Himalayan cranesbill
Geranium himalayense ·
The largest flowers of any hardy geranium: violet-blue saucers with a reddish centre, over deeply cut leaves that colour well in autumn.
- Size
- 14 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late May to mid July
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Himalayan cranesbill
The planner designed this bed around Himalayan 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 Himalayan cranesbill stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Himalayan cranesbill × 3, blue
- 2 Winter heath × 8, pink
- 3 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 11, red
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Darwin hybrid tulip × 7, orange
Why this plant
- The only blue.
Why here
- In the middle. At 14 in it is the step between winter heath (10 in) in front and false sunflower 'Summer Sun' (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From late May to mid July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With coral bells 'Firefly' and ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 3 kinds, from late May. Coral bells 'Firefly' is planted in three places along the bed, which gives it rhythm.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 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 Himalayan cranesbill goes in a border
At 14 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It spreads by underground stems into a low carpet, a useful habit under shrubs. One of the parents of both 'Johnson's Blue' and 'Rozanne'.
- Groundcover under roses and shrubs
- Blue for early summer
- Autumn leaf colour
What to plant with Himalayan cranesbill
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 six weeks; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it.
- Peony: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it.
- Lady's mantle: in flower together for six weeks, from late May.
Questions about Himalayan cranesbill
Does Himalayan cranesbill need sun or shade?
Himalayan 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, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does Himalayan 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 Himalayan cranesbill flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to mid July. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to mid July |
| Zone 6 | Late May to mid July |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to early July |
| Zone 8 | Early May to early July |
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 Himalayan cranesbill be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 14 in (35 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Himalayan cranesbill plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 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 three in one group.
Will Himalayan cranesbill spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads steadily by underground stems. Divide it every few years to keep it in bounds.
What flowers after Himalayan cranesbill?
Himalayan cranesbill is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall.
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Ornamental onion 'Millenium': from mid July to late August, 18 in tall.
What does Himalayan cranesbill look like in winter?
Himalayan cranesbill 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
- Armenian cranesbill Geranium psilostemon
- Bigroot cranesbill Geranium macrorrhizum
- Bigroot cranesbill 'Bevan's Variety' Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety'
- Bigroot cranesbill 'Ingwersen's Variety' Geranium macrorrhizum 'Ingwersen's Variety'
- Bloody cranesbill Geranium sanguineum
- Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei'
- Cranesbill 'Ann Folkard' Geranium 'Ann Folkard'
- Cranesbill 'Azure Rush' Geranium 'Azure Rush'
- Cranesbill 'Ballerina' Geranium cinereum 'Ballerina'
- Cranesbill 'Biokovo' Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'
- Cranesbill 'Brookside' Geranium 'Brookside'
- Cranesbill 'Johnson's Blue' Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'
- Cranesbill 'Karmina' Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Karmina'
- Cranesbill 'Orion' Geranium 'Orion'
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne' Geranium 'Gerwat' (Rozanne)
- Cranesbill 'Wargrave Pink' Geranium x oxonianum 'Wargrave Pink'
- Dalmatian cranesbill Geranium dalmaticum
- Meadow cranesbill Geranium pratense
- Meadow cranesbill 'Midnight Reiter' Geranium pratense 'Midnight Reiter'
- Mourning widow Geranium phaeum
- Mourning widow 'Samobor' Geranium phaeum 'Samobor'
- Renard's cranesbill Geranium renardii
- Showy cranesbill Geranium x magnificum
- Striped bloody cranesbill Geranium sanguineum var. striatum
- Wild geranium Geranium maculatum
- Wild geranium 'Espresso' Geranium maculatum 'Espresso'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 14 in (35 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to mid July; open bowls; blue, purple
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, spreading
- 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.