NG3 March/April 2021

Geraniums -
Easy plants for
difficult places
Hardy Geraniums are well-loved
plants: they’re easy to grow, give
great value in the garden and
there are varieties that do well in
the most difficult spots.
Commonly called cranesbills,
(due to the shape of their seed
pods), they are completely
different to the half-hardy
Pelargoniums which are also
commonly called geraniums.
Cranesbills come in many shapes
and sizes from tiny alpines to
large bushy plants. Most are
well-behaved and easy to care
for but beware there are invasive
types. Here are some of my
favourites for different locations.
For dry, sunny spots you can’t
do better than the bloodroot
geraniums (G. sanguineum) with
their ground-hugging stems. The
flowers are large and come in
many shades of pink and white.
One of the best is “Elke” with
exceptionally large silver-edged
pink flowers. I’d also recommend
“Striatum” (veined pink flowers),
“Glenluce” (lavender pink) and
“Album” (pure white). You can
cut these plants hard back after
the first flowering (May – July)
and they will respond with more
flowers in August or September.
For shady but not too dry spots
the mourning widow (Geranium
phaeum) flowers from April
through to July. The wild type has
dark maroon flowers, however
there are more showy varieties
to choose from. My favourite is
Geranium phaeum “Album” with
pure white flowers to brighten up
a dark spot.
For really shady, dry places
Geranium “Czakor” will provide
ground covering, aromatic
leaves, and brilliant magenta
flowering in early summer.
This really is a tough customer
succeeding where most plants
would fail.
My favourite for more open
sunny borders is the lovely
meadow cranesbill – Geranium
pratense. These flower in
mid-summer and often repeat
in autumn. The best of these is
“Mrs. Kendall Clark” who has
pearly-blue flowers and grows to
2ft 6in – 3ft / 75-90cm tall.
The superstar of blue geraniums
must be “Rozanne”; voted plant
of Centenary by The Royal
Horticultural Society for very
good reason: Her large, whitecentred
blue flowers smoother the
trailing stems of the plant from
June to October and she grows
well in partial shade.
Geraniums can all be cut back
after flowering and some will
rebloom, but all will grow fresh,
attractive leaves. It’s worth
dividing them every few years
after flowering to keep them
vigorous. They will benefit from
your normal garden feeding
programme – I feed with
growmore in spring and blood,
fish and bone in summer.
Martin Blow
Martin & Janet Blow run
Special Perennials.
OUR WEBSITE:
specialperennials.com
We also organise Plant Hunters’
Fairs, specialist plant fairs at
wonderful locations throughout
the season. Please see www.
planthuntersfairs.co.uk for a full list
of all our 2021 plant fairs.
PLANT FAIR DATES FOR
YOUR DIARY 2021
Please note all dates are subject to
change. Please check website for
all the latest updates and always
before travelling.
Thoresby Park Nr Ollerton,
Newark, Nottinghamshire NG22
9EP on Sunday 11th April, FREE
ENTRY to the plant fair & country
park (there is a small charge
to park). NEW EVENT a great
chance to pop along and visit
many specialist plant nurseries to
get your gardening season off to a
great start.
Middleton Hall, Nr Tamworth
B78 2AE (sorry March date
Cancelled) next date on Saturday
8th May, Entry to Gardens & Plant
Fair £3
1620’s House and Garden, Nr.
Coalville LE67 2FW on Sunday
23rd May, Entry to Garden &
Plant Fair £1