Cranesbill Geranium is a pretty common perennial; and, unlike its annual cousin, it is very hardy. I am sure every gardener on my street has a bit a Cranesbill in their garden. Except perhaps those who think it is too common. Oh well, their loss.
I actually have a ton of Cranesbill in my garden. When I decided to plant the back slopes of our yard, I needed something that grew fast and spread to counter erosion and to grow in places that were difficult to reach to weed. There was already a patch of Cranesbill in my yard so I split it up and dispersed it all over my back garden.
This plant has been my saving grace. Yes it is a ground cover, and yes it spreads. No it is not invasive and no it is not difficult to pull out. So needless to say, I have let it grow and flourish and all I have to do is gently tug out whatever I don’t want every year to keep it in check. I haven’t got to that job yet this year, but I will eventually.
It is such a versatile plant. I have three different colours in my yard. When it isn’t blooming it has the most beautiful scalloped foliage that often gets tinged with red in the fall. The foliage survives the harsh winters on my north-facing slopes and looks like new by the time May rolls around each spring. I have given tons of Cranesbill away to other gardeners, especially those who want a low-maintenance plant. I am always willing to recommend and offer up this plant to anyone who wants some.
I like this plant so much that I have planted it in the area surrounding my new ninebark hedge in the front yard with the purpose of a healthy alternative to a part of my lawn that never thrived. You probably can’t see all the pieces planted in the mulch in this photo but in a couple of years it will all be filled in with scalloped leaves and flowers in two shades of pink. I can hardly wait.
Thank you for reading
Photos: Jenn Stone
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Cranesbill is beautiful and yes, it’s hardy, a perfect ground cover and noninvasive, so pretty great all around!
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Absolutely!
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I’ve never heard of Cranesbill, its very pretty. I need a ground over, I’m going to see if it can grow in Calgary’s arid climate.
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I hope it will. It’s so easy to grow and manage here.
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How lovely. I wonder if it would grow in Maine..
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Maybe your local nursery can tell you. It is lovely and very easy.
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It grows well in NH.
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I love this plant and have quite a bit of it myself for all the reasons you mentioned plus no weeding required. 🙂
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It’s such a perfect plant.
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Cranesbill is beautiful and I’ve never considered growing it. I can’t tell you why but now I’m inspired to give it a try. Maybe in many colors even. 🤔
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Go for it! You will love it.
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I’ve got large areas of pink geranium covering my garden and now spreading out onto the road verge outside. It does mean you don’t have to weed though. My friend keeps telling me to pull it all out but I just tend to rip out the edges on a fairly regular basis.
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That’s exactly what I do, rip out the edges and leave the rest.
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you can’t beat ground cover plants!
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I have been considering planting geraniums in several large pots on my deck. I guess they are rather “common” but they are reliable year-round bloomers (here in SoCal, anyway) and are fairly hardy and drought tolerant (big pluses for me). Your yard looks lovely!
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They ate also so easy and colourful. They look lovely in pots on a deck.
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Plants are common because they do well in the area – makes sense to me to encourage them rather than try to grow something unsuitable.
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I agree. I like to garden with plants that are hardy and do well.
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🙂 I also like plants that self seed.
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Definitely!!
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