Geraniaceae 2011

[mark smyth]

and I have my own seedling with crinkly leaves

[Brian Ellis]

Richard Hobbs tells me that my geranium is Geranium libani, he also grows it in his garden as well as tuberosum which is much sparser in flower.  I am pleased to have that sorted and sorry for misleading you.  Mea culpa.

[mark smyth]

That's good to know.

[David Nicholson]

Recommendatiions please:-

6 well behaved, low clump forming geraniums taking up roughly a square foot each.

[mark smyth]

easy

sanguineum nanum
sanguineum Tiny Monster
Tanya Randall
sanguineum Elka
peloponnesiacum
platypetalum

Go for Geraniums that flower for long periods. Some flower for a few weeks and then finish

[mark smyth]

David you need to say where you plan to grow them

[David Nicholson]

David you need to say where you plan to grow them

Still not mamaged to make some troughs so it will be in the garden but haven't decided exactly where yet. What sort of conditions would suit them best? Thanks for the list.

[arisaema]

G. farreri gets my vote, lovely little plant, flowering in spring and again in late summer.

[mark smyth]

Definitely farreri for a trough. Mine have died out

David I grow all my Geraniums in full sun.

[John85]

Indeed G. farreri is a lovely thing but it is not an easy one.Among the usually grown farreri and argenteum are the fussy ones.All the others are easier.
Mark your soil must be rather poor if your platypetalum and Tiny Monster grow only a foot square or may be you trim severely.
I'd go for some that behave well and are not too fussy like G. subcaulescens,G.s.splendens and cultivars like Ballerina,Caroll.
G. cinereum (and selections) and X lindavicum(Lissadel,Apple Blossom) ask for excellent drainage and are perfect for a trough.
Among the not too vigorous ones G.regelii is a bit like a dwarf pratense.I also like the neat habit of G. dalmaticum making a nice little carpet(but in the South better grown in semi shade).There are even dwarf forms of G.pheum if you want one for the shade.

[arisaema]

I'm surprised to hear G. farreri is considered difficult, it's been tough as old boots here, equally happy in clay or as seedlings in a peat based mix, as it is in pure sand or gravel...G. renardii is also nice, with decorative foliage that provides interest when it's not flowering.

Mark; I can send you a couple of roots in late June if you want, I've lost my G. lambertii this winter and would love some seeds if you still grow it. (...or of G. yunnanense, I still haven't tracked the real thing down.)

[mark smyth]

That's a very kind offer of G. farreri, thanks.

I found a lambertii last summer but it died in the freeze

There are 7 pages of Geraniums on my web site http://marksgardenplants.com/ 3rd column

[John85]

Arisaema,
You are gardening in Norway not exacly the same climate as in mid France(summer temperatures often above 30c).Even an easy plant as G. dalmaticum is better planted in semi shade here.In full sun the leaves are scorched.But for the bulbous geraniums it is fine .Geranium tuberosum makes a much better display here than when I was growing it 1000km more North.

[arisaema]

No problem Mark, just please remind me in mid June, or I'm bound to forget!

John,

Very true, of course, you didn't have your location listed so I just assumed you were in a moist, maritime climate like Mark and me...

[Gerry Webster]

I'm surprised to hear G. farreri is considered difficult, it's been tough as old boots here, equally happy in clay or as seedlings in a peat based mix, as it is in pure sand or gravel...G. renardii is also nice, with decorative foliage that provides interest when it's not flowering.

For my money G. renardii is by far the best of all geraniums - in flower & leaf - for a position in full sun. The species is infinitely better than any of the hybrids I have seen.