Hardy Geranium (Geranium)



PEAK SEASON: Main flush late spring into summer; some rebloom into fall. Some have bronze or red fall foliage.

FAVORITE SELECTIONS:

• G. sanguineum (bloody cranesbill) - pink or magenta flowers and a low, mounding habit.
• G. endressii "Wargrave Pink" - stands 1.5 feet tall and has bluish pink flowers. It likes cool weather.
• G. "Johnson's Bule" - 1 foot tall and gets leggy if not adequately watered and pruned.
  
• G. macrorrhizum (big-root geranium) is invaluable for dry shade. It is a low grower with white ("Album") or pink ("Ingrwersen's Variety") flowers.
  

GARDEN COMPANIONS: Geranium's fluffy mounds cover up the not-so-great legs of tall plants, as well as the withering foliage of tulips and daffodils. Plant with

• lupines
• catmint
• artemisia
• sedum
• dianthus
• lamb's ears
• creeping thyme
• lady's-mantle
• fountain grass and golden hakone grass

It also goes well in shade with:

• hosta
• lily-of-the-valley
• epimedium
• lamium
• wild ginger
• formflower
• sweet woodruff
  

 Where: A spot with morning sun and afternoon shade is ideal. Heavy shade results in leggy plants with few flowers. Place in the front of a border or in woodland or rock gardens. Some of the bloody cranesbills make effective ground covers.

How: Space 1-2 feet apart. Spreading types can grow to 2 feet across. 

TLC: Geranium plants tend to open up and become leggy and sparse in the center after flowering. Cut back after blooming to get a fresh mound of leaves and some rebloom. Divide them evry 3 to 5 years, in early spring, by digging them up, gently pulling or cutting apart the root systems, and replanting them; make sure each division has several growth buds and healthy roots.