Zone: 4 to 8
Soil: Sand to loam
Light: part sun to shade
Bloom colour: Pink to purple
Bloom period: Late spring
Height: 12 - 24 inches
Moisture: moist in spring
Attracts: Bees, butterflies
Notes: Wild geranium is native to Eastern half of Canada and the United States. It can be found in woodlands and along the woodland edge. It flowers for a few weeks in late spring when many other plants have yet to emerge. This plant is good for the front of a shady border where it should be planted en masse to show off its beautiful flowers and to attract pollinators.
This plant can be grown in full sun, but the soil needs to be loamy and moist to keep the leaves in good condition. This plant does well in a variety of soils in shady conditions. As long as it receives plenty of moisture during the spring, the vegetation will continue to look good throughout the summer even if the conditions are drier later on. It spreads slowly by reseeding and does not become invasive.
The bloom is fairly heavy for a spring flowering plant and attracts a variety of bees including bumblebees. The flowers tend to mature over a few days with anthers developing before stigmas to encourage cross-pollination. The wild geraniums sold in regular nurseries are usually not native so make sure you are getting the native species and not a flower from Europe.
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