Geranium Boost

Hey all,

Just need an opinion. I've been tidying up the flowerbeds and I have a large patch of Geranium Platypetalum that's been there for about 20 years and is looking a bit tired. My question is, is it possible to dig it up (bearing in mind its age), and also, what plants go well with it? Bit bored of just seeing that one patch of flowers and would like to add others that'd compliment it. It's in quite wet clay soil that's almost permanently in shade.

Cheers!

 

Hi Archdoodler and welcome to GC.


The geranium will respond to being divided up into clumps, get rid of the inner part of the clump and divide and replant some of the outer parts-these are the newer shoots I think.

Just googled an image for the colour-it's lovely and probably looks well in shade.

 

Yes I would agree with lollipop. Whilst I don't know Geranium Platypetalum, I have several others and have just divided some of them. They tend to be clump forming, growing slowly outwards. So as lollipop said get rid of the centre and keep the outer portions. They are woodland plants and are probably happy in wet clay and shade.

I have a wet shady position in clay too. I had a Geranium Mrs Kendal Clark, which was quite happy there. But I have given her the boot. Her flowers were lovely, but only lasted a couple of weeks. I have Astrantia, which is very long flowering. My one in the shade is Buckland - a white one that flowers the longest of all and shows up well in the low light. I also have Aquilegia and Dicentra (early flowerers). Lythrum salicaria - I have Robert and Blush, but to my mind Blush is much the nicer - a lovely pale pink. I also have perennial Lobelia - Queen Victoria has lovely purple leaves, but they will go green in the shade - so I have Lobelia syphalitica, which is blue and extremely hardy (many Lobelias are a bit borderline). And I have a yellow Hemerocallis, which is a sun lover but seems quite happy in the shade. Then there is Persicaria amplexicaulis Firetail, which likes these conditions and flowers for a very long period. But is fairly agressive. And I have Crocosmia Lucifer, but any Crocosmia will do well.

 

Cheers guys!