Geraniaceae 2011

[John85]

Geranium renardii has a very nice foliage indeed but mine were never flowering very well.I tried several places and soils but without much succes.
Some hybrids did better.
But may be I  just have a bad form.Please let me know.
I had the same problem with geranium regelii.

[Gerry Webster]

Geranium renardii has a very nice foliage indeed but mine were never flowering very well.I tried several places and soils but without much succes.
Some hybrids did better.
But may be I  just have a bad form.Please let me know.
I had the same problem with geranium regelii.

My plants of G. renardii are currently planted in a raised bed (60cm high) in very stony/gritty soil & in full sun. Quite dry.  I have grown them in fairly heavy soil in semi-shade & they did reasonably well but  they flower much better in their current position. I don't think the form I have is anything special - I've had it about 25 years &  can't remember where I got it.

[mark smyth]

The best source for Geraniums in the UK is Beeches nursery in Essex. That's where most of mine come from
http://www.beechesnursery.co.uk/ they are overwhelmed by mail order just now they have had to stop. Kevin the plantsperson there is very knowledgeable. I go twice a year for a visit

[maggiepie]

Arisaema, your farreri is simply beautiful.

Gerry, do you have any pics of your G. renardii?
I had seedlings last year that were supposed to be renardii but where almost 4 feet high when blooming.
Gorgeous big plants and no sprawling whatsoever.

I would also like to see pics of the true G. regelli if anyone has some.

David, you could try G. magniflorum, it is a lovely plant and the foliage is nice to look at even without flowers.
If it spreads you could easily keep it the size you want.

[Gerry Webster]

Gerry, do you have any pics of your G. renardii?
I had seedlings last year that were supposed to be renardii but where almost 4 feet high when blooming.
Gorgeous big plants and no sprawling whatsoever.

Helen - I'll try & take some pics later today, it's too bright at the moment. My plants are about 25cm (10inches) high.

[maggiepie]

Thanks, Gerry, I just realized I mixed up G. renardii with G. ruprechtii.
My 4 ft high seedlings were ruprechtii.

Would still like to see your pics though.

[Gerry Webster]

Geranium renardii

In my previous post I exaggerated the height of my raised bed; it is 40cm.

[mark smyth]

some photos

[mark smyth]

Your renardii is very advanced. Does it normally flower now?

[Gerry Webster]

Your renardii is very advanced. Does it normally flower now?

If you are asking me - the answer is yes. The cv P. Vapelle - which I don't like - is also in flower now.

[maggiepie]

Thanks Gerry, that is a lovely big plant.
Am wondering why you don't like PVapelle. I had one but it developed some browning on the leaves and croaked.


Mark, lovely pics, the colours are wonderful.

[John85]

Helen,
Geranium magniflorum is from South Africa and not hardy outside in the UK.Are you sure you didn't mean magnificum

[maggiepie]

Hi John,

I grew my plants from seed purchased at Rocky Mountains Rare Plants in Colorado.
Unfortunately they have gone out of business.
Even more unfortunate is that last December I dug up my plant and brought inside to winter.
Silly thing to do as it had already lasted two winters outdoors.
It was eventally attacked by heaps of aphids and I sprayed it and killed it.
Am very upset with myself still.
Here are some pics, they're not very good but you can at least see the plant.

[David Nicholson]

Thanks everyone for your help.

[Gerry Webster]

Thanks Gerry, that is a lovely big plant.
Am wondering why you don't like PVapelle. I had one but it developed some browning on the leaves and croaked.

Helen - I made the mistake of planting the Phillipe Vapelle hybrid next to G. renardii - the species - where it looks distinctly inferior. In fact,  rather coarse to my eye compared to the refined species. Maybe by itself it would look OK or perhaps I'm just a species snob? I also very much like the N. American G. maculatum - a much bigger plant, also in flower now.

All the G. renardii I have now are seedlings from the original plants.