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low growing dwarf sized geranium?
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Posted by tmac96 Z5, OH (My Page) on Fri, Jun 3, 05 at 19:32
| At my old apartment, I had three different geraniums growing: Johnson's Blue, Rozanne, and Max Frie. While the Rozanne bloomed the longest (into fall), I found it's growth to be a bit leggy and out of control. I liked the tidy, smaller mound of Max Frie better. Now that I have moved, I would like to have more geraniums like it. I am having a really hard time finding Max Frie though. Can anyone recommend another geranium that is similar?
Also, I am thinking of planting these down my driveway with hostas. Good idea or not? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: low growing dwarf sized geranium?
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| When I read the title, I immediately thought of Max Frei, LOL! I see you are having trouble finding it. I picked up two last summer in June at Home Depot (I know it was June because I had my son in May and did zero shopping until June). Anyway, I think they were $5 or $6 a gallon, and boy were they worth it. I almost shovel pruned last year because they didn't bloom at all, but I moved them this spring to a new spot and they are quite happy. I have Max in an east facing bed mulched with rock next to a black fountain that holds a lot of heat. They get a few hours of morning sun and seem to be liking this new location. I hope you can find some. I think they would be very pretty planted with hostas but not sure??? the hostas would thrive next to a concrete driveway due to the heat it would retain. You would definately need a hosta that could tolerate a few hours of sun that Max would need. What direction does your driveway face and how many hours of sun is it getting? Patricia |
RE: low growing dwarf sized geranium?
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G.sanguineum var.striatum stays low and tidy for us, but that may only be because of our short growing season. It has a few blooms on it all summer long.
Leo |
RE: low growing dwarf sized geranium?
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| Hmmmm, maybe hostas wouldn't be best. My driveway faces NE. There are no trees in my front yard or my neighbors so there is little shade. The driveway gets sun pretty much all day. Do you think this will be too much such for geraniums? |
RE: low growing dwarf sized geranium?
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My Max Frei gets morning sun from the east of the house. He has self seeded quite a bit, which I love. Another small one I have in a similar spot is sanguineum Shepherd's warning, which has also selfseeded. It is a lighter colored magenta.
Then there is one that used to be called Lancasterese, but has had it's name changed, possibly dalmaticum? can't remember. Slightly different type of leaves but still very short.
I have ordered this year another mini called "tiny monster" which is suposed to have a longer blooming season, but it still hasn't gotten here.
Some of the thicker leaved yellow hostas might tolerate the sun, but I'm just experimenting this year with growing them in sun so can't give advice on that, except that the blue hostas like sun the least. A few years ago I tried Blue Moon in the sun garden, on the shadier side of a bed, but it didn't like it and lost the good blue color, had to move it back to the shade. This year I am trying yellow and yellow & green variegations in the sunny beds. |
RE: low growing dwarf sized geranium?
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- Posted by Mozart2 Zone 5 Michigan (My Page) on
Sun, Oct 23, 05 at 21:34
| tmac96: This afternoon, I stopped by a rural garden center started up by a lovely and enthusiastic garden to see what she had left to sell this fall, to check out her supply of "Northern" or "Island" Sea Oats, etc., and my eye wandered to a small pot of Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei'. While "Max" was no longer in bloom, it was the fall foliage color that attracted my eye and I inquire about it. When I arrived home, I made use of my favorite gardening search tool located with the Missouri Botanical Garden web site. You find some information on Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei' at the link below and, if you explore this page a bit, you also find that they have "our sources" (local) for those gardeners living in the greater St. Louis area as well as "online" sources for the rest of us. http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=B466 For your future endeavors, I have placed the link to their PlantFinder search page below. I have no doubts that you and others will find this site to be an excellent source of information. Best wishes in your gardening endeavors. Bill |
Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Botanical Garden - PlantFinder - Search
RE: low growing dwarf sized geranium?
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| Geranium cantabrigiense (x) 'Biokovo' stays about 12 inches high, form a tight compact mound which slowly grows bigger over time - white/pink with prominent purply pink stamens, fairly short bloom time for me beginning in June Geranium cinereum 'Splendens', Grayleaf cranesbill, 6 inches tall, darkish leaves, hot pink color, starts blooming closer to July, has rebloomed some for me. |
RE: low growing dwarf sized geranium?
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| No, hostas and geraniums don't mix. Hostas prefer shade, and geraniums, for the most part prefer sun. |
RE: low growing dwarf sized geranium?
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- Posted by gata z4 NH (My Page) on
Tue, Jun 26, 07 at 19:34
| Some nice little geraniums, I've found, are 'Ballerina' and 'Purple Pillow'. Also beautiful is G. renardii. None of these are sprawly in my experience. |
RE: low growing dwarf sized geranium?
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| G. 'Visions' has stayed in a tight small mound, also Midnight Reuter is slower growing and tighter than several others I have growing. I agree the G. cantabrigiense (x) 'Biokovo' is another great candidate. |
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