Geum 'Totally Tangerine' (Totally Tangerine avens) care

Light

Most houseplants will scorch where geum 'totally tangerine' thrives. Give it the windowsill you'd otherwise leave empty because everything else burned there. Full sun gives the most flowers and sturdiest stems. Tolerates light afternoon shade in hot regions, but deep shade thins the display and flops the stems. A plant moved abruptly from low light to direct sun bleaches in 48 hours — always acclimatise over a week.

Watering

Aim for keep soil evenly moist; water deeply every 5-7 days in dry spells for geum 'totally tangerine', but treat that as a starting point rather than a rule. A south-facing summer windowsill will dry the pot twice as fast as a north-facing winter room. Lift the pot; if it feels noticeably lighter than it did wet, water it. Dislikes both drought and waterlogging. Even moisture sustains the long bloom season; mulch to buffer the root zone in summer heat.

Soil and pot

Geum 'Totally Tangerine' grows best in fertile, humus-rich, moisture-retentive but well-drained loam. Neutral to slightly acidic. Improve heavy clay with grit and compost; pure sand dries out too fast for steady flowering. A pot with a working drainage hole is non-negotiable for this species — even free-draining mix will turn soggy in a closed planter. If you love the look of a decorative pot without a hole, use it as a cachepot around an inner nursery pot you can lift out to water.

Humidity and temperature

Geum 'Totally Tangerine' sits happiest at around 40-70% humidity and -1 to 24°C (30-75°F). An outdoor hardy perennial indifferent to ambient humidity; good airflow simply reduces foliar disease in damp climates. If you keep the room above year-round and avoid placing the plant near a cold draught, a hot radiator, or an air-conditioning vent, you have already handled the two biggest indoor stressors.

Fertilising

Feed geum 'totally tangerine' sparingly. Apply a balanced granular feed or compost mulch in early spring; an optional liquid feed mid-season supports prolonged flowering. Avoid high-nitrogen feeds, which push leaf at the expense of bloom. Skip fertiliser entirely on a stressed, recently-repotted, or actively wilting plant — fertiliser salts make damage worse, not better. Wait for a round of healthy new growth before resuming a feeding rhythm.

Common problems

Below are the issues we see most often on geum 'totally tangerine' in the Growli community. Each is annotated with the most common cause so you know where to start.

• Powdery mildew — Crowded, dry-rooted plants develop white leaf coating; improve airflow, keep roots moist, and remove affected foliage.
• Flopping stems — Too much shade or rich nitrogen weakens stems; site in full sun and stake tall clumps if exposed to wind.
• Spent-flower fatigue — Without deadheading the display tails off; this sterile hybrid sets no seed, so remove faded stems to channel energy into new buds.
• Clump dieback at the centre — Aging clumps go bare in the middle after a few years; lift and divide in spring or autumn to rejuvenate.

Propagation

Propagate only by division in spring or early autumn, as this sterile hybrid does not come true (or at all) from seed. Replant healthy outer divisions into refreshed soil. Propagation is the cheapest, most satisfying way to expand a collection — and it doubles as insurance against losing a mature plant to an accident. Take a backup cutting once the parent is established and healthy.

Toxicity to pets

Geum 'Totally Tangerine' is mildly toxic to pets. Geum (avens) is not individually listed by the ASPCA's toxic or non-toxic plant database; treat with caution and verify with a vet. No major toxic principle is documented, but ingestion of any plant matter can cause mild gastrointestinal upset, so discourage chewing by pets. If you keep cats, dogs, or curious children in the house, weigh placement carefully — a high shelf or a hanging planter is enough for casual safety. For severe ingestion incidents, call your local vet and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (in the US, 888-426-4435).

Pet-safety status is sourced from the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List, which catalogues the most-asked-about plants for cats, dogs, and horses.

Geum 'Totally Tangerine' deep-dive guides

Every aspect of geum 'totally tangerine' care, each with its own calibrated guide:

• Geum 'Totally Tangerine' watering schedule
• Geum 'Totally Tangerine' light requirements
• Best soil mix for geum 'totally tangerine'
• Geum 'Totally Tangerine' fertilizing guide
• When to repot geum 'totally tangerine'
• How to propagate geum 'totally tangerine'
• Geum 'Totally Tangerine' growth rate & size
• Geum 'Totally Tangerine' cold hardiness
• Geum 'Totally Tangerine' temperature & humidity
• Is geum 'totally tangerine' toxic to cats & dogs?
• Is geum 'totally tangerine' toxic to cats?
• Is geum 'totally tangerine' toxic to dogs?
• Getting geum 'totally tangerine' to bloom

Featured in these plant shortlists

Geum 'Totally Tangerine' qualifies for 4 curated Growli shortlists — each one filtered objectively from our structured plant-care library, so the selection is consistent and checkable:

• Best drought-tolerant houseplants — Houseplants that prefer to dry out — forgiving of forgotten watering and ideal for travel or busy weeks.
• Best flowering houseplants — Indoor plants grown for their blooms — selected from the flowering species in Growli’s plant-care library.
• Best houseplants for full sun — Houseplants that want direct sun — the species for a hot south or west-facing windowsill where shade-lovers scorch.
• Best houseplants for a cool room — Houseplants that tolerate cool conditions down to about 10°C — for an unheated spare room, hallway, porch or a home kept cool.
• Browse all 29 plant shortlists — pet-safe, low-light, drought-tolerant and more

Related guides

Geum 'Totally Tangerine' is also commonly called Totally Tangerine avens.

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