I have Karmina and it's a true pink.
Adenophora tashiroi
Thaks Polly.
I seem to remember that Wargrave was reliably hardy, and very pretty. It didn't fluff out as much as Biokovo, but wasn't skimpy either.
Hi everyone. I did a lot of research on hardy geraniums, and the data on this thread was really helpful. I kept doing research and ended up putting some thoughts on the "Your Planned Purchases for 2013" thread started by Rogue, including my hardy geranium info. But since many of my best ideas came from you lovely people, I thought, if you don't mind, that I would post my opinions, and those of others, here:
Forest Farm has very nice geraniums in tubes that you can get for $5.95 or so. After tons of research, I am seriously considering the cantabrigienses Cambridge, St. Ola and Westray. Cambridge and St. Ola I think are musts. They also have the striatum sanguinium dwarf pink and Sweet Heidi. I will make my final choices soon.
Dave's Garden has been invaluable for choosing, as well as other sites visited by gardeners. Providers want you to buy. I'm trying to avoid what people characterize as floppy or as having other issues. These are just opinions, mind you. Let me share my notes, in case this is helpful. These are the opinions I gathered:
Brookside has to be cut back – not terribly floriferous
Geranium Blushing Turtle – nice but zone 6 according to Forest Farm
Geranium Orkney Cherry – long flowering, low maintenance, zone 5 but I didn't think it pretty enough
Geranium Patricia – long flowering but not pretty enough?
Geranium Rozanne – very mixed reviews
And the pluses I am choosing from: these are all only my opinions. I wanted zone 5 hardiness and tubes. They are all available at Forest Farm:
Geranium Sweet Heidi. Forest Farm
Geranium cantabrigiense St. Ola - absolutely yes, stunning, Forest Farm
Geranium endressii Wargrave Pink. Really good, gets really big. Forest Farm tube 5.95
Geranium cantabrigiense Cambridge - spreading, Forest Farm tube 5.95 blue
Geranium renardii gorgeous, and Forest Farm
Geranium sanguinium. striatum (lancastriense) - Dwf Pnk Hardy Geranium very nice Forest Farm
I hope you don't think I'm presumptuous, but I spent so much time putting together the data that I thought that I should share it if anyone else wants to use it.
Donna
You really shouldn't believe the majority of the zone ratings in DG (or elsewhere for that matter)... inaccurate zone ratings are the major bug-a-boo of this site, IMO. It's unfortunate that once they are entered, the entry is "locked down" and to make further entries, you actually have to write to an administrator. In general, the hardiness of a great many perennials is underestimated in written accounts, sales literature (which typically gets copied into sites like this), etc..
'Patricia' is an absolutely magnificent hybrid geranium (one of my favourites) that blooms heavily throughout the season here... however, it's huge and depending what one is looking for, not exactly interchangeable for G. x cantabrigiense cultivars which are quite small and therefore good for the front of the border.
Here's 'Patricia':
Donna: Presumptuous? On the contrary, that's incredibly helpful. BTW, the June 2012 Fine Gardening reported on 180 geraniums.
Alta -- I've heard Patricia is lovely. Curiously, Fine Gardening only gave it one star and said the flower coverage was "fair." LazyS has it -- and American Meadows has it for about half that $6.48). I suppose it isn't worth the gamble to order from American Meadows....
There's a lot to be said too for just growing plants oneself, and forming an opinion from that, rather than following the crowd or assuming someone else's opinion will be the same as yours. ;-)
Aaawww, Donna, thank you for sharing your research. Of course, each of us will make our final choices, but thanks for taking the time to write your info.
I really must make my order/s for seeds and plants. I keep doing research. Rehearsing what I already have in my gardens, and what needs to be moved or added to. I have a huge list...that Will Be shortened! Even if I could afford all these plants, I simply don't have the room. I keep thinking I will get to this list and order, but something else always seems to come up.
I haven't checked out the 2013 Purchases by Rogue yet. I assume it's in the perennial forum. There's always so many good ideas DG members share.
Alta: You have been great to share all of your pictures and information about Geraniums. Again, I thank you and the others for sharing their pics and information.
I read the Fine Gardening article - it's what got me started.
Alta, wow, what a putdown, wink aside! "Following the crowd or assuming someone else's opinion will be the same as yours!"
I didn't mean it as a putdown. I meant it as encouragement to branch out and try to grow the plants that interest you, and see how they do in your conditions and then be the judge yourself of their attractiveness, usefulness, hardiness, etc.. You may well be pleasantly surprised and your info may help to inform others.
If I followed the advice in Fine Gardening (which, among gardening mags, I consider to be a good one) or in the majority of gardening books I've read or own, the selection of perennials I'd be growing here would be incredibly small. Instead, I'm growing many hundreds of species simply because I disregarded the published info and tried them myself.
I think I am going to try to push my zone hardiness a little this year. Salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue' is described as an annual. It is perennial here.
I have glads that have come back for 15 years, and they are not suppose to be hardy in my area either.
I also have a dahlia that has come back for 15 years also. They're suppose to be hardy to zone 8 I think. I am zone 6.
Beth, it really sounds like your microclimate is warmer than typical for your 'zone.' Even in my old zone 6 garden, which is now supposedly 7, Victoria never ever survived the winter for me. And Dahlias? And glads?! Lucky you!
I wish I were in zone 7. It seems a lot more plants make it in zone 7 and yet, you can have the spring bulbs.
My glads multiply like crazy. I dug a bunch of them up this past season. They are cleaned up and in a nylon bag.
Birder,
That's exactly what I do. I overwintered salvia farinacea outside. I actually overwintered four different kinds: Gruppenblau, Reference, Strata and Victoria White. Since I grew them from seed, it was worth the experimentation (cheap!)
Alta,
As for Fine Gardening, I thought it was a good starting point, but I find that a lot of books on certain kinds of plants (particularly hydrangeas and geraniums) are written by British authors. While very nice, the "Brit Books" are not helpful, although the pictures are wonderful. Nor are books, for me, by Colorado based writers. It was a long time before I could find books written for midwest soil. There are a lot of $15.00 geraniums out there. I used to subscribe to Fine Gardening and Garden Design, but now I look at them in the library because they tend to recommend the very new and expensive, which can be unreliable.
I was simply sharing my research and my reactions to it. I have a very large number of plants that I have never seen in anyone else's yard, because I push microclimates and do a lot of overwintering in my garage. I don't need encouragement, especially when phrased as you wrote it, the effect of which perhaps you did not forsee. I have found, though, that getting it wrong can be quite expensive. I had five viburnum plicatum tomantosum Lanarths that worked for 5 years in their supposed zone 5a yard (which I had) only to all die in one year. $250 plus shipping.
Evidently you thought I was quite unsophisticated. I gave some thought to simply deleting what I wrote, but perhaps it is helpful to someone. I spent quite some time researching them, and by providing the links, I was trying to let people have a look. My reactions were my reactions, not my recommendations.
Donna: What you wrote was exactly on point for me, and is really the reason I love to follow these threads. I completely agree regarding the location of writers -- I used to follow British writers and west coast writers, but what works for them doesn't work at all for me. I'm in 7a, but I find many many 7a plants just don't make it here because of winter wet. I'm trying to amend my soil to make it less clay-ey, but on the other hand, I'm trying to get plants that like my soil so I'm not constantly in an uphill battle.
I do love geraniums. My first favorite was Johnson's Blue, but I not longer am in love with it: it winds around too much, rather than filling in. I don't mind if plants are not floriferous, but I do like them to be dense.
Donna, I'm glad you posted the results of your research. When I become interested in a new-to-me cultivar or type of plant, I often like to look around at what other people say, both here and via Google, before deciding whether or not to take the plunge.
Although I enjoy looking at gardening magazines for inspration, I agree that they are vehicles for publicity for the industry. Even with the best intentions of the writer, the usually cheaper tried-and-true versions are not given the space of new entries, some of which don't fulfill their early promise over time and disappear from the market after a season or two.
For me, DG has been a wonderful source of reams of horticultural knowledge, including the introduction to many classic and newer plants -and their quirks- that I might never have known about otherwise. I must admit that sometimes I have to resist the urge to get one-of-this and one-of-that because so-and-so has it, not always successfully. But for me, gardening is trial and error until I get the effect I want with plant material that likes where I put it, which I guess is the whole point of trying in the first place.
So ultimately, yes, I make up my own mind, based on what I can learn about a plant and what my garden tells me about its probability of success.
When I'm looking at my garden I see what I expect to happen, in addition to what's actually there. When reality differs too far from the dream picture, I change something...and isn't there always something?! And that, I think, is what keeps it interesting!
I so agree with your point about "tried and true" plants. It is sometimes very hard to find out about them. Plus, with the push for ever biggest blooms, often the plant itself becomes less handsome or tough. I'd much rather have a plant for the ages, than one that will just "wow" for one season....
Please guys, let's not beat up on alta. I really don't think she meant to say anything mean. It just came out not quite right which can happen sooo easily when we are all chatting on a website. She's offered valuable information on Geraniums and lovely pictures. I think she was sincerely trying to help all of us.
Again, alta, I thank you for your information and pictures.
And, Donna, I thank you for all of your research and sharing it with us.
Both of you are wonderful gardeners and invaluable to this website.
I too believe buying newly introduced plants is risky not to mention expensive. Sometimes the simplest plants and old stand bys can really fit the bill.
I have looked for years for a good Garden Book for Midwest Americana. Donna, if you have found one, please give the Title. And, I will hope it's still in print!
I bought packets of seed today for a nickel ea.! I bought some Calendula and others. It is suppose to be a good companion plant to Many plants. I mostly use it with my vegetable plants. It also attracts beneficial insects.
Sorry, Alta, my comments were strictly personal, not meant as critical. I have seen your posts many times in many places and have tremendous respect for your knowledge and expertise. I hope you didn't take offense, none was meant.
I was interested in the questions raised by different points of view, and trying to explain what goes into my opinions and decisions based on my own experience. I agree it's silly to follow blindly, one man's zone 6 is another's 5 (like mine!).
Alta -- me too -- didn't mean to sound critical at all. I can't begin to tell all of you how much I value all your input. I really enjoy these threads.