Growing Geraniums: Tips at a Glance
Flowering perennial geraniums bloom from spring through summer, \ attract pollinators, and are deer resistant in some circumstances. Plant them with upright companions including coneflower, Shasta daisy, and ornamental grasses to provide contrast at the front of a border.
- Type Herbaceous flower
- Lifespan Perennial
- USDA Zones 4-9
- Light Sun
- Water Well-drained soil
- How to Plant 4-inch transplants
- Design Tip Container plants
- Companions Coneflowers, grasses
- Peak Season Spring, summer
Geraniums: A Field Guide
Perennial blooming geraniums are understated charmers that brighten woodland or cottage gardens and can be planted a colorful mounding ground cover to connect shrubs or tucked into the edges of containers to spill over the sides. When planted near walkways, geraniums soften edges. They also are a reliable choice to tuck into rock crevices, where the spreading foliage and flowers pair soften the look of rocks.
Tip: Don’t confuse perennial geraniums—often called cranesbill geraniums—with the tender bedding plants (Pelargoniums), which are commonly called geraniums as well. One way to quickly tell them apart: a hardy geranium’s five-petaled flower is symmetrical, whereas a pelargonium’s petals are different sizes.
Some of our favorite perennial geraniums are ‘Rozanne’ (its violet colored flowers bloom all summer) and ‘Johnson’s Blue’ (a good edging plant, growing in dense mounds of blue flowers).