Tuesday, March 02, 2010

More Geraniums!

I am not sure geraniums like to move.  Six years ago I moved Geranium Magnificum and Geranium Sanguinimum Lancastriense Striatum, three of each to my present home.  They each came up the following year, and I thought yeah!, they've made it.  However, for the past several years they are languishing, putting out a few flowers and then going to sleep for the season.  I even moved Magnificum again last year thinking it didn't like where it was.  It had no flowers last year, but I left it alone planted in between Rozanne.  It is supposed to bloom earlier than Rozanne and it is much taller, so I thought it would be a good pairing.

Magnificum did beautifully at my previous home, short bloom time but really spectacular flowers and wonderful red foliage (if cut back hard after blooming) in the fall.  Lancastrriense Striatum is low and ground hugging with beautiful pink flowers blooming throughout the spring and summer.  It is very restrained and contained, no weaving, no mounding acting more like a groundcover.  It seems to have taken but certainly not not growing by leaps and bounds.  It is not happy!  These are both wonderful geraniums, highly recommended but not flourishing at my home.

I think it is important to note that no matter how much we think we know about plants we cannot always understand how to make them happy.  I will try again this year, or maybe they will suprise me and finally accept their new home!