Common Name: Wild Geranium
Family: Geraniaceae
Native Range: Eastern and central United States.
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 12 to 36”
Spread: 12 to 18”
Bloom Time: April to May
Bloom Description: Pale pink, deep pink, lilac
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Attracts: Bees, flies, beetles, butterflies
Larger bees, like bumbles and mason bees are the most effective pollinators of Wild geranium because they when they reach for the nectar the pollen coats the underside of their abdomen as they work. Smaller bees, like carpenter bees are able to circle the base of the stamens and feed on the nectar without coming into contact with the anthers above where the pollen is. Wild geranium flowers are over one inch in width and extremely showy and attractive to pollinators and the dark lines on the flowers act as nectar guides which guide the pollinators to the location of its nectaries.
Wild geranium is easily grown in well drained medium moist soil in full sun to partial shade. It does best in rich humus, but can tolerate poor soil as well. In the best conditions it can naturalize. Deadheading is tedious and probably unnecessary since these plants usually do not repeat bloom. The foliage can turn yellow in overly hot summers if the soil is allowed to become too dry. It has a clumping habit and is often found in the wild in wooded areas, thickets and shaded roadsides all over the Midwest and Eastern US. The flowers are saucer shaped and face upward with 5 petals. It flowers for about 6 to 8 weeks. The leaves are deeply cut, palmate with 5 lobes, and are a dark green sometimes as large as 6 inches across. When the petals drop on a spent bloom they form beaked seed capsules that look like a crane; hence the common name of crane’s bill.
Horticultural and Pollinator information from:
Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finders
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c850
Restoring the Landscape
http://www.restoringthelandscape.com/2013/03/wild-geranium-pollinators-floral.html
Family: Geraniaceae
Native Range: Eastern and central United States.
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 12 to 36”
Spread: 12 to 18”
Bloom Time: April to May
Bloom Description: Pale pink, deep pink, lilac
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Attracts: Bees, flies, beetles, butterflies
Larger bees, like bumbles and mason bees are the most effective pollinators of Wild geranium because they when they reach for the nectar the pollen coats the underside of their abdomen as they work. Smaller bees, like carpenter bees are able to circle the base of the stamens and feed on the nectar without coming into contact with the anthers above where the pollen is. Wild geranium flowers are over one inch in width and extremely showy and attractive to pollinators and the dark lines on the flowers act as nectar guides which guide the pollinators to the location of its nectaries.
Wild geranium is easily grown in well drained medium moist soil in full sun to partial shade. It does best in rich humus, but can tolerate poor soil as well. In the best conditions it can naturalize. Deadheading is tedious and probably unnecessary since these plants usually do not repeat bloom. The foliage can turn yellow in overly hot summers if the soil is allowed to become too dry. It has a clumping habit and is often found in the wild in wooded areas, thickets and shaded roadsides all over the Midwest and Eastern US. The flowers are saucer shaped and face upward with 5 petals. It flowers for about 6 to 8 weeks. The leaves are deeply cut, palmate with 5 lobes, and are a dark green sometimes as large as 6 inches across. When the petals drop on a spent bloom they form beaked seed capsules that look like a crane; hence the common name of crane’s bill.
Horticultural and Pollinator information from:
Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finders
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c850
Restoring the Landscape
http://www.restoringthelandscape.com/2013/03/wild-geranium-pollinators-floral.html