HOW TO GROW HARDY GERANIUMS
Anne Swithinbank’s advice for these tough little perennials
FOR me, success in the garden is a border of seamless flowers and foliage, with no gaps in sight; wildlife has cover, weeds are thwarted, and the living is easy. My greatest accomplices in knitting one section of planting with another belong to the geranium tribe, also known as cranesbills due to the shape of their seed pods.
Most of these are hardy herbaceous perennials with a sprinkling of evergreens, and they range in height from low, creeping ground cover to a more statuesque 3ft (90cm). Recent cultivars have a long flowering period and among the 400 or so species are some quirky individuals, making them very collectable. Some also put on a late show of autumn leaf colours.
Autumn is a good time for adding new geraniums to well-drained soil, moistened by rain and still warm from the summer. They’ll put down new roots and be ready to grow away in spring. Most gardens already have a geranium or three, so look around now to identify gaps where weeds are a problem. Come spring, lift existing clumps, divide them into smaller sections and replant.
If you have new beds to fill on a budget, taking basal cuttings of geraniums and other herbaceous perennials in spring is a great idea. Remove dead stems in February, watch the crowns and when new growth reaches 3-4in (8-10cm), take the cuttings. Leave a small stump behind and these will break into more new shoots.
Trim and tidy the cuttings before you insert them in a grid-like fashion and 2in (5cm) apart into trays of 50:50 soilless compost and grit. Cover soft cuttings with ventilated polythene, keep them out of full sun and pot singly when rooted.