Geraniums: The Best of the Best

After testing 180 varieties for 15 years, the results are in

My love of geranium begin when I first saw the luminous flush of ‘ Johnson ’s Blue ’ , for certain one of the most well - known and dear cultivars of all time . But when I trialed it , I found ‘ Johnson ’s Blue ’ to be a slack plant with a preference for floppiness and a fairly myopic bloom period . Although it was the go - to juicy geranium for many years , it has been transcend by an array of newer and more exciting survival of the fittest .

Until we started our trial , my familiarity with geranium — aside from the most pop garden staples — was pretty lacking . But I live gardener who , surprisingly , have never spring up a single geranium . Perhaps that is because there are so many to choose from — maybe too many . I also wonder if gardeners just take over that geranium are all the same or if the overpopularity of a few select varieties has created a comfort zone that keeps gardeners from roll off the path . After 15 years of examination , I ’ve thankfully discover a vast trove of indispensable geranium — as well as a few that I bid I ’d never laid eyes on .

Top Performers

Rozanne(‘Gerwat ’ ) is unquestionably the most popular geranium today and certainly merit of the honour it has received , admit the 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year and Royal Horticultural Society ’s Award of Garden Merit . The clean - eyed , purple - blue blossom are not always present in great quantities , but the flora is constantly in bloom . I ’m especially adoring of the iridescent flowers in autumn , when coolheaded weather condition solidifying in and not much else is blooming . Rozanne ’s large , mound habit with chase efflorescence stems is well suited to massing , but a exclusive plant shines on its own , too . Because the flowers are sterile , they do not create seed and , therefore , bloom for an extended time . In my garden , I grow Rozanne with the lavender - and - creamy - white flower of ‘ Mrs. Robert Brydon ’ clematis ( Clematis‘Mrs . Robert Brydon ’ , Zones 4–9 ) ; this sublime mating is a hit for several weeks in tardy summer .

Everything about‘Orion’is supersize — from the abundance of the nearly 2 - in - wide , empurpled - gentle flowers to its robustly spreading stem . At 30 inch tall and 6 feet wide , ‘ Orion ’ is a bit of a bruiser , topping the list as the largest geranium in the test . Despite its size , ‘ Orion ’ never seems bulky , thanks to its OK - textured , dissect folio . Like many geraniums , new foliage come forth as flowering winds down , ultimately labour the floral staunch away from the young growth . This is your cue to shear the sure-enough stem back to the base and to let the new leaves have their twenty-four hour period .

It ’s reliable that I have quite a few favorites when it comes to geranium , but if campaign to select just one for my garden , I would probably pickbigroot geranium(G. macrorrhizum ) . It ’s one of the easiest plant I experience of to uprise : It is adaptable to sun or spectre , is drouth broad , and does n’t need shearing . And it ’s beautiful , too , with Battle of Magenta - pink to clean flower in spring ; exuberant foliage that turns cherry-red , orange , and burgundy in fall ; and a processed spreading habit . Some of its many cultivars have singular flower color — admit ‘ Lohfelden ’ , which has graceful , flabby pink heyday , and ‘ Czakor ’ , which boasts lusty , deep magenta blossoms . Bigroot geranium are easily secernate from other coinage by their more or less sticky , aromatic foliage ; the scent is variably described as “ minty , ” “ medicative , ” or “ malodorous . ”

Although it is no longer the most popular geranium in townspeople , I still love‘Brookside’ . In our test this diverseness had a compact , well - mannered habit that was far ranking to the floppy ‘ Johnson ’s Blue ’ . In my own garden — where it make more competition—‘Brookside ’ is a mo rambunctious , but the pretty pale - eyed flowers are still delightful as the stems weave and wind through their neighbors . The flowers are resonant of ‘ Johnson ’s Blue ’ but are dark with overlap petals . Once ‘ Brookside ’ has finally tucker out itself in midsummer , I switch off the shank back firmly to encourage raw leaves . An impart incentive are the exquisitely dissected leaves , which turn red and burgundy in autumn .

stand out in a field of blue - flowered geranium requires a little something spare . halcyon Paris green leafage flushed with red are just the thing that setBlue Sunrise(‘Blogold ’ ) apart . The vivacious saltation leaf color , which is enhance in sunshine , disappearance to yellowish immature just as the lavender - blue efflorescence undefendable in late spring . Blue Sunrise is believed to be a hybrid of yellow - leaved ‘ Ann Folkard ’ and blue - flowered ‘ Buxton ’s Variety ’ geranium ( G. wallichianum‘Buxton ’s Variety ’ ) .

‘ Sweet Heidy’is touted for its unique tricolored flowers of lavender - dark , pink , and blanched . But that ’s a somewhat delusory description because the three colour are n’t present on the flower at the same metre . The fresh flower are pinkish purpleness with a sick eye , and as they age , the purple morphs into a bluish color .

Quibbling about the bloom color does not lessen the remarkable floral display because the blooms are ample from previous spring into twilight . ‘ Sweet Heidy ’ appear like a pink - blossom Rozanne because of its mound habit and trailing stems . The rambling stanch enable this plant to face great in string up baskets , in container , or dangling over dispirited wall .

At first glance,‘Elizabeth Ann’(G. maculatum‘Elizabeth Ann ’ ) is super similar to ‘ Espresso ’ geranium , but in the end , I prefer ‘ Elizabeth Ann ’ for its superior floral and foliar quality . Its lavender - pink efflorescence with nicely overlap petals are importantly dark than ‘ Espresso ’ . Both cultivars have distinctive , chocolatey bronze – colored farewell in saltation , which finally evanesce to a summertime mixing of bronze and green . But the more lustrous leaves of ‘ Elizabeth Ann ’ bring an unexpected brightness level to a shady garden . Both cultivar reseed plentifully and appear to come in true from ejaculate , but they express some seedling variability , too ; we discover a number of seedlings , for example , with superscript leaf color to either cultivar .

Everything You Need to Know AboutGeraniums

Don’t get them confused with their cousins

True geranium ( Geraniumspp . and cvs . ) are often referred to as “ hardy geranium ” to distinguish them from their tender cousins : the colorful bedding ( or zonal ) geranium ( Pelargoniumspp . and cvs . , top right field ) . An substitute vulgar name of true geranium , cranesbill , is a nod to their sylphlike fruit , which resemble the beak of a crane .

The foliage can be as cool as the flowers

Most geraniums have attractive foliage , and although quite varying , their leaves are generally lob and often deep dissected . folio vividness range from bright green to gray - dark-green , but there are a number of variety that have purple , bronze , or yellow leaves . Many , however , do n’t hold their foliage colour throughout the season . We had the best achiever with Victor Reiter strain , a seed pains of hayfield geranium ( G. pratense ) that misplace its deep purple leaf color in midsummer but turn purplish again in fall .

Geraniums can blossom from fountain to fall for a few weeks or many calendar month , depending on the variety . While the blue - flower selections seem to be de rigueur for modern garden , geraniums come in pink , magenta , empurpled , and white . The somber , dear - black blossoms of the capably named mourning widow geranium ( G. phaeum ) are some of the most interesting .

Trim them back for a better habit

Although geranium are not high - sustainment plant life , most must be cut back after flowering . Shearing stems back to new basal leaves reins in rumbustious habits and rejuvenates plants to an almost springlike quality . There are a few exceptions to this principle : Bigroot geranium ( G. macrorrhizum ) , Cambridge geranium ( G.cantabrigiense ) , fucking geranium ( G. sanguineum ) , and Wlassov ’s geranium ( G. wlassovianum ) do not require shearing after flowering . you could also skip the shearing on latterly - flower creeping geranium ( G. soboliferum ) and everblooming Rozanne geranium ( G.‘Gerwat ’ ) . Deadheading also repress self - seeding , which can be excessive .

Color doesn’t end when the flowers do

Come autumn , many geranium ferment shades of imperial , reddened , orange , or yellow — and often on the same plant ( right ) . Cambridge geranium and bigroot geranium are among my picks for the best autumnal presentation .

They’re not picky about conditions

Geraniums are loosely sluttish to grow in a variety of light conditions from full sun to full ghost and in most soils , except those that are overly wet or too teetotal . Rich , moist grease is ideal for most geranium — even drought - kind metal money , such as bigroot geranium . Morning Dominicus will further stronger habits and better flower yield on nicety - loving geraniums , and will enhance leaf colour on bronze - exit forms , like ‘ Elizabeth Ann ’ and ‘ Espresso ’ . In hot area , good afternoon tincture is invaluable in keeping geraniums happy and goodly .

Pests and diseases plague only some types

Geraniums are seldom ail by disease or pests , but powdery mildew , leaf spotting , rabbits , and Nipponese beetles are episodic job . Powdery mould was notable on cultivar of meadow geraniums only , while Japanese beetle find the many cultivars of Druce ’s geranium ( G.oxonianum ) delectable . And mourn widow geranium , especially ‘ Margaret Wilson ’ , proved to be overwhelmingly lush goody for coney .

How We did the Trial

Number evaluated:180

measure : Ornamental qualities , repose of growth , hardiness , and disease and pest resistance

USDA Hardiness Zone:5b

Conditions : In our full - sunlight trial run garden ( with well - drain , alkaline , clay - loam soil ) or in our tone trial garden ( with mottled shade from nearby Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and moist , well - drained filth )

deal : Minimal , thereby allowing the plant to flourish or fail under raw conditions

New Kids on the Block

industrial plant breederscan’t get enough of geranium . Just when you think you ’ve assure every cultivar out there , another craw is introduced . Some of these new selection are fleeting , but others are showing enough promise in their first few years of trialing that I believe they deserve a bit of press .

Because it blossom out of sequence from most other geraniums,‘Starman ’ creeping geranium(G. soboliferum‘Starman ’ ) was a bit of a sleeper ; it was n’t until the second twelvemonth that I pull in it was something particular . It is a prolific previous blooper — not starting until late summer — with a charming two - toned flower . The 1½-inch - wide-cut purple flush are pattern with darker veins and brand with a prominent starburst in their centre . ‘ Starman ’ has a refined mounded habit ( 16 inches magniloquent and 36 inch wide ) all summer and does n’t demand deadheading . It top off the telling flowered show with hefty cherry fall color , too .

pass on my newfound appreciation for ‘ Starman ’ , I was bang about evaluating‘Butterfly Kisses ’ mouse geranium(G. soboliferum‘Butterfly kiss ’ ) . Like ‘ Starman ’ , ‘ Butterfly kiss ’ is equally prodigious in bloom but begins blossom a week or so later ( at the very goal of summer ) and carries on well into late evenfall . The 1½-inch - wide , light purple - pink flowers are without a starry eye ; each flush is , instead , attractively striated with prominent red - purple veins . ‘ Butterfly buss ’ is slenderly bigger ( 20 inches tall and 50 inch wide ) than ‘ Starman ’ and does show off some cherry and orangish fall color .

I ’m commonly reticent to verbalize about flora that have just begun their trial , but I ’m quite take by‘Perfect Storm’,a new instauration with pretty , moody - eyed , Battle of Magenta - pinkish flower . striking , dark purple veins burst from the smoldering disgraceful optic , giving the plant a curious exuberant look . Last yr , ‘ Perfect Storm ’ was in constant bloom from springiness to recent fall , with handsome , pubescent , gray - green leaf complementing the eye - catch flowers . The low - grow plant ( 8 inches grandiloquent and 24 inches broad ) has hang back stems radiating out from the mound peak . I guess that ‘ staring Storm ’ cascading over a stone bulwark or in a hanging basket would be perfection .

Richard Hawke is the plant evaluation manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe , Illinois .

Photos : Doreen Wynja ; Dave Zubraski / www.gapphotos.com ; Steve Aitken ; Dency Kane ; Jerry Pavia ; Martin Hughes Jones / www.gapphotos.com ; www.millettephotomedia.com

Photos : Richard Bloom / www.gapphotos.com ; Nancy J. Ondra ; Ron Evans / www.gapphotos.com ; FhF Greenmedia / wwwgapphotos.com ; courtesy of www.songsparrow.com ; courtesy of Luc Klinkhamer

Sources

The next mail – rescript plant life sellers offer many of the geranium featured :

Digging Dog Nursery , Albion , Calif. ; 707 - 937 - 1130 ; www.diggingdog.com

Geraniaceae.com , Kentfield , Calif. ; 415 - 461 - 4168 ; www . geraniaceae.com

Lazy S ’S Farm Nursery,2360 Spotswood Trail , Barboursville , VA 22923 ; www.lazyssfarm.com

Rozanne geranium

o.k. Gardening urge Products

A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this internet site , including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programme .

Rozanne geranium

Get our latest confidential information , how - to articles , and instructional videos transmit to your inbox .

Signing you up …

The Best of the Best Hostas

The Best of the Best Native Plants

The Best Ligularias

Regional Picks: Alternatives to Invasives - Northwest

Join Fine horticulture for a costless engaging resilient webinar feature Dr. Janna Beckerman , a far-famed plant diagnostician as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamental technical director …

When I spotted a fussy sand dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I knew I was in fuss . With a delightful people of color pattern …

When we only prioritise plant we want over plants our landscape needs , each season is replete with a never - ending list of chores : pruning , pinch , watering , treating , remedy , and fertilizing , with …

‘Orion’

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be measured when you enter the backyard of garden room decorator Jeff Epping — not because you ’re potential to trip on something , but because you might be dive - flush it by a twosome …