Gee up your geraniums

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This article was published 26/04/2025 (510 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The “why” behind planting geraniums is simple — they are so easy to grow. Plus, there are so many colours to choose from at garden centres, so does it really matter which variety you pick?

Most of us are familiar with zonal-type geraniums and ivy geraniums, and often we prefer one or the other because of their specific growing habits.

Interspecific geraniums are a cross between a zonal geranium and an ivy geranium. While older generations of zonal geraniums may sometimes cycle out of bloom during periods of high heat, interspecific geraniums never stop blooming. I began growing interspecific geraniums a few years after Calliope was introduced in 2009 by Syngenta. It was an easy decision. At the time, Calliope was unmatched in its flower size, velvety colour and season-long performance.

New for 2025, Solera Dark Red is a stunning interspecific geranium from Ball FloraPlant. Solera Dark Red is the newest addition to a series which includes seven colours in total. This medium-sized mounded geranium with large double flowers has a height and spread of 30 to 36 centimetres. Solera geraniums work great in containers, hanging baskets and in the landscape. I trialled Solera Dark Red in my garden last year and was impressed by its non-stop flower power and drought tolerance. I grew it in both containers and window boxes.

Deadheading spent flowers will encourage Solera geraniums to produce more flowers but the act of deadheading can also be a mindful, relaxing activity while ensuring your flower displays continue to look beautiful.

Geranium Glory Days Red Orange Bicolour and Glory Days Pink Bicolour are new hybrid geraniums for 2025 from Dummen Orange. This new series also possesses interspecific characteristics and features single-flowered ivy blooms that are self-cleaning. The leaves are dark green, and the varieties have a medium to vigorous trailing habit which works well in hanging baskets or planters. The bicoloured flowers feature a distinctive pattern of “brush strokes” on the flower petals that, along with this variety’s trailing habit, will bring something unique to your container designs.

Big Eeze Pink Batik from Dummen Orange must be one of the prettiest geraniums I have come across. An interspecific geranium with more zonal characteristics than ivy genetics, this upright variety grows to a height of 45 cm. A prolific bloomer with large flowers, each petal has a mosaic pattern with an equal number of pink and white striations.

Big Eeze Pink Batik is a 2024 AAS (All America Selections) Ornamental Winner. Matt Schriemer says Big Eeze Pink Batik will be available this spring at Schriemers Market Centre, at 2857 McGregor Farm Rd. in East St. Paul.

Not to be outdone by the bragging rights of interspecific geraniums, new and recent introductions of zonal geraniums also last longer in the heat. Galaxy zonal geraniums are available in 10 different colours and offer excellent garden performance.

“We have been growing Galaxy geraniums the last few years,” says Susan Jensen Stubbe, co-owner of Jensen Nursery and Garden Centre, located at 2550 McGillivray Blvd. “They have vigorous growth yet maintain a mounded shape that is easy to control. They produce tons of blooms.”

Jensen Stubbe’s favourite colour is Galaxy Watermelon, a unique hue in the geranium market.

Last year, Savannah Ruby Sizzle, a semi-double zonal geranium from Dummen Orange, was a top pick at Schriemers, and Matt Schriemer has grown it again this year. “People loved it,” he says.

Savannah Ruby Sizzle has two-toned deep rosy-pink petals with a lighter pink edge. Schriemer also owns A.Paterson Bedding Plants, located at 7250 Roblin Blvd., in Headingley, and will offer Calliope interspecific geraniums this spring along with Rocky Mountain, Americana and Tango, three popular zonal geranium series that have been consistently in demand since the 1990s.

Do annual geraniums support pollinators? Yes, but they are not pollinator magnets when compared to some other types of flowering annuals.

In a study published last year in the Journal of Economic Entomology, scientists shared the results of an evaluation of six types of the most popular flowering annuals — petunia, impatiens, begonia, geranium, pansy and New Guinea impatiens — sold in the U.S. and Europe. Begonia and impatiens had significantly more pollinator visits than pansy, petunia, New Guinea impatiens and geranium.

When planning your container recipes, consider tucking in pollinator-friendly annuals such as lantana. Another option might be a dwarf perennial catmint which can be lifted in the fall and planted in your garden. Nepeta Lemon Purrfection, for example, is a new compact catmint for 2025 that features lavender flowers and golden-yellow foliage. Catmint attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

But don’t stop at annual geraniums! There are many types of hardy geraniums that deserve to be grown. Hardy geraniums, or cranesbill as they are also known, are reliable perennials for cold-climate gardens. A favourite in my garden is Geranium sanguineum Max Frei (Bloody Cranesbill) which has a mounding form with small cup-shaped purple flowers and finely divided green leaves that turn a brilliant orange-red in late fall. Trouble-free, cranesbill comes back year after year but benefits from division every three to five years to maintain a tidy mound. Max Frei blooms profusely in late spring with sporadic re-bloom throughout the summer.

An intriguing hardy geranium that will be available this spring at select garden centres is Geranium phaeum Joseph Green cranesbill. This unusual double-flowering variety is a standout with maroon-purple blooms and an inner ring consisting of chartreuse-tipped modified stems. It was first discovered in 2013 in the U.K. by Lynne Edwards as a seedling in her garden. By 2017, commercial propagation had begun, and Edwards named the new cultivar after her father, Joseph Green, an avid horticulturist. In 2019, Brian Ellis, former owner of Avondale Nursery near Coventry, England, helped to introduce this beautiful new cultivar to the market.

Today Joseph Green cranesbill is grown in gardens across the U.K. and now it is being made available by Jeffries Nurseries, a wholesale grower in Portage la Prairie.

Joseph Green cranesbill is hardy to Zone 3 and is suitable for full-sun to part-shade locations. It has an upright habit and grows to a height of 60 to 76 cm. The maple-leaf-cut foliage is green. Deer-resistant, Joseph Green cranesbill will look beautiful in flower beds alongside roses and other perennials.

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