Geranium tuberosum
Tuberous geranium
- Height × spread
- 0.35m × 0.3m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Flowers
- Spring
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This is a strange little plant with overall rounded leaves which are deeply dissected so they form an intricate fretwork. Small starry rosy-purple flowers come in May. They have five separate petals with a notch at the centre of each. There are darker stripes on the petal surface and the colour pales towards the petal centre. Then the foliage disappears for the rest of the year though it may surprise by turning up in parts of the garden it wasn't planted in. This reaches around 30cm (12in) height with equivalent spread.
- Flower colour
- Purple
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Bell
- Height
- 0.35m
- Spread
- 0.3m
- Season of interest
- Spring
- Flowers in
- Spring
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Small scale garden, Gravel garden, Cottage garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun, tolerates part shade, tolerates light shade
- Soil type
- Chalk, Gravelly soil, Loam (normal), Poor soil, Sandy soil
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Well drained soil
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Bee attraction
- Maintenance
- Easycare – low/no maintenance
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed with slow release fertiliser
Apply a general purpose slow release fertiliser, spreading it around the root area of the plant as it is coming into growth. (Or apply a liquid feed at regular intervals throughout the growing season.)
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost as a single annual procedure.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water during dry periods
For plants in the ground, when there has been little or no rain for a period of 7-10 days and the soil is dry, give it a deep watering and repeat weekly until there is a downpour of rain. Check plants in pots more frequently, especially in hot weather.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Divide when too large
The plant can be divided if it becomes too large or another plant is required. This may involve physically dividing the clump in two, removing offsets or small bulbs or dividing rhizomes. The new plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground.
Spring-Autumn · Planting
Remove dead leaves
When leaves die they can carefully be detached or cut off at their base to improve the overall appearance of the plant. Be careful not to damage the main stems during this process.
Planting & general
Planting
Deadhead blooms during flowering season
Remove flowers as they turn brown and fade. Snip the stem just below the bloom. This will keep the plant tidy and encourage more flowers.
The removal of spent flowers encourages the plant to produce fresh ones, rather than spend its energy on the development of seeds.