Geraniums are popular for enhancing outdoor spaces with vibrant colors and diverse forms. Their adaptability suits various garden styles and designs, offering continuous visual interest from groundcovers to bedding plants. Integrating them can transform an ordinary space into a lively display. This article explores ways to incorporate these versatile plants into your landscape.
Choosing Geraniums for Your Landscape
Distinguishing between “true geraniums” and “common garden geraniums” is important for successful landscape planning. Hardy geraniums, scientifically known as Geranium species, are perennial plants often referred to as cranesbills. Known for their resilience, these plants return year after year. They exhibit a variety of heights and spreads, with some varieties forming dense groundcovers. Many hardy geraniums tolerate partial shade and offer a long blooming season from late spring through summer. Popular examples include ‘Rozanne’ and ‘Johnson’s Blue’.
Common garden geraniums, belonging to the Pelargonium genus, are tender perennials grown as annuals in most climates. These plants are recognized for their upright growth and intensely colored blooms, often in shades of red, pink, white, or orange. Pelargoniums exhibit good drought tolerance once established. Within this group:
Zonal geraniums are frequently used for bedding.
Ivy-leaf geraniums are popular in hanging baskets due to their trailing habit.
Regal geraniums offer larger, often ruffled flowers.
Scented-leaf varieties are grown for their aromatic foliage.
Selecting the appropriate type of geranium depends on your specific landscape needs. For a low-maintenance groundcover that suppresses weeds and provides extended bloom, a hardy Geranium species is suitable. Conversely, for bright, temporary splashes of color in sunny garden beds or containers, Pelargonium varieties are an excellent choice. Consider sun exposure, desired plant size, and the plant’s intended role to guide your selection.
Designing with Geraniums
Geraniums offer possibilities for creating visually appealing and functional landscape designs. They effectively define garden beds, pathways, or property lines. Hardy geraniums, with their mounding or spreading habits, create soft, natural borders. Common garden geraniums, with their more uniform growth, provide a crisp, tidy edge along pathways or at the front of mixed perennial beds.
Mass plantings of hardy geraniums provide large-scale coverage, forming a continuous carpet of color and foliage. Varieties like ‘Rozanne’ spread to cover significant areas, suppressing weeds and reducing maintenance. This creates a cohesive visual statement, especially on slopes or in expansive garden areas. Their dense growth also helps stabilize soil.
Common garden geraniums greatly enhance container gardening and patio arrangements. Their vibrant colors and upright forms make them ideal for pots, hanging baskets, and window boxes, adding portable focal points. Combining different Pelargonium types, such as upright zonals with trailing ivy-leaf varieties, creates dynamic and layered container displays. These arrangements are easily moved to highlight specific areas or provide color where in-ground planting is not feasible.
Drought-tolerant and spreading geranium varieties thrive in challenging rock gardens and slopes. Hardy geraniums, with deep root systems, stabilize soil on inclines, preventing erosion. Their ability to spread and naturalize suits the informal aesthetic of rock gardens. Varieties tolerating drier conditions and lean soils are well-suited for these sites, adding color and texture without extensive care.
Geraniums integrate seamlessly into cottage gardens and informal settings, contributing to a relaxed, naturalistic style. Their diverse forms and bloom times blend effortlessly with other perennials, creating a lush, layered appearance. In such designs, geraniums fill gaps, provide continuous color, and enhance the overall informal charm. They contribute to the dense, overflowing look of traditional cottage gardens.
Integrating color and texture is key when designing with geraniums. Combining different geranium colors creates striking contrasts or harmonious blends. For example, pairing a bright red Pelargonium with white or pink varieties creates a festive display. Incorporating hardy geraniums with varied leaf textures, such as deeply lobed or delicate leaves, adds visual depth. This combination enhances the landscape’s aesthetic appeal.
Ideal Plant Partners for Geraniums
Pairing geraniums with suitable companion plants enhances their beauty and creates a cohesive garden aesthetic. Selecting plants with complementary colors and textures creates appealing combinations. For instance, ornamental grasses’ fine texture contrasts well with many geraniums’ broader leaves. Plants with similar bloom times can create a unified color scheme, while those with staggered bloom times ensure continuous interest.
For sun-loving Pelargonium and certain Geranium varieties, several plants thrive in similar full-sun conditions. Salvia, with its spiky flower forms, provides a vertical element that complements the mounding habit of geraniums. Lavender offers fragrant foliage and purple blooms, creating a classic Mediterranean-inspired pairing. Coreopsis, known for its cheerful yellow or orange daisy-like flowers, adds bright accents. Marigolds can also be effective companions, contributing warm colors and potentially deterring some pests.
Hardy geraniums that tolerate partial shade pair well with various shade-loving companions. Hostas, with their diverse foliage colors and textures, provide a strong structural element against the more delicate appearance of cranesbills. Ferns offer lush, intricate fronds that create a cool, verdant backdrop. Astilbe, known for its feathery plumes, adds a different flower form and texture. Heuchera, or coral bells, contribute a wide range of foliage colors, which can beautifully echo or contrast with geranium blooms.
Incorporating structural plants provides a backdrop or anchor for beds where geraniums offer mid-to-front interest. Taller perennials like delphiniums or foxgloves add height and verticality behind mounding geraniums. Small shrubs such as dwarf spirea or compact roses serve as anchors, providing year-round structure and complementing the seasonal beauty of geraniums. These larger plants help frame the geraniums and other lower-growing companions.
Some plant companions offer functional benefits beyond aesthetics. Herbs like basil or mint, when planted nearby, can deter common garden pests. Incorporating pollinator-attracting plants like coneflowers or butterfly weed alongside geraniums enhances the garden’s ecological value. This creates a vibrant, biologically diverse landscape.
Caring for Landscape Geraniums
Proper site selection and soil preparation are fundamental for successful landscape geraniums. Most geraniums, especially Pelargonium species, thrive with at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. Hardy Geranium species tolerate partial shade, particularly in hotter climates. Well-draining soil is crucial for both types, preventing root rot and promoting healthy growth. Amending garden beds with organic matter, such as compost, improves soil structure and fertility, creating an optimal environment for geranium roots.
Watering strategies for landscape plantings differ from container watering. Newly planted geraniums require consistent moisture to establish a strong root system, often needing water every few days until settled. Once established, many geraniums, particularly Pelargoniums, exhibit good drought tolerance and withstand drier periods. Efficient watering methods for larger areas include drip irrigation or soaker hoses, which deliver water directly to the root zone, minimizing evaporation and runoff. Deep, infrequent watering encourages deeper root growth, making plants more resilient.
Fertilization for landscape geraniums differs from potted plants. Hardy perennial Geraniums require minimal feeding once established in fertile soil; an annual compost application is often sufficient. Annual Pelargoniums, being heavy feeders, benefit from a balanced granular fertilizer applied every 4-6 weeks during their active growing season. Alternatively, a slow-release granular fertilizer can be incorporated into the soil at planting, providing nutrients over several months.
Pruning and deadheading maintain the vigor and appearance of landscape geraniums. Deadheading, the removal of spent flowers, encourages continuous blooming by preventing seed set. For common garden geraniums, pinching back leggy stems promotes bushier growth. Hardy geraniums can be cut back by about one-third after their first flush of blooms to encourage a second, smaller bloom cycle. In late fall, hardy geraniums can be cut back to the ground or left with some foliage for winter interest, depending on variety and climate.
Pest and disease management focuses on prevention and early detection. Good air circulation, achieved through proper plant spacing, reduces fungal diseases like powdery mildew. Regularly inspecting plants for pests like aphids or whiteflies allows for early intervention, often with a strong spray of water or insecticidal soap. Selecting disease-resistant varieties minimizes issues. Maintaining overall plant health through appropriate cultural practices makes geraniums more resilient.
Winter care for geraniums depends on the type and local climate. In colder zones (below USDA Zone 7), common garden Pelargoniums are treated as annuals and will not survive winter outdoors. Gardeners in these regions may choose to overwinter favorite Pelargonium plants indoors in a dormant state. Hardy Geranium species are well-adapted to cold temperatures, going dormant in winter and emerging in spring. Applying a layer of mulch around hardy geraniums in late fall provides extra insulation in very cold climates, protecting their crowns.