Hardy Geranium ideas

Hi All I would appreciate your advice and recommendations for suitable geraniums to grow in a newly created border, dry semi shade under a tall silver birch. Ideally I would like white , blue , purple flowers but definately not pink. They also have to behave themselves! I'm busy getting rid of a prolific self seeding pink nuisance in the rest of the garden. Is there anything out there that combines good ground cover, pretty white / veined flowers, possibly repeat or long flowering? I've already got a couple of very small Rozannes which I planted last year and still getting established so looking for something else. Cheers

 

Totally confused. Title of the thread is Hardy Geraniums. And then your paragraph goes all over. Anyway. You already have the answer. Use Hardy Geraniums, they are a lovely dense ground cover, about 10 inches tall in a mounding effect as they expand gently. I have a few, they are not vigorous, but expand nicely over years. They come in blue/purple.

 

Geranium phaeum is good in dry shade for early in the year

 

@Poppypuss

heya..

Consider Geranium sanguineum varieties...

this is G. sanguineum 'Apple Blossom'.. no seeding, no spreading, flowers May to Oct.


..same type in purple..
'Max Frei'..

 

The nodesum ones are good in dry areas, I believe, though I don't actually have any myself.

Something like Hexham White might work. The flowers are white with pink veins - very pretty, but quite small. It is fairly compact early in the season, though can go a bit floppy later. You can cut it back then, and it will produce more flowers. Doesn't seem to suffer from any pests or ailments.

 

There are lots and lots of the hardy types, @Poppypuss . Choosing can be difficult!

Avoiding the pink ones, some of which can be 'brash' to some tastes, you still have all the various shades of mauves, blue-purples, whites, and mixed, like 'Splish-Splash', white with blue 'flashes on the petals - quite tall, though, so it needs staking. Geranium sanguineum 'Album' is a lovely white one, Geranium 'renardii', white with purple/ruby veining, Geranium clarkei 'Kashmir White', Geranium nodosum 'Silverwood' , to name a handful.

I'll leave another poster to suggest some blue/purple/mauve ones.

Happy shopping!

 

Hi Angie, Mrs Hillard thanks for your friendly replies. There must be hundreds of varieties so its a job knowing what to choose. I like the idea of G phaem for the deep shade between the tree and a fence. The G sanguineum Apple Blossom looks great @Mrs Hillard is it similar to G sang album? I've seen that for sale near to me so I'm tempted. Will it repeat flower if cut down or just once?
Also does anyone have experience of G pratense Splish Splash? this looks lovely in photos but again I dont want a thug. Much appreciated.

 

See my post above, @Poppypuss . 'Splish Splash isn't what I'd call a 'thug' by any means, but it grows quite tall, so you need to pop a wire plant support round it, or grow it through something which can offer it something to rest against. It does flop over, otherwise. But no, not a 'thug'.

 

Splish Splash is a Geranium pratense variety I think, It would get leggy under trees and it's inclined to fall over at the best of times. I've also found the splishing and splashing unreliable

 

@Poppypuss
I think I have both, Apple Blossom is more blush/white..

There's no need to cut it back, it just goes on flowering all summer, but if you did, then yes it would still rebloom once recovered.. it can be trimmed back a bit in winter but I rarely find it necessary.

 

I second looking at the sanguineums, Phaeums (esp alba and samobor) and nodosums. Both of those last two can seed themselves around but I would never describe them as thugs. Lovely plants.

Geranium maccrorhizum 'White Ness' is also worth a look.

My personal go-to well behaved, ground covering geranium is G. cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'. It sometimes has the merest hint of a pink blush to it but it always looks white in my garden. Flowers early summer. Foliage is quite attractive and is present for 10 mths of the year in this garden. Forms a nice clump about 2 - 3' diameter. Really, really easy to propagate - pull a bit off with a bit of root, stick it in the ground and don't let it dry out. 3 weeks later - new plant.

 

I'd recommend Max Frei and Kashmir White from personal experience

 

I've had a disappointing time with Kashmir Purple. First yr, fine, lots of flowers. Second yr, good show of foliage, very few flowers. Last 6 yrs, foliage only! No idea why. 'tis a puzzle.

 

I have G. Bio-kovo and it's a real thug here - I'm constantly trying to get rid of it. Perhaps it will be better in drier conditions though.
G. renardii is lovely, but the flowering period is short. Lovely foliage though.
I had G. Mrs. Kendall Clark in a previous garden but I can't remember how well it performed. It was in a shady site. I think I had Kashmir White too, but I realy can't remember how it did.
I have G. s. Album here and it's a good doer - whites are always good in shady sites. We don't get 2nd flushes on them very readily as everything starts later anyway, but that's always something to consider when choosing.
We have one of the common purple ones everywhere round here [magnificum?] but you need something else to follow on as they don't get that 2nd flush - perhaps they would in other areas though.
It might also depend on just how big the area is that you're covering @Poppypuss. If you mix them in with spring bulbs that will give you longer cover/flowering season too. It's always a good combination.

I wonder if it needed dividing regularly @ViewAhead . Some perform better with that.

 

I have ... and I've tried it in different locations. Most odd.

Magnificum never has a second flush, in my experience. It flowers for 3 weeks and that's that. The leaves are lovely though. Very soft and tactile. It is a spreader and likes a biggish space, but doesn't ever need staking.