- Author: Martha White
If I were to ask you about geraniums, you might describe a familiar flowering plant, one that is very reliable, very drought tolerant, easy to propagate from stem cuttings in the spring or fall, dependable for providing red, pink, white, or salmon blooms, and one with a distinctive scent to its leaves. What I have described in the previous sentence is actually a “Pelargonium”, according to the Flower Gardeners Bible, written by Lewis and Nancy Hill, Pages 310-311. When I went shopping for a flowering plant for my new front yard, I researched a plant that is called a “Hardy Geranium” or “Cranesbill”.
The Hardy Geranium is a perennial that blooms in the summer, and can tolerate full sun or light shade. The name Cranesbill refers to the bill-like seed capsules on many types of this plant. Leaves form low mounds up to 2 feet in diameter, with small cup-shaped pink, lavender, blue, white, or purple blossoms that appear over the surface. Its low-growing habit makes it a great choice for a rock garden or the front edge of a flower bed. In my yard, it is planted amidst a cobble-rock creek which divides my property from my neighbor's yard. I chose the Rozanne variety for its blue-lavender blooms, and for the lacy green leaves. I found the plants at Talini's Nursery, on Folsom Blvd. in Sacramento. Annie's Annuals Summer catalog for 2016 describes the Rozanne Geranium as “EASY, robust, and reliable”! The catalog also praises this plant as deer resistant, though that is not a problem for me in my suburban neighborhood!
I have had two other Hardy Geraniums in pots in my back garden for about 10 years, and have found them to be forgiving if the summer heat is oppressive, and yet still survive the occasional Vacaville frosts over the past few years, without any special attention from me. If you have never grown a Hardy Geranium, it is my pleasure to introduce you to this beautiful flowering plant.