And as with all love affairs, I just can't get enough of my beloved. Yeah, I know - none of you are falling for that line and you're just waiting for me to get to the punch line and tell you about the wonderful new plants I've discovered. I'm talking about hardy geraniums here, not those tender cosseted pelargoniums that have usurped another's name. Moderated fertility is the rule of thumb - excess nitrogen simply produces tons of foliage at the expense of the flowering. Think of it as a plant of the forest edge or clearing, doing best on half day sun, rich organic soils, and regular supplies of moisture.
Flower colours tend to the blue and pink tones.
Even the reddish flowers are heavily toned with blue. With the more vigorous of plants, after the May-June bloom is finished, a light shearing will bring on a second flush of bloom later in the fall. If this technique is to be used, the soil should be well composted to allow for the extra flush of growth and energy needed for flowering. I have to start off with the biggest disappointment for me in the entire class of geraniums. This plant was touted a few years ago as being one of the best new introductions of the millennium.