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Geranium macrorrhizum |
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| Common name |
bigroot cranesbill |
| Family |
geraniaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z4) |
| Flowers |
cream/rose (late spring) |
| Size |
16" |
| Light |
sun-light shade |
| Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil |
| Seed ripens | late June |
Robust but low-growing cranesbill. The scalloped leaves are supposedly fragrant, but I've never noticed. This species in particular is reported to have bright red autumn foliage, but in our garden, several other geraniums outperform in the brilliant-leaf department - perhaps because macrorrhizum stays green so late in the season that, by the time it does turn, I have stopped paying attention (or it's covered in snow).
The one I consider to be the plain species was actually grown from seed labeled 'Ingwersen's Variety'. A second cultivar we grow, 'Variegatum', has irregularly white-splashed leaves.
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| | 'Variegatum' leaves |
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| | Fall color on the straight species |
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| | 'Variegatum' in bloom |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following areas: patio area, pondside, arbor zone Read about all the cranesbills in our garden on my geraniums page About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Geranium macrorrhizum
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Linda | Feb 09, 2005 | I dont think this pix shows a Ger. macrorrhizum. Other pictures of it show a plant with very deep pink flowers, also say it only grows to 8 inches. |
| Larkspur | Feb 14, 2006 | Linda may think your photo is a x cantabrigiense (which is about 8" & looks similar in flower), but your leaf photo & description jive with the RHS Wisley description of a macrorrhizum (perhaps "Variegatum" or "Album" or "White-Ness"). It's the leaf (size? hairy? aromatic?) and whether or not this spreads that would determine the matter. Sure looks like a groundcover in your 1st pic.
The leaves are softly hairy. Mine don't have much of a tendency to spread - I wouldn't call it a groundcover. Hopefully better photos next year will clear up the matter. |
| Kate | Apr 28, 2009 | This plant has taken over my front yard. I don't know how to get rid of it or at least control it. Take my advice, don't plant it!
Are you sure it's Geranium macrorrhizum? I've never heard it described as invasive or difficult to control. I've found plenty of online sources that say it's a good, non-invasive ground cover, and none that describe it as aggressive or a colonizer. If anything, I'd like ours to be a bit more aggressive. |
| rosella | May 07, 2009 | Put this geranium (the species with the deep pink blooms) in as a ground cover about 8 years ago, and it has performed brilliantly. It stays somewhat green during the winter, and becomes full and lush in spring. I am planning to use it to blanket another large area later this year. But -- I have a question from a friend who lives in deer territory. Do deer eat it or avoid it? Any ideas would be much appreciated. |
| Danniel | Jun 08, 2009 | Deer never touch it. |
| zone6bill | Jun 28, 2009 | I've had G. macrorrhizum 'Bevans Variety' for nearly 20 years. It does have a habit of spreading quite fast, but it is shallowly rooted and easily removed. It is probably the best ground cover for use directly around the base of trees, maples in particular, in very deep shade that I have found. Even better than Lamium which does not tolerate the dead dryness of some summers we've had without considerable watering. This variety of Geranium also seems to be deer proof, if such a plant exists. I know I cannot leave a link here, but if you go to YouTube and search for my name, zone6bill, my garden how to videos will appear. The first has a segment on Hardy Geraniums.
Here's a link to Bill's geranium video. |
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common mis-spellings: macrorhizum
Last modified:
May 29, 2009
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