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Dalmatian cranesbill

Geranium dalmaticum ·

Dalmatian cranesbill (Geranium dalmaticum) in flower
Photo: Ghislain118 (AD) http://www.fleurs-des-montagnes.net, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

A tight, glossy cushion of tiny, lobed leaves, studded with shell-pink flowers in early summer and tinted orange-red in autumn.

Size
5 in tall, 16 in wide
Zones
4 to 8
Light
Full sun to part sun
Flowers
Late May to late June
Pets
Not checked
Job in a bed
Carpet

A bed built around Dalmatian cranesbill

The planner designed this bed around Dalmatian cranesbill 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 Dalmatian cranesbill stands where it does.

A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) bed at eye level in mid June: Dalmatian cranesbill, Blue moor grass, False sunflower 'Summer Sun', Brown-eyed Susan, Silver sage, Eastern bee balm, Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation', Glory-of-the-snow.
A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun, seen from the path in mid June.
4. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan43. False sunflower 'Summer Sun'33. False sunflower 'Summer Sun'33. False sunflower 'Summer Sun'35. Silver sage52. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass21. Dalmatian cranesbill11. Dalmatian cranesbill11. Dalmatian cranesbill11. Dalmatian cranesbill16. Eastern bee balm66. Eastern bee balm66. Eastern bee balm67. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'77. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'72. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass22. Blue moor grass21. Dalmatian cranesbill11. Dalmatian cranesbill11. Dalmatian cranesbill11. Dalmatian cranesbill11. Dalmatian cranesbill17. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'77. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'78. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow8. Glory-of-the-snow
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.

The plants

  1. 1 Dalmatian cranesbill × 9, pink
  2. 2 Blue moor grass × 8, purple
  3. 3 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
  4. 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 5, yellow
  5. 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
  6. 6 Eastern bee balm × 3, pink
  7. 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
  8. 8 Glory-of-the-snow × 12, blue

Why this plant

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

Why here

  • Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
  • 9 plants in 3 groups (5, 3 and 1). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
  • Fine leaf against bold. Silver sage is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.

Why now

  • In flower for five weeks. From late May to late June.
  • Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.

Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Silver sage, blue moor grass and Dalmatian cranesbill finish the front edge. The flowering is at its height from late May, with 3 kinds out together.

The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. 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 Dalmatian cranesbill goes in a border

At 5 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 in).

Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.

The smallest of the mat-forming geraniums, for a rock garden, a wall top or the gaps in paving. It creeps slowly and never needs cutting back.

  • Rock gardens and wall tops
  • Paving edges
  • Small-scale groundcover

What to plant with Dalmatian cranesbill

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

  • Sea thrift: in flower together for three weeks, from late May; tall enough (8 in) to stand behind it.
  • Creeping thyme: in flower together for four weeks, from early June.
  • Carpathian bellflower: in flower together for two weeks, from late June; tall enough (10 in) to stand behind it.

Questions about Dalmatian cranesbill

Does Dalmatian cranesbill need sun or shade?

Dalmatian cranesbill 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, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.

What zones does Dalmatian cranesbill 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 Dalmatian cranesbill flower in my zone?

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

Roughly when Dalmatian cranesbill is in flower
Zone 4Early June to early July
Zone 5Late May to late June
Zone 6Late May to late June
Zone 7Mid May to late June
Zone 8Early May to late June

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 Dalmatian cranesbill be planted?

12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 16 in (40 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 5 in (12 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many Dalmatian cranesbill plants do I need?

At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:

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

In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.

In the bed above, the planner used nine in three groups.

Is there a native plant like Dalmatian cranesbill?

Dalmatian cranesbill is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:

  • Three-toothed cinquefoil: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not pink, keeps its leaves in winter.
  • Woolly yarrow: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; yellow, not pink, wants dry soil.
  • Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early May to late May, lavender, not pink.

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

What flowers after Dalmatian cranesbill?

Dalmatian cranesbill is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:

What does Dalmatian cranesbill look like in winter?

Dalmatian cranesbill holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.

More Geranium

In these guides

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

In flower in: May · June

Every fact on record

Type
Perennial (groundcover)
Size
5 in (12 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
Plant
12 in (30 cm) apart
Height class
Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
Place in the bed
Front
Flowers
Late May to late June; open bowls; pink
Leaves
Fine texture, semi-evergreen; dark green
Shape
Mat-forming, spreading
Hardy in
USDA zones 4 to 8
Light
Full sun, part sun
Soil
Lean, well-drained
Water
Low
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.