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