PlantFiles: Bloody Cranesbill, Hardy Geranium
Geranium sanguineum

One of my favorite plants, in zone 7-8, it is very self-sufficient. I only water during the worst of summer heat. Blooms early summer, has a nice mounded growth habit. Has tolerated being overrun, first by Blue Star Creeper and another time by Vinca Minor. Volunteers are easy to transplant. Color is intense.

Cranesbill is always welcome in my garden. I've had them in various gardens and all have seemed to survive even the toughest conditions. The ones I'm tending now in good conditions are thriving. They bloom profusely and give a nice display just after the daffodils and tulips of early spring fade. Not only are they long-blooming but they continue to rebloom sporadically throughout the summer and into the fall. The first bloom is the best, but any rebloom is, of course, welcome!

Although I don't believe deadheading promotes rebloom, I tend to groom my cranesbill a bit from time to time to keep it tidy and compact. Cranesbill also gives my garden a flush of fall color when its foliage turns a deep ruby red.

Nice clump, can get a little scraggley in late summer so it gets trimmed then.

We enjoy this perennial alot as the folliage is springy and is good ground cover. It repeated blooms throughout the growing season,(more dense blooms in the spring). The blooms are almost iradescent.

I have a couple of blooms on this one in December--much to my surprise--in Zone 7. I've had the plants (grown from seed) for three or four years and have enjoyed watching them grow in partial shade among tree roots. Interestingly,
some of the plants are now quite red, while others (including the one with blooms)are a strong, dark green.

Profusely blooming during early to mid-summer. Flowers are cup-shaped, red/purple with dark veins - measuring 1-2 inches across. The long, slender beak-like fruit gives Cranesbill geranium its common name. Plant in well-drained soil and provide afternoon shade, especially in hottest climates.