Pelargonium x nervosum 'Cola Bottles' - Cola Geranium
Sprouts of BristolOne of the most noticeable things about this Pelargonium - once you get close enough - is its distinctive cola scent. This plant is making us so nostalgic for sweet shop cola bottles! And it isn't the flowers making this scent. The foliage itself is scented, and you can smell it whenever you move the plant, touch the leaves, prune or deadhead. This Pelargonium is a feast for the eyes as well as the nose; setting aside the scent, its bold, rounded, fringed leaves will add vibrancy to your home, with their bright green colouring and velvety texture. Topped off with bright mauve and purple flowers in the summer, this plant really is a treat. Care for it with plenty of bright light and regular water and you'll really see what this scented geranium has to offer.
Scientific Name
Pelargonium x nervosum 'Cola Bottles' (stork plant, hybrid species with nerved plant, variety: Cola Bottles)
This plant is a variety of the hybrid species P. x nervosum, which is descended from the species P. crispum.
Common Name
Cola Geranium, Pelargonium Cola Bottles, Pelargonium Zonal, Savannah Geranium
Origin
This species is native to South Africa, growing in shady areas and woodland.
Light
Make sure this Pelargonium gets plenty of bright light without midday sun that could scorch it. If your plant is getting leggy, it might not be getting enough light. Bright light will help it stay healthy and not mouldy while getting enough to drink too.
Water
Your scented geranium will appreciate evenly moist soil; only allow the top third of the soil to dry out between waters. Make sure it isn't sat soggy though!
Humidity
Your Apple Pelargonium is perfectly happy with average household levels of humidity. A hose down every month or so will help keep its leaves happy, hydrated and dust-free.
Soil
Use a soil that drains well to keep these plants' roots happy and not soggy. Indoors, a mix with elements like coir and sand, for example a blend designed for ferns, works well. Outdoors, sandy or loamy soil is good, but make sure it's not in clay! Repot every couple of years in spring as the plant grows.
Food
Feed every four waters in the growing season, reduce to every six in autumn and winter.
Temperature
In summer, ideal temperatures for your Pelargonium will be from 15-27°C. In winter, it can stand temperatures down to 5°C. You can grow these plants outdoors as perennials, but be aware they will need protection from frost in winter, and cannot be left in soggy ground to rot!
Pet-safe
No, this plant is toxic to dogs and cats.
Sprouts Top Tips
If it doesn't get enough light, your Pelargonium will be at risk of mouldy soil, will be less likely to flower, will grow straggly and will have a less powerful scent - so this is the main aspect to get right! While it can't stand the brightest direct sun, it will be fine with a couple of hours of morning or evening sun if it gets used to it gradually, and this will be much better than being too shaded!
Important Information
If you have any questions, please check out the below or get in touch via our contact formWe're devoted to sending our customers quality plants with the best service around. Every plant is backed by our 7-day guarantee, so they arrive in good health.
Our team takes extra steps when prepping plants for transportation, but they're still sensitive to changes, so there may be minor cosmetic issues. We always aim to photograph and disclose any flaws before shipping, but a living creature travelling across the country in a box can take a hot minute to adjust to its new life.
If you have any issues within 7 days of receiving your order, holler at our customer support team on our contact form with your order details and some pics of the issue. After the guarantee has expired, though, we can't refund as we can't guarantee care and environmental factors. If you repot the plant during the 7 days, the guarantee is void.
We have been sending plants up and down the country for many year now and we like to think we have our way down to an art.
We protect the plant from falling out of the soil with tissue paper and tape if needed, then we wrap the plant in corrugated cardboard, and sometimes we protect the leaves with extra tissue paper if required. This is then placed into a box and if there is any empty space, we fill this with void fill to stop the plants moving around inside the box. Sometimes we will write a note on your packing slip to water the plant on arrival, so please look out for this. This is due a freshly watered plant going in a box will not only be soggy, but as the plant is in darkness this can sometimes make the plant unhappy when just freshly watered.
If your plant arrives to you unhappy, please send us a photo of the plant and packaging if relevant straight away, so we can advise you.
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We do offer a Tracked48 Large Letter option for £2.99, and Tracked24 for £1 extra, but this only applies to products less than 2.5cm thick.
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Link to your shipping policy
We get a lot of boxes, packaging and whatnot at Sprouts from all our various supplier's deliveries. We re-use this packaging material where possible, plus we take in donations from local businesses and customers to our shop to avoid excess packaging going to landfill. Sometimes your delivery might look a little different, or come in a branded box from another company, but rest assured the items inside are carefully packed with love and attention inside. We use paper tape and all our branded materials included are fully recyclable. Sometimes we use polystyrene, bubble wrap or plastic wrap in the packaging, all these items are not new and where possible, please use them again.
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Zedify collect and deliver orders from us Monday - Friday and will usually deliver your order the same day its collected. If you place your order before 11am, we will aim to get it collected the same day but this isnt always possible. When you have received your dispatch email, Zedify should be delivering your order the same day, anytime before 6pm.
We cannot give an idea of time, but if you would prefer delivery on a certain date (Monday - Friday) please get in touch or leave a note at check out with your preferred delivery date and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
Zedify deliver to the following postcodes BS1, BS2, BS3, BS4, BS5, BS6, BS7, BS8 (1, 2, 3A - 3N, 4), BS9 (1,3,4).
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You will get an email when your order is ready to collect, where possible please come and collect your order the same day as we have limited space. If you are going to collect your order at a later date, please let us know in the message box at check out so we know when to expect you. Some items such as gift sets, kits and pre-order items may not be ready to collect the same day, again please let us know what day you would like to collect and we will let you know if there's any issues.
We do not offer free returns, but if you are unhappy with your delivery, please get in touch. If your parcel or order has been damaged, please take photos and send these over to our team so we can look into this for you.
If you have ordered an item and you would like to exchange it, we should be able to do this for you. There may be an extra charge for delivery, but get in touch to discuss. For plants there is a 7 day return policy and 30 days for everything else, apart from sale items which are none returnable.
You can return or exchange in our Bristol shop for free.
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