Hello, My first time on this site and would like some help. I purchased two plants and they are missing their id tags. Can some one please id these plants for me as I would like to plant them in my garden. Pictures attached...
The first is a succulent - maybe an Echeverria or similar (the succulent folks will be by later, I'm sure, to give you a concrete ID), and the second looks an awful lot like a Pelargonium (commonly and erroniously called a Geranium). Try rubbing the leaves - they should have a strong, pleasant smell.
The 2nd plant leaves smell like lemon. Can I plant this outdoor. I live in Toronto Canada so very harsh winters. Will it survive? Thanks for your reply
Yup, indoor plants the both. They will, however, enjoy summer outdoors (provided that you give them a bit of shade, as Salt suggests). The lemon scent helps to narrow the species down considerably. It will be a Pelargonium crispum cultivar, and when it blooms they'll be pink flowers. You can use the leaves to give a subtle citrus flavour to sugar for baking, by tearing a leaf in half and laying it on top of some sugar in a jar.
Many Thanks to all of you that replied. I am new to gardening and trying my hand at it. A small garden in my back yard. Summers here are so short and I was trying for out door plants that will survive the winters. I guess my two plants will now have to be indoors. I will however put them out on my deck for the summer. Again Many thanks for the prompt reply Cheers and enjoy the summer. Here today in Toronto is a beautiful day with a temp at 22 deg C
lorax is correct about the succulent - an Echeveria. They will very definitely freeze to death in low temps (their unique capacity to store a lot of water in the leaf makes them especially vulnerable). You can easily make new plants by rooting the "babies" (or pups) coming up on along the base of the large rosette, or leave them in place and the plant will form a dense mound. After flowering a rosette will die. This is normal.
