Geraniums

[Krista S]

I’ve scoured the forum as well as the tortoisetable website, and I have some confusion on geraniums. The geraniums I see on the tortoise table are nothing like the geraniums I see locally. Most commonly I see Zonal Geraniums that have large clusters of blossoms. Here’s a link as an example…

Zonal Geranium

Zonal Geraniums are the showiest full sun annuals you can find. our geraniums are grown as colour assortments we will do our best to chose the colours of your choice. Geraniums are extremely hardy annuals offering Amazing colour 🌞full time partial sun 💧💧medium water requirements 🌬wind...

dutchgrowers.net

Is anyone able to tell me if this type of geranium is ok for tortoises? Not to say that my Hermanns will actually eat it, but I want to try growing them ans eventually give it a try. I know the main popular pick is hibiscus and rose of Sharon, but I’m wanting to branch out more than that. Other items I’m looking at are African violets, pansies, begonias, marigolds and petunias. If anything stands out as “don‘t even bother“ to you, please let me know 😂. On the other hand, if you have other suggestions of flowering plants I should try, I’d love to hear that too. Just as a disclaimer, I’m aware of pesticide and other chemical use on store/greenhouse bought plants.

Thanks for your help 🙂

 

[Maro2Bear]

I guess my question on many plants/flowers is how many flowers do you really want to be growing/blooming to make much of a difference. How much room do you have? It’s easy to supplement now and then with a few flowers like violets, petunias, pansies. But unless you have a greenhouse with 100s of plants it’s often not worth the effort.

I guess you could grow rows and rows of nasturtiums. Squash blossoms are good too. Hostas & their flowers too.

But, You might want to concentrate growing the types of weeds & grasses they prefer.

Always lots of great info here - https://www.hermannihaven.com/t-hermanni-care-sheet

Soooo, in a long roundabout way. How many geraniums do you have? I’m guessing you only want to pinch back the blossoms & feed.

Plants like African Violets and Begonias & Pansies. Takes an awful lot of plants & flowers to make a dent in a supplemental food supply.

 

[Krista S]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I am not looking for this to be a food supply I can rely on. More so a treat to be able to give him a couple flowers now and then with his regular varied diet. I do have seeds for dandelions and a variety of lettuces and endive planted as well.

Do you happen to know if zonal geraniums are safe?

 

[SinLA]

I have seen on other threads that they are fine, and I have given them to my tortoise with no ill effect thus far. he doesn't love them, but has eaten them... (pending they are long since planted and not recently from a nursery that may use pesticides, etc)