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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Hardy Geraniums

Hardy Geraniums are one of my favorite plant families. Did you know that there are Geraniums that are reliable perennials?

I'm not a plant scientist, not even a Horticulturist but I know a little bit about Geraniums. First of all, there's a tropical plant that everybody calls a "Geranium" but it's real name is "Pelargonium". This plant is not winter hardy in zone 6b and doesn't look anything like a hardy Geranium.

Then there is a plant with the botanical name "Geranium" that is quite hardy here. People tend to call it the "hardy Geranium" to differentiate it from the non-hardy, Pelargonium plant. Have I confused you yet?

Hardy Geraniums come in all kinds of sizes, forms and colors. I have ones that creep along the ground, ones that weave their way through adjoining plants and others that stand up on their own.

A very few have dark foliage that the catalogs call purple but I think is more chocolate in color.

Some varieties prefer more sun and regular moisture, other varieties need shade and tolerate quite a bit of dryness.

Some varieties I've only seen for sale once and have never seen again. Most varieties do not seed around in my garden but I have been experimenting with division and have had luck with most varieties.

Today I'm going to shine the spotlight on one single variety of hardy Geranium. To read about it you need to visit my other blog, Melanie's Old Country Garden. I hope to spotlight more varieties there.

As for buying hardy Geraniums, the nurseries around here don't seem to carry many varieties at one time. I always have at least 3 or 4 varieties for sale, stay tuned to this site and I'll list them as they are potted up.

Melanie

2 comments:

  1. These perennials are really underused don't you think? I have a bright pink, pale pinky/white and a purple that I love...just don't know what the names of them are!! I'm pretty sure they are all different than the ones in these beautiful photos. I will be following your new endeavor with much interest, Melanie :)
    Lynn

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  2. Lynn, I have many varieties of hardy geraniums. Some have been given to me by other gardeners and I don't know the names of them either. While I appreciate knowing the full botanical name of a plant, it really means nothing when it comes to looking at beauty in the garden.

    One day I'll get around to cataloging what's growing here.

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I do so love to read your comments! Much as I wish I also had time to reply, many times I will have to choose between replying to comments or creating a new post so please understand if I choose to use my time on a new post. This will also give me time to visit some of you too.