Plant of the Week: Geum

These late spring-flowering plants will give you a colourful stopgap

Plants that continue to flower from spring into summer are always valuable in the garden as it momentarily tries to draw breath between the seasons. Geum, or avens as they’re commonly called, produce their potentilla-like flowers just as the garden starts to accelerate into the summer crescendo.

Although there are about 50 species in this race of evergreen or semi-evergreen perennials in the rose family, we tend to grow the hybrids rather than the species that have created them, namely native G. rivale, Chilean G. chiloense and European

G. coccineum. Most of these species grow in damp grasslands or around the edges of forests, so prefer some moisture and a modicum of shade.

The plants spread modestly by slender underground rhizomes, but are never invasive. To keep them in good condition and maintain vigour, they’re best lifted and divided every three or four years in autumn or late winter. Mulching with compost will help keep soil moist. Cutting down the spent flowering stems will encourage some varieties to produce a second flush.

Although some varieties such as scarlet ‘Mrs J. Bradshaw’ and yellow ‘Lady Stratheden’ have been around for many years and are tried and tested, the recent spate of new hybrids has pushed geum to new heights. One of the most significant developments are the American varieties named after cocktails, such as ‘Cosmopolitan’, ‘Alabama Slammer’ and ‘Banana Daiquiri’.