Hardy geranium ‘Biokovo’
'Biokovo' in bloom.
* Common name: Hardy geranium (cranesbill) ‘Biokovo’
* Botanical name: Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’
* What it is: A true geranium that’s a long-lived, hardy perennial flower with lacy-edged leaves and pinkish-white blooms in late spring. Leaves turn orangish-red in fall.
* Size: Grows about 1 foot tall and spreads at least 2 to 3 feet.
* Where to use: Works best as a mass planting or bed edging in sun or part shade. Also does well in dry shade and so makes an ideal groundcover under and around trees.
* Care: Shear back foliage right after bloom to keep it compact. Dig up and transplant pieces in early spring if it creeps beyond where you want it. Optional: Fertilize once in early spring with a high-phosphorus organic fertilizer such as Flower-tone.
* Great partner: Looks good with boxwoods. ‘Biokovo’s’ light-green leaves and pink-white flowers also contrast nicely with the dark leaves and deep-rose flowers of ‘Wine and Roses’ weigela.
George's front-sidewalk edging of boxwoods and geranium 'Biokovo.'
Can you possibly shed some light as to why my geranium biokovo is the same size 2 inches by 2 inches, yes thats inches.. as it was when I initially planted it 3 years ago. It get part morning sun and is under a very open smallish jap maple in moist humusy soil. I gave it what I thought to be the best location in the garden as Ive tried to grow many times over the years with no luck. Im in Georgia zone 7b 8a. Thank you in advance for any help.
Brenda,
‘Biokovo’ does very well in our Pa. climate, in a variety of soils and settings, too. I suspect it’s the difference in climate. Possibly you’re too hot… or the combination of Georgia clay, heat, and humidity?
I’d check with your local Extension office to see if others can successfully grow ‘Biokovo’ and other hardy geraniums there. And if so, if there are any peculiar challenges that you have there that we don’t have here.
Are biokovo geraniums sterile? Ours flowered in spring and were well-trafficked by bees, but the flowers never produced seeds. In contrast, I was able to harvest seeds from the wild geraniums that pop up on their own up in weedy shady corners of the yard.
Amy,
I’ve had ‘Biokovo’ geraniums pop up nearby from my original plantings, so I believe the variety does produce viable seed.
Maybe yours just isn’t producing seed yet or something happened to abort the seed-maturation (weather? animals nipped the tips?)