Most Pelargonia originate from South Africa. Wild species of Pelargonia grow on the sea cliffs and nearbye areas around the Cape of Good Hope. In the 16th century, trading ships on their way from the Far East stopped at the Cape for new supplies.
Cuttings and plants of many kinds, including Pelargonia, were brought back to Europe. This was followed by many hundreds of cross-propagation experiments that have given us the many thousand cultivars of Pelargonia that we have today.
