Students for Stewardship The Cork Board
← Back to the library

Cranesbill

Geranium (jer-AY-nee-um)

Family: Geraniaceae Unknown Herbaceous (1-3 ft)

Rozanne geranium is a hybrid perennial clump-forming geranium in the Geraniaceae family. The genus name comes from the Greek word geranos meaning crane. Hence the common name of cranesbill. They tolerate full sun or partial shade, though flower best in full sun. Established plants show some drought tolerance and plants are also resistant to browsing by deer and rabbits. It has excellent heat tolerance and showy violet-blue flowers that appear in late spring and continue most of the summer. This plant received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in 2006 Mass plant as a ground cover, in a border front, near a patio or in a rock garden. Plants are also effective in containers, hanging baskets or window boxes. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. Some susceptibility to leaf spots and rusts.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 55 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Amsonia hubrichtii Delphinium grandiflorum Lantana camara 'Miss Huff'
Similar, less problematic Geranium carolinianum

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Ground Cover; Herbaceous Perennial
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 1 ft. 6 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Mounding
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Palmasect; Palmatifid
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Deeply cut, slightly marbled chartreuse, deep green foliage. Evergreen in some climates
Flower color
Blue; Purple/Lavender; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Head
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Blue-violet flowers with white centers and 5 petals occur late spring to early summer. May continue all summer especially in cooler regions.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Classic "crane's bill" fruit with a long beak
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
sprawling green stems
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
hybrid
Wildlife value
Flowers attract butterflies.
Food & Medicine
Fruit type
Capsule
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Patio; Walkways
Landscape theme
Cottage Garden; Rock Garden
Design feature
Border
Garden tags
#heat tolerant #rabbit resistant #nectar plant early summer #showy flowers #low maintenance #violet flowers #blue flowers #window boxes #mass planting #nectar plant late spring #deer resistant #HS302 #butterfly friendly #container plant #landscape plant sleuths course #patio #wildlife friendly #HS304
Problems & Resistance
Disease problems
Southern Bacterial Wilt on Herbaceous Ornamental Plants
Resistant to
Deer; Heat; Rabbits

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.