Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety'

Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety': Magenta Carpet Where Nothing Else Grows

'Bevan's Variety' takes the jobs nobody else will touch. Dry shade under a maple? Done. Deep magenta flowers, scented leaves and fall colour that hangs around into winter. THE OVERACHIEVER OF THE BACK FORTY.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety'
• Common Name: Big Root Geranium, Bigroot Cranesbill
• Height: 20–30 cm (8–12 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Deep magenta with prominent stamens, held in clusters above the leaves
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to July)
• Foliage: Soft, lobed, strongly aromatic leaves that turn red and orange in fall and often hold on into winter
• Features: Rabbit resistant, tolerates dry shade

Where to Plant: This is the plant for the hard spots: under shade trees, along shady paths, on slopes, or anywhere you need a dense, weed-smothering carpet. It spreads by thick surface rhizomes but stays easy to pull back, and it copes with clay as long as water doesn't pool.

Companion Plants: Carex 'Blue Zinger' gives this magenta geranium a fine-textured partner, and like the geranium it handles sun or shade. Liriope 'Big Blue' adds lavender spikes in August and September, long after the geranium has finished. Place Astilbe 'Heart and Soul' behind for pink plumes from July to September at 75 cm. Together they cover the season from May into fall.

Plant Care: Plant in sun to shade, in average, well-drained soil. It does best with some moisture, but once established it handles dry shade better than almost any perennial. Give it extra afternoon shade in a hot, dry site. Water regularly through the first season. After that, it rarely needs help. No deadheading needed. Trim old or tattered leaves in early spring. To share or control it, lift pieces of rhizome in spring or fall and replant. They root easily.

History: Big-root geranium grows wild in the south-eastern Alps and the Balkans, and macrorrhizum means big root, after its thick, fleshy rhizomes. The leaves are rich in fragrant oil, and in Bulgaria the plant is known as zdravets and distilled for that scent.

Final Thoughts: Plant a drift under the trees and watch the deer and rabbits sulk. It stays on duty long after the party's over. OVERTIME, NO PAY, NO COMPLAINTS.