Cranesbill

Cranesbill is the common name for the true hardy geraniums which are daintily flowered perennials which lazily flop, sprawl, and spread themselves around in every self respecting cottage garden. These should not be confused with the brightly coloured pelargoniums grown for summer pots and bedding which are more commonly called geraniums although both do belong to the same family. These flowers are known as cranesbills because of their long beak shaped fruits which split and shoot out the seeds. Hardy geraniums are, generally speaking, very tough plants. They are not affected by pests or ... more

Cranesbill's are the true geranium's not the plants grown as houseplants which are in fact pelargoniums , but are often called geraniums. A lot of people mistakenly call pelargoniums wrongly . I myself was guilty of this as a youngster learning about plants and even today not everyone believes me when I say that the houseplant flowering on your windowsill is a pelargonium when they are convinced otherwise! Cranesbill's are an outdoor hardy perennial that will tolerate most conditions and still provide a good show. In fact in gardening terms they are known as a real good doer! They are ideal ... more

I love the Cranesbill plant, which is just another name for a Geranium. They are good self-seeders and I have a lovely specimen in my back garden in the border. I can see it when I wash my dishes and look out of the kitchen window or when I sit in my conservatory out the back I can look straight onto it and I find it does look very pretty indeed. There are different sorts of varieties of Cranesbill and I do love the one I have in my garden and I have had it for many years now and it is still thriving, I find. My Cranesbill grows to about 60cm high now because it has fully grown. During the ... more

I have been tidying up my garden a little and pulled out a few cranesbills. Cranesbill is another word for geranium. The Cranesbills I am really thinking of when I say Cranesbill are a wild geranium. The word geranium comes from the Greek word for Crane. There are many cranesbills, doves foot meadow cranesbill wood cranesbill. It is sometimes difficult to decide which species they are. Closely related are the Erodiums the storks bill and heron bill. There are many garden varieties of cranesbills they are bigger and bolder flowers. But I love the delicate little wild cranesbills The cranesbills ... more

I recently did a course where the tutor was crazy about hardy Geraniums or Cranesbills which I thought was rather strange until she gave me some cuttings and I was hooked. There are loads to choose from and they flower for months on end, indeed the little cutting I was given flowered from May until late September and the flowers covered the plant. They come in several shades of pink, blue, mauve and white and many are semi evergreen. Geraniums can be propogated easily by division in spring or autumn and grow in most soils except waterlogged and in sun or light shade. In my opinion some of the ... more