Hardy Geraniums – what are they, how to care for them, what are their qualities and drawbacks

Hardy geraniums are known as “the little black dress” of the garden – they’re practical, elegant and look good in pretty much any situation.

Distinction between “Summer Geraniums” and “Winter Geraniums”

🏖️ What are the Summer Geraniums? 🏖️

• These actually are called Pelargoniums – distinguished by the number of petals (3 on bottom, 2 on top) that the flowers bear.
• 🌸 Brightly colored, often pink or red flowers that bloom like mad all summer long
• 🌱The stems are tough and somewhat knobbly – allowing for the plant to have some structure
• ❄️Dies with the first frosts
• 🚫Annual

⛄What are the Winter Geraniums?⛄

• These are the Hardy Geraniums – otherwise known as the True Geraniums
• 🌸Brightly colored, anywhere from dark purple to neon blue to soft pink to ethereal white
• 🌱The stems are thinner, and either grow upwards or sprawl
• ❄️Frosts will not kill them – but the foliage will die back in the winter and a bit of tidying up the wilted flowers can keep the bushes fresh for the new growth in spring
• 🔁Perennial

Now that we know what we are talking about, let’s get into the thick of it!🏋️‍♀️

Entretien

Exposure

Hardy geraniums have the exceptional ability to adjust to pretty much any situation, which means that they thrive in full sun, half shade and some varieties – such as the ‘Mourning Widow’, G. macrorrhizum and G. phaeum- actually prefer to live in a fully shady area.

So wherever you are, there is a hardy geranium that can adapt to you!

Soil

As with the exposure, hardy geraniums grow well in almost any kind of soil.

⛔The only thing that they despise is boggy soil with standing water. ⛔

Watering

Watering is always crucial when you have first planted any plant – and hardy geraniums are no exception.

Make sure that the first couple of weeks you are giving your geranium every chance to adapt to its environment with all the nutrients and water that it needs. (But don’t drown it!!)

After that, the hardy geraniums are very drought-tolerant once established. 

Insects and Disease

Insect and slugs are not attracted to these plants, so you don’t have insect problems.

Hardy geraniums are quite disease resistant – so powdery mildew and leaf rust is not one of your problems either.

What is a Hardy Geranium For?

• Ground Cover: The shorter geraniums, such as Geranium sanguineum, are versatile plants that are great for ground cover, with dense foliage and pretty flowers in shades of pink, white and purple. Flowering at no more than 30cm high and usually much lower, they can find a place in even the smallest gardens.
• Borders: Taller varieties of geraniums can grow up toe 1m50 and can be cut after the first flowering to promote new growth and, if you’re lucky, a second round of flowering. This can be a lot of work so we offer the dwarf varieties as well, which remain a bit more compact and are generally less unwieldy.
• Weed-Killers: As ground covers, they are extremely effective at keeping down weeds
• Foliage: Their leaves are largely underrated as many of them are graphically striking on their own, particularly at the beginning of spring, just before the flowering parades begin. Many of them are fragrant as well – like G. macrorrhizum – bringing the first scents of summer to your balcony or garden. TIP: Trim the foliage after the first blooms start to fade, this will encourage new growth and even more flowers!
• Colors + Joy: A variety of flower colors from white, pink, blue, purple, and magenta.  A typical hardy geranium blooms for a month in late spring and early summer. 

Varieties to Watch Out for:

G. robertianum (Herb Robert) = invasive and has been classified as a weed in many countries

G. sanguineum (Bloody Cranesbill) = pink-flowered geranium that spreads rapidly and can colonize vast portions of land in the blink of a year.

Varieties that Won’t Let You Down:

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

• RHS Chelsea Flower Show ‘Plant of the Centenary’.
• Mottled foliage and large blue flowers

Geranium ‘Ballerina’

• Short and compact, ground hugging with delicate white veined flowers

Geranium macrorrhizum

• Sweet smelling foliage and neon pink flowers

That’s all for now folks! If you need any more information, just write – we talk plants night and day at plant d’Avenir.

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