Re: Cutting back Geranium "Johnson's Blue/Palace Purple
- To:
- Subject: Re: Cutting back Geranium "Johnson's Blue/Palace Purple
- From: R* C*
- Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 16:49:30 -0400
Leslie: First of all, you can cut back your Geranium "Johnson's Blue". I
cut mine back every year to about 50% of it's height after it finishes
blooming. If you do that it will rebloom, not as heavily as the first time,
but quite signifigantly. You can in fact cut back all the hardy geraniums I
have tried. One local gardener told me that with the shorter varieties like
G. sanguineum he just runs them over with his lawn mower while cutting the
grass (although he has his blade set high when he does it). Now for the bad
news. You and I don't have G. "Johnson's Blue". "Johnson's Blue" is
supposedly sterile, and only about 18" tall. Judging by your description
your plant is much taller, closer to 30", like mine, and inclined to flop.
It is also not sterile, since my beds are now covered in seedlings, many of
which are now blooming in a lovely blue (although I have quite a few
sangineums blooming too). I think they are probably G. pratense, the meadow
cranesbill, which is an admirable plant except for it's tendency to flop.
I have Palace Purple as well, and it is growing in full sun in my main
border. It did very little the first two years, and I thought it might
disappear one winter. This year it is much larger, and seems to have
decided that the two of them will be permanent residents. I am not that
impressed with the flowers in any case-if it never flowered I would be just
as happy. I grow several of the green varieties around it and they have
been blooming well. It is my understanding that the darker leafed varieties
are happier in part shade, and perhaps the flowers are a bit more attractive
in the dimmer light. You might want to move it to a shadier spot and see
how it does, but it seems to me it is just a slow starter in strong light.
Mine don't get any additional water, because we have a dug well that doesn't
permit such luxuries. This may be a contributing factorin their having been
slow starters.
Bob Campbell
USDA 4 (rapidly turning into 5)
southern Ontario.
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