Snowflake Geranium Appeals with Its Large, Fragrant Leaves

Imagine a tiny greenhouse in winter. Dust-gray skies loom outside, a chill wind blusters around the structure’s fragile panes. Inside, everything is moist and fragrant and warm. Orderly rows of small terra-cotta pots line the walls. Each one holds an individual scented geranium. Every variety has a different leaf form—this one is heavily furred, others are scratchy and skinny-lobed, others are puckered, pleated, frilled and almost crispy to the touch. Every variety has a different fragrance. 

I’ll realize this fantasy someday. When I do, the first variety I’ll add to my collection is the phenomenal ‘Snowflake’ (Pelargonium בSnowflake’; USDA Zones 8–10). 

‘Snowflake’ foliage is large for a scented geranium, reaching two or two-and-a-half inches across. The leaves are bright green and trilobed, flecked and splashed with streaks of cream. Brush against them lightly and you’ll get a floral aroma similar to a rose. Crush them more firmly and you’ll get a potent citrus scent. To me, it’s lemony but with a bitter edge, like yuzu or pomelo. 

If ‘Snowflake’ is too subtle for you, consider its spawn, ‘Atomic Snowflake’. In addition to the creamy flecks, its foliage is edged and washed with gold. 

Both of these geranium cultivars are grown for their leaves, not their flowers. However, they’ll occasionally throw a firework of pale-pink bloom when you’re least expecting it. 

‘Snowflake’ thrives in full sunshine and warm, dry conditions. It’s not one of the self-possessed scented geraniums that keeps itself happily upright in a small pot. Instead it grows large, lax and self-inviting. Give it a generous planter. I’d pot a 4-inch starter plant directly into a 12- to 15-inch-wide terra cotta planter. Place this in an area where it will receive at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. Allow the soil to dry lightly between waterings, particularly while the plant is young. 

Scented geraniums of all sorts are easy to winter as houseplants. At the end of summer in the North, bring the pot indoors to a cool windowsill. They’ll survive outside easily in Zone 8 and warmer as long as they’re kept from too much moisture. 

Look past the wintery name. Plant a ‘Snowflake’ scented geranium (or a whole squall of them) and no matter the weather, you’ll have the aroma of a summer afternoon at the brush of your fingers.

Image credits: (leaf) Calsidyrose/CC BY 2.0; (plant and flower) cultivar413/CC BY 2.0