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Cranesbill 'Orion'

Geranium 'Orion' ·

Very large, saucer-shaped flowers of deep violet-blue with red veins, on a big, billowing plant, for two months of summer.

Size
24 in tall, 3 ft wide
Zones
4 to 8
Light
Full sun to part sun
Flowers
Late May to late August
Pets
Not checked
Job in a bed
Drift

A bed built around cranesbill 'Orion'

The planner designed this bed around cranesbill 'Orion' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why cranesbill 'Orion' stands where it does.

A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) bed at eye level in mid July: Cranesbill 'Orion', Blue moor grass, Heath aster 'Snow Flurry', False sunflower 'Summer Nights', Little bluestem, Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation', Giant snowdrop.
A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun, seen from the path in mid July.
4. False sunflower 'Summer Nights'44. False sunflower 'Summer Nights'44. False sunflower 'Summer Nights'45. Little bluestem55. Little bluestem55. Little bluestem51. Cranesbill 'Orion'13. Heath aster 'Snow Flurry'33. Heath aster 'Snow Flurry'33. Heath aster 'Snow Flurry'33. Heath aster 'Snow Flurry'33. Heath aster 'Snow Flurry'32. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass26. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'66. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'62. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass23. Heath aster 'Snow Flurry'33. Heath aster 'Snow Flurry'33. Heath aster 'Snow Flurry'36. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'67. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop7. Giant snowdrop
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.

The plants

  1. 1 Cranesbill 'Orion' × 1, blue
  2. 2 Blue moor grass × 8, purple
  3. 3 Heath aster 'Snow Flurry' × 8, white
  4. 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
  5. 5 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
  6. 6 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 3, purple
  7. 7 Giant snowdrop × 12, white

Why this plant

  • The only open bowls. The others are spires, daisies, globes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
  • The only blue.

Why here

  • In the middle. At 24 in it is the step between blue moor grass (10 in) in front and little bluestem (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
  • One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.

Why now

  • In flower for 13 weeks. From late May to late August.
  • Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.

Planned as an English border: 5 of the 5 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (blue and purple) and uses yellow for warmth, with white to calm things between them. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 53% of the visual weight and the right half 47%.

The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.

Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.

Where cranesbill 'Orion' goes in a border

At 24 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).

Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.

A seedling of 'Brookside' with larger flowers. It is one of the best blues for the middle of a border and repeats well when cut back after the first flush.

  • Blue for the middle of a border
  • Underplanting roses
  • Large drifts

What to plant with cranesbill 'Orion'

Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:

  • English rose: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for 12 weeks; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it.
  • Lady's mantle: in flower together for six weeks, from late May.
  • Shasta daisy 'Becky': in flower together for eight weeks, from early July; tall enough (3½ ft) to stand behind it.

Questions about cranesbill 'Orion'

Does cranesbill 'Orion' need sun or shade?

Cranesbill 'Orion' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).

It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.

What zones does cranesbill 'Orion' grow in?

USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).

Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.

Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.

When does cranesbill 'Orion' flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers late May to late August. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.

Roughly when cranesbill 'Orion' is in flower
Zone 4Early June to late August
Zone 5Late May to late August
Zone 6Late May to late August
Zone 7Mid May to mid August
Zone 8Early May to mid August

Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.

How far apart should cranesbill 'Orion' be planted?

2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many cranesbill 'Orion' plants do I need?

At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:

  • 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
  • 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
  • 6 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own

In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.

In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.

Is there a native plant like cranesbill 'Orion'?

Cranesbill 'Orion' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:

Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.

What flowers after cranesbill 'Orion'?

Cranesbill 'Orion' is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:

What does cranesbill 'Orion' look like in winter?

Cranesbill 'Orion' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.

More Geranium

In these guides

Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8

In flower in: May · June · July · August

Every fact on record

Type
Perennial
Size
24 in (60 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
Plant
2½ ft (75 cm) apart
Height class
Medium short (18 to 24 in)
Place in the bed
Middle
Flowers
Late May to late August; open bowls; blue, purple
Leaves
Medium texture, herbaceous; green
Shape
Mounding, clumping
Hardy in
USDA zones 4 to 8
Light
Full sun, part sun
Soil
Average, well-drained
Water
Moderate
Feeding
None needed

Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.