Geranium 'Boom Chocolatta'

Geranium 'Boom Chocolatta': Bronze Leaves Topped With Blue-Purple Blooms

Dark chocolate leaves with blue-purple flowers on top. It's dessert, and it's zero calories. 'Boom Chocolatta' is the only treat in the garden the deer and rabbits won't touch. MORE FOR US.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Geranium pratense 'Boom Chocolatta'
• Common Name: Hardy Geranium, Meadow Cranesbill
• Series: A Proven Winners® perennial
• Height: 61–66 cm (24–26 in)
• Spread: 71–76 cm (28–30 in)
• Flowers: Blue-purple, saucer-shaped, held over the top of the foliage
• Bloom Time: Early summer to late summer (June to August)
• Foliage: Deeply divided, dark bronze leaves on an upright, mounded habit
• Features: Rabbit resistant, tolerates short dry spells once established

Where to Plant: Use it mid-border, in a cottage garden, massed along a bed edge, or as the tall centrepiece in a big container. It handles cold winters and doesn't mind neutral to alkaline soil.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Boom Chocolatta' in a sunny or part-shade bed where its dark leaves and blue flowers sit beside cherry and pale yellow. Tradescantia 'Little Doll' adds lavender-blue spiderwort at 25 to 30 cm from June to August. Paeonia 'Claire de Lune' opens pale yellow single peonies at 70 to 90 cm in May and June. Monarda Sugar Buzz® 'Cherry Pops' brings cherry-red bee balm at 50 cm in July and August. Miscanthus 'Purpurascens' rises behind at 120 to 180 cm, turning red-orange in fall.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun, in average to fertile, well-drained soil. Water regularly through the first season. After that, average moisture keeps it happiest, though it can handle a short dry spell. Cut the plant back after its first big bloom. Fresh leaves fill in quickly and more flowers usually follow. Clean up old foliage in late fall or early spring. Divide every few years in spring or early fall if the clump gets crowded.

History: 'Boom Chocolatta' joined the Proven Winners® perennial line, introduced through Walters Gardens in Michigan, around 2022. Its species, Geranium pratense, is the meadow cranesbill of Europe and Asia, named for its long, beak-shaped seed pods.

Final Thoughts: Plant it next to something gold and watch the contrast go off like fireworks. The bees will be first in line. NO SPOON REQUIRED.