Biokovo Cranesbill
Geranium × cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'
Summary
Biokovo hardy geranium is a naturally occurring hybrid first found in the mountains of Croatia. It was named Perennial Plant Association’s Plant of the Year™ in 2015, and was placed in these trials by the UC Davis Arboretum for evaluation. It started the season strong by putting out a great show of pink flowers and rich green foliage. Although Biokovo performed acceptably, it had a couple of flaws that could have been minimized in a trial with a more aggressive maintenance policy. The first is that spent flowers remained on the plants through June, which detracted from the overall appearance of the plants (Table 19a). If we had hand-pruned before rating, these would have been rated higher in overall appearance. Additionally, there were some yellowed older leaves, especially on the two lowest treatments that also reduced the overall appearance, but this would have been easily handled by a minimally involved home gardener in routine maintenance. Still, as an understory plant receiving absolutely no maintenance this performed well enough on all treatments to be recommended. There were no significant differences in growth between treatments.
This geranium received high ratings from Spring Open House participants. While a few staunch supporters remained in July, noting “’Biokovo’ is an impressive performer” despite having leaves that don’t appear similar to other low-water plants, many agreed it looked a little weary after battling the June and July heat. By September plants’ return to “great shape” was reflected in increased scores (Table 19b). Its low, dense, “nice growth habit” and performance in dry shade resulted in it being listed in comments from all three events as one of the plants participants would recommend.
Basic Info
| Submitted by: | UC Davis Arboretum |
| Trial Exposure: | 50% Shade |
| Year evaluated: | 2017 |
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Height & Width
(after 2 years):
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13" x 16" - UC Davis
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Reported Height & Width
(at maturity):
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1' x 2-3' |
| WUCOLS plant type: | Gc P |
| Water Needs & WUCOLS Region: |
Low - Region 2
|
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Mean Overall
Appearance rating:
(1-5 Scale, 5 is highest)
|
3.3 - UC Davis
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Flowering Months
|
May-September - UC Davis
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Growth and Quality Data
Click Here for Complete Data Set
