Wild Geranium (Spotted Cranesbill, Wild Cranesbill)
Geranium maculatum. GERANIACEAE.
Planting and Growing Wild Geranium
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow wild geranium in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of wild geranium
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for wild geranium
- Season of bloom and planting time for wild geranium
- When, how deep, and where to plant wild geranium
- How to plant wild geranium
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of wild geranium
- Landscape and container uses of wild geranium
- Comments about wild geranium and its features
Growing Wild Geranium
Several cultivars and hybrids of rounded, shrublike, deciduous or semi-evergreen perennial herbs, 1–2 ft. (30–60 cm) tall and wide. Textured, deep green, round, pointed, 3-, 5-, or 7-lobed leaves, to 5 in. (13 cm) wide, turning red in autumn.
See also Bloody Cranesbill, Geranium sanguineum, a closely related species with similar care needs.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Solitary pink, violet, white, 5-petaled, open flowers, 1–1‑1/2‑in. (25–38‑mm) wide, often with cupped, white centers, on erect stems, in spring–summer.
Best Climates
Semi-hardy. Plant as annual, zones 3–5; ground hardy, zones 6–8. Best in cool-summer climates.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained loam. Fertility: Rich. 6.0–7.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in open to partial shade, 10–15 in. (25–38 cm) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep damp until established. Fertilize monthly. Deadhead spent flowers. Propagate by division, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for accents, hanging baskets, borders, edgings, foregrounds in cottage, natural, rock, wildflower, woodland gardens. Invasive. Pest and disease resistant.