Showy cranesbill
Geranium x magnificum ·
Rich violet-blue flowers with darker veins, in such numbers that they hide the hairy, lobed leaves for three weeks in early summer.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 24 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
- Drift
A bed built around showy cranesbill
The planner designed this bed around showy 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 showy cranesbill stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Showy cranesbill × 3, purple
- 2 Winter heath × 8, pink
- 3 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 8, red
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Foxglove beardtongue × 5, white
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 3, purple
- 8 Red spider lily × 7, red
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are bells, airy sprays, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 24 in it is the step between coral bells 'Firefly' (10 in) in front and foxglove beardtongue (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to foxglove beardtongue (3½ ft) and brown-eyed Susan (4 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 five weeks. From late May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With coral bells 'Firefly', foxglove beardtongue and ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' in late May: 4 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 bed is balanced: the left half carries 50% of the visual weight and the right half 50%. The flowering is at its height from late May, with 4 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 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 showy cranesbill 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.
It flowers once, briefly and gloriously, and its leaves turn orange and red in autumn. A sterile hybrid, grown in gardens since the 1870s.
- A burst of violet in early summer
- Cottage borders
- Autumn leaf colour
What to plant with showy cranesbill
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Peony: in flower together for four weeks, from late May.
- Lady's mantle: in flower together for five weeks, from late May.
- Siberian iris: in flower together for four weeks, from late May.
Questions about showy cranesbill
Does showy cranesbill need sun or shade?
Showy 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 showy 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 showy 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.
| Zone 4 | Early June to early July |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to late June |
| Zone 8 | Early 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 showy cranesbill be planted?
20 in (50 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 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many showy cranesbill plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 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.
Is there a native plant like showy cranesbill?
Showy cranesbill is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Eastern bee balm: the same job in a bed; 4 in shorter, flowers early May to mid June.
- New England aster 'Purple Dome': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in shorter, 4 in wider.
- Beardtongue 'Husker Red': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 8 in taller, white, not purple.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after showy cranesbill?
Showy cranesbill is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does showy cranesbill look like in winter?
Showy 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
- Himalayan cranesbill Geranium himalayense
- 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
- 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
- 24 in (60 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; open bowls; purple, blue
- 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.