Plant in light shade to coastal full sun in moderately well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to regularly. Often listed as hardy only to 32°F but we have found it to easily recover from short duration temperatures down to 28°F and it certainly survived our January 2007 freeze with three nights with short duration temperatures down to 25°F with hardly a setback . This plant makes a great wide-spreading groundcover in light shade, and the leaves can also be used as a culinary herb.

Pelargonium tomentosum in its natural habitat grows in sandy soils in semi-shaded, moist habitats, on the forest margins and stream sides in the mountainous areas of the southern Cape of South Africa. The name for the genus comes from Johannes Burman (1707-1780, a Dutch physician and botanist whom Linnaeus worked for in his youth. Burman first used the name to describe some South African Geraniums in 1738. The name was derived from the Greek word 'pelargós' meaning "stork" because the seed head looks like that of a stork's beak. The specific epithet refers to the tomentose leaves which have soft short hairs. This plant also commonly called the Pennyroyal Geranium. Its strongly mint-scented leaves can be used to flavor tea, jellies and pastries and included in pot-pourris. The leaves have long been used in its native habitat for a topical treatment to soothe bruises and sprains. 

Information displayed on this page about Pelargonium tomentosum is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.