Geranium Species, Bigroot Geranium, Bulgarian Geranium, Rock Cranesbill

A tough, versatile perennial that's virtually problem-free. It makes a great weed-smothering groundcover that's easy to control. It perfo...Read Morerms well here in dry shade. It's adaptable, but I find it does best with some protection from the hottest summer sun.

The flowers are showy, and bloom for about two weeks in May here. In the species, the petal color is magenta. Flowers range in color by variety from white to magenta. 'Ingwerson's Variety' is soft pink.

This was the traditional source for oil of geranium, which is toxic to dogs and cats. The foliage has a sweet piney fragrance, especially when rubbed or crushed, that I enjoy but some find a little medicinal. Because of the fragrance, this plant is said to be deer-resistant.

The foliage isn't evergreen here in Boston Z6a, but the stems live on from one season to the next and should not be cut back in the fall. They aren't attractive when leafless in winter, and should be placed accordingly. In most years, I don't see much fall foliage color here.

I propagate this plant by pulling off a stem, pulling off all the leaves except an emerging one at the tip, and burying the stem with the tip at ground level. No extra watering is needed.

The two incredibly differing conditions (in different gardens the same town) where I have grown this plant speak to its ruggedness. In m...Read Morey old garden, I bought a root from a mail-order company and planted it at the edge of a woodland garden here in the city, where the soil was pretty alkaline because it was by a sidewalk (leaching from concrete tends to make nearby soil alkaline) and it had a tendency to alternate between being dry and wet, and it spread along the open-air fence, blooming well despite only getting sun early and late in the day. In my current garden, I bought it at an autumn plant sale and it overwintered in a small pot (!), and this spring I planted it near a bearded iris clump in my sloped sunny garden that is uncharacteristically hot and windy for my region, and it is putting out its gorgeous leaves and again creeping along (though others on this page say it blooms earlier in warmer regions, it usually blooms starting between mid-June and early July for me here). As it's creeping past the bearded iris clump, to reach above the tall foliage it has sent its big rhizomatous roots up into the air, like some sort of alien being. How could one plant be so interesting and varied?

I have 'album' and 'bevan's variety'. I wish I had all 'Albums', as the white flowers are sweeter looking and also easier to coordinate w...Read Moreith other flower colors. The Bevan's variety spreads a bit faster. This is a vigorous evergreen ground cover adaptable to a variety of conditions. Mine are in the dryish shade of Camellia bushes. Blooms in May and spreads moderately fast via underground rhizomes. Too vigorous to plant in the company of wimpy plants. Still, they are not as hard to control as many spreading groundcovers; I find I am removing the unwanted ones to keep them in bounds a couple times a year. They make up for this work by being very effective themselves at suppressing weeds--I have almost no weeds coming up through their thick surface roots.

I have it in part shade. Foliage is in a low rounded mass about 8 inches high. Stems are gradually creeping sideways to enlarge the clump...Read More. I pulled off and potted some of the long stems two weeks ago; some had roots and some didn't but they all look great so far. Voles have a home under it but haven't killed it yet.
Foliage is evergreen here and has fall color.