The joy of geraniums
These fabulous hardy stars can add a dash of glamour to even the trickiest spot
IWAS living in a tiny thirdfloor London flat in 1999 when a box containing some new plants arrived for me to try out before their official launch. As my ‘garden’ consisted of just two sunny windowsills, I instead got the go-ahead from my parents to trial the newcomers at their large garden in the Midlands.
One of the plants was Geranium ‘Rozanne’, a hardy type discovered in the Somerset garden of Rozanne and Donald Waterer in the 1980s.
The couple passed their treasure on to nursery and garden centre Blooms of Bressingham, which introduced it to critical acclaim at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2000. Two decades on and the large clump at my mum and dad’s is still going strong, producing countless azure flowers from late May until the arrival of the first frosts.
It’s such a floriferous, easygoing perennial that in 2013 the RHS named ‘ Rozanne’ its plant of the century.
It deserves all of the plaudits, but ‘Rozanne’ is not the only hardy geranium worth growing. In fact, more than 200 different types are available, ranging from 3in- tall, cushion- forming alpines to robust varieties with blooms carried on stems up to 4ft tall.
White, pink, purple and blue flowers, often adorned with contrasting eyes, streaks or feathery veins, appear above clumps of grey, green or yellow-lobed leaves. The foliage is sometimes enhanced with dark markings.
Many bloom for months, from l ate spring or early summer, extending well into October.
Hardy geraniums are largely native to Europe, where they thrive in a wide range of habitats from woodland to mountains. Their botanical name comes from the Greek word geranos – meaning crane, which refers to their beak-shaped seed heads. This trait has also given rise to the common name of cranesbill.
Capable of surviving a cold snap of below -20C, they’re not to be mixed up with pelargoniums or bedding geraniums. Although they belong to the same plant family, the summer hanging basket stalwarts are tender perennials from South Africa that will turn up their toes if temperatures drop below 2C.
As a group of plants, hardy geraniums are incredibly versatile. There are varieties suitable for just about every spot, whether it’s a hot and sunny site or in dry shade under trees. The 20th Century gardening legend Margery Fish was known to suggest to gardeners: ‘When in doubt, plant a geranium.’
The relaxed habit of many hardy geraniums makes them perfect for plugging gaps at the front of herbaceous beds and borders, or for using as weed- suppressing ground cover under trees. Really compact, hummock-forming types are best in rock gardens or grown as specimens in small containers.
Removing spent flowers will ensure plants continue to churn out fresh blooms. Early-flowering ones get a little straggly by midsummer, so tidy up by cutting back hard. Water well and they will respond with new foliage and a later flush of flowers.
Over time, hardy geraniums will form large colonies that become congested and shy to flower.
Rejuvenate every four to five years by division. Lift clumps with a fork in spring and separate into several smaller pieces, discarding any dead bits. Replant in soil fortified with compost, water well and mulch.
THE RHS NAMED ‘ROZANNE’ AS ITS PLANT OF THE CENTURY