Over the years I have used Ivy geraniums as ground cover for the wonderful summer color. I used Beacon geraniums first for trememdous effect. The problem Beacons hqve it their need to be pinched to keep them bushy. This year I used Caliente Fire. This is a bushy naturally branching single flowered variety that loved the summer weather here.

  Ive Geranium Caliente Fire Photo by Jungle Jim

Most of the semi double and double Ivy geraniums stall or quit blooming in the hot weather. The picture posted here is a grouping of three plants. They are five feet across in one summer and they have bloomed all summer. At this point I can recommend the Caliente varieties as tremendous basket plants and as wonderful ground cover. I have in the past been able to use them for three years, although an exceptionally cold winter can freeze them out.

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