Geranium macro’ Spessart

Description

Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Spessart’ – cranesbill

Botanical name: Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Spessart’
Common names: Cranesbill, bigroot geranium
Family: Geraniaceae
Plant type: Herbaceous perennial
Habit: Low, spreading, mat-forming groundcover
Pot size: 2–3 litre pot
Eventual size: Approx. 30–40cm tall × 60cm spread (spreading)
Foliage: Aromatic, lobed, soft green leaves, colouring richly red and bronze in autumn; semi-evergreen to evergreen
Flowers: Clusters of soft white to palest blush-pink flowers with pink calyces, in early summer (May–June)
Scent: Foliage aromatic when brushed
Aspect / light: Full sun to full shade; tolerates dry shade
Soil: Most soils; well-drained; tolerates dry shade and poor soil once established; any pH
Hardiness: RHS H7 (very hardy, below −20°C); USDA zones 4–8
Exposure: Sheltered or exposed; very tolerant
Native range: Garden form; hardy geraniums are native across Europe and Asia
Toxicity / pet & child safety: Generally considered non-toxic to people and pets

Geranium ‘Spessart’ is a superb, tough groundcover cranesbill with aromatic foliage, fine autumn colour and soft white early-summer flowers. One of the very best plants for dry shade under trees.

GardenAdvice notes

A lovely pale-flowered bigroot cranesbill, ‘Spessart’ forms dense, weed-suppressing carpets of aromatic, lobed foliage — largely evergreen, and colouring particularly richly red and bronze in autumn — dotted in early summer with soft white to blush flowers set off by pink calyces. Like all its kind it is remarkably tough, thriving in sun or deep shade and coping with the dry shade beneath trees where few plants grow at all.

Growing & planting

Plant in spring or autumn in most soils soil in full sun to full shade; tolerates dry shade — hardy geraniums are among the easiest and most adaptable of all perennials. Space about 45cm apart. Water while establishing.

Care & maintenance

Very low-maintenance. Simply shear it over after flowering to tidy it and freshen the foliage, and remove any tatty leaves in spring — being largely evergreen it needs no hard cutting back. Water while establishing; thereafter it is notably drought-tolerant. Lift and divide, or detach rooted pieces, in spring or autumn.

Propagation

• Division: Lift and divide, or detach rooted pieces of the surface rhizomes, in spring or autumn — extremely easy.

Pests & diseases

Generally trouble-free and healthy — hardy geraniums are among the most reliable of all perennials. Slugs may graze new growth, and powdery mildew or rust can occur in dry spells. Otherwise easy.

Uses in the garden

Superb as tough, weed-suppressing groundcover in sun or shade, especially dry shade under trees and shrubs, on banks, for edging, and beneath roses, where its aromatic foliage, autumn colour and pale flowers earn their place.

Wildlife value

Hardy geraniums are excellent for pollinators: their open, saucer-shaped flowers are very attractive to bees, hoverflies and other beneficial insects, often over a long season.

Toxicity & safety

Hardy geraniums are generally regarded as non-toxic to people and pets. Note that they are quite different from pelargoniums (the tender bedding and pot ‘geraniums’), which are toxic to cats and dogs.

GardenAdvice tip

‘Spessart’ is the pale-flowered member of the indestructible macrorrhizum clan, and is noted for particularly good red and bronze autumn leaf colour. Like its cousins it thrives in the dry shade under trees where almost nothing else will, smothers weeds, and asks nothing more than a shear-over after flowering. The soft white flowers are lovely in shade.

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