowers in long spikes.