Wild geranium 'Espresso'
Geranium maculatum 'Espresso' · Geraniaceae
Leaves the colour of dark coffee, with pale lavender-pink flowers above them in spring. A selection of the native woodland geranium.
- Size
- 16 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Early May to early June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around wild geranium 'Espresso'
The planner designed this bed around wild geranium 'Espresso' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why wild geranium 'Espresso' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Wild geranium 'Espresso' × 3, pink
- 2 Leadwort × 8, blue
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 22, yellow
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Purple milkweed × 5, purple
- 6 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 7 Camassia × 1, blue
- 8 Daffodil × 5, yellow
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are dense clusters, daisies, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only pink.
Why here
- In the middle. At 16 in it is the step between leadwort (10 in) in front and garden phlox 'David' (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to purple milkweed (3 ft) and garden phlox 'David' (3½ 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 six weeks. From early May to early June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' and daffodil in early May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 8 groups (75%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (pink, blue and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' repeats along the bed to tie it 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 wild geranium 'Espresso' goes in a border
At 16 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.
The dark leaves hold their colour best in some sun, with moisture. Pale flowers on dark foliage is a sophisticated effect for a native plant.
- Dark foliage for part shade
- Native woodland gardens
- Spring colour with ferns
What to plant with wild geranium 'Espresso'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Foamflower: in flower together for five weeks, from early May; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same moist soil.
- Japanese painted fern: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
- Woodland phlox: in flower together for four weeks, from early May; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about wild geranium 'Espresso'
Does wild geranium 'Espresso' need sun or shade?
Wild geranium 'Espresso' grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does wild geranium 'Espresso' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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 wild geranium 'Espresso' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to early June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid May to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early May to mid June |
| Zone 5 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 6 | Late April to early June |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to late May |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to late May |
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 wild geranium 'Espresso' be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 16 in (40 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many wild geranium 'Espresso' plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 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 wild geranium 'Espresso' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat wild geranium 'Espresso'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after wild geranium 'Espresso'?
Wild geranium 'Espresso' is over by early June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
- Astilbe: from late June to mid July, 24 in tall.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does wild geranium 'Espresso' look like in winter?
Wild geranium 'Espresso' dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is wild geranium 'Espresso' good for bees and butterflies?
Wild geranium 'Espresso' is visited by pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada (this is a named variety of the native plant).
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
- Showy cranesbill Geranium x magnificum
- Striped bloody cranesbill Geranium sanguineum var. striatum
- Wild geranium Geranium maculatum
In these guides
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 16 in (40 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early May to early June; open bowls; pink, lavender
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; bronze, purple
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Geraniaceae
- Comes from
- SE. Canada to Central & Eastern U.S.A
- Attracts
- Pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.