19 April 2010

Plant Swap Adoption

One year ago at our annual Plant Swap Brunch, I adopted a perennial geranium looking for a new home. Most gardeners attending our plant swap do not know the names of what they have, but I knew this was some sort of geranium.

I divided it into twins and placed them in a sunny location like their original home. With some TLC throughout the summer, they grew slowly. This spring, each came back and shot up some magenta blooms. Based on these, I identified the plant as Cranesbill Bevan's Variety (Geranium macrorrhizum). Isn't the internet wonderful?

Information seems to indicate that this is a semi evergreen that blooms throughout the summer, and can be considered a ground cover. This was not my experience, with few blooms last year and 100% winter die-back. According to one source, the highly aromatic leaves are used for 'woodland scented perfumes.' I always knew my twins fell into the scented geranium category. What I admire (compared to my other geranium [10.5.2008]) is that clusters of blossoms are held above the 8-inch tall (20 cm) mound of foliage. The plants are also beginning to spread out new little ones, so the ground cover behavior is beginning.

You Are Invited To A Plant Swap Brunch
All gardeners are welcome - maybe some local garden blog readers would like to stop in. Our plant swap brunch is near the Huntington Metro station in Alexandria, 12:00-1:00 PM, Saturday May 1 at the Huntington Community Center on Liberty Drive. Bring something to swap (seeds, seedling, plant) and a brunch item. Contact me if you need further info. At last year's spring plant swap, coreopsis, hosta, lettuce, St. John's Wort, and iris all walked my way. I said goodbye to pepper, & tomato seedlings, asters, dragonflowers, geraniums, and cosmos & castor bean seeds.

For The Record:
  • Well drained soil
  • Full sun
  • No pests or disease


Garden Calendar:
  • Blooming: Cranesbill geranium, allium, azalea, viburnum
  • Germinated: peppers (12 days), castor bean (5 days), tomatoes (9 days)
    millet (8 days), cleome (14 days), hollyhock (11 days)

1 comments:

  1. I love these plants, but, alas, cannot grow them here in the Deep South - too hot at night. Lovely colored flower.

    Jan
    Always Growing

    ReplyDelete