New geums join hardy native prairie smoke
In my mind there are two kinds of geums: one reliable, the other not.
The reliable one is the Midwest native prairie smoke (Geum triflorum). Plants emerge early in spring, with low, ferny foliage. Soon the nodding rose-pink flowers appear, followed by long-lasting, feathery seedheads that resemble pink smoke and give the plant its common name.
These dependable little plants spread slowly by rhizomes, covering the ground beautifully between prairie grasses and other native plants. The more area they cover, the better the “drifting smoke” illusion.
But any other geum has never survived long in my gardens. Through the years I’ve killed various hybrids, including several times the scarlet-blooming Mrs. Bradshaw. These geums don’t like our humid summers, our periodic droughts or our wet winters. And they suffer a host of problems that include leaf scorch, mildew and spider mites.
I’d pretty much given up on geums (except, of course, our native prairie smoke, which I would never want to be without). But then along came Totally Tangerine. Its tangerine-orange flowers bloom on tall, strong flower stems that stand high above a low mound of fuzzy foliage. These plants are winterhardy and super-vigorous. Because the flowers are sterile and not busy producing seeds, the bloom time extends from early summer until autumn, with no unwanted seedlings to remove.
As plant breeders continue developing strong hybrids in a range of beautiful colors, look for geums to become more popular in Midwest gardens. Two more new hybrids worth noting include Mai Tai, which has apricot blossoms blushed with rose; and Sangria, which has sterile double-red flowers. (Both are rated as winter-hardy through USDA zone 5, while Totally Tangerine is hardy to zone 4. Prairie smoke is even hardier, through zone 3.)
Butterflies love geum flowers, which resemble small roses. Rabbits and deer ignore the fuzzy foliage.
Prairie smoke plants grow just fine in full sun, but the ideal place to plant other geums would offer morning sun and a little shade in the hottest part of the afternoon. The soil should be moist but welldrained, particularly important to ensure winter survival.
Cutting back spent bloom stalks often encourages repeat flowering. Dividing plants in spring maintains vigor.
Richard Hawke, plant evaluation manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden, has been trialing a host of different kinds of geums. You can learn more about which varieties won high ratings in the trial and find more information to help you grow geums successfully at chicagobotanic.org/downloads/planteval_ notes/no41_geum.pdf.