Sun: Full to Partial
Size: 2' tall x 3' wide
Blooms: Spring to Summer

Native to large swathes of the US Mountain West, this tough and drought-tolerant geranium inhabits pine forests and woodland edges. It blooms continuously mid-Spring to mid-Summer, sending up a sprawling, many-branched flower stalk. A rosette of evergreen foliage typically persists through the winter.

Sun: Partial to Shade
Size: 2' tall x 2' wide
Blooms: Spring

Bigroot Cranesbill is named for its large, succulent rhizomes that grow above the soil surface. It slowly spreads to forms dense, weed-suppressing colonies, even in dry shade. The leaves produce a pine- or lemon-scented aromatic oil which makes the plants highly distasteful to rabbits. This geranium is very tough and easy to grow.

Sun: Partial to Shade
Size: 2' tall x 2' wide
Blooms: Spring

Wild Cranesbill is a woodland wildflower native to Nebraska and loved for its showy, pinkish-purple saucer-shaped flowers. Thriving in partial to full shade, it can tolerate full sun in moist soils. This species is highly attractive to solitary bees, bumblebees, and butterflies, and serves as a larval host for the White-Marked Tussock Moth.

Sun: Full to Partial
Size: 2' tall x 2' wide
Blooms: Spring to Summer

Geranium palustre prefers consistently moist or even damp soils, such as near a pond or other boggy garden site. It also makes a perfect candidate for a rain garden. Marsh Cranesbill blooms in vibrant shades of mid-pink to cerise with flowers borne in pairs on its wandering stems. 

Sun: Full to Partial
Size: 2' tall x 2' wide
Blooms: Summer

Meadow Cranesbill is a vigorous, clump-forming perennial native to the meadows and grasslands of Europe and the UK. Its finely-cut, deeply-lobed leaves form a dramatic mound up to 24 inches tall. Many cultivars of varying colors are commercially available, but the natural form sports soft, clear blue flowers with light veining. This species is very easy to grow in our Nebraska climate.

Sun: Full to Partial
Size: 2' tall x 2' wide
Blooms: Spring to Summer

One of the best hardy geraniums for a sunny site. Bloody Cranesbill is drought-tolerant and very cold hardy. Its finely-dissected foliage adds soft texture to the garden. This plant is very easy to grow and spreads slowly through creeping underground rhizomes. True to its name, its foliage turns blood red in autumn. Like all geraniums, it is very attractive to bees.

Sun: Partial
Size: 2' tall x 2' wide
Blooms: Spring to Summer

A rare and captivating species native to Japan and South Korea, Geranium shikokianum makes an excellent ground cover for shaded or semi-shaded areas. This bushy plant forms compact clumps of deeply-cut, marbled leaves. Its rose-pink, funnel-shaped flowers feature a prominent white eye and intricate light purple veins.

Sun: Partial to Shade
Size: 1' tall x 2' wide
Blooms: Summer to Fall

This charming, low-growing geranium sports distinctive variegated foliage, an irregular mosaic of cream, white, and various shades of green.  Younger leaves are often tinged with pink, particularly in cooler weather. Its trailing stems spread over a foot or more, producing small, pale pink flowers. It has a prolific self-seeding tendency with seedlings displaying unique patterns of variegation.

Sun: Partial
Size: 2' tall x 2' wide
Blooms: Spring

Sticky Geranium forms a mound of deeply divided leaves and produces a profusion of magenta, saucer-shaped flowers in early Spring. The plant is covered in distinctive sticky glandular hairs on its leaves and stems. These can dissolve and absorb nitrogen from insects trapped on its surface, classifying the plant as protocarnivorous. 

Sun: Partial
Size: 2' tall x 3' wide
Blooms: Summer to Fall

Native to the damp grasslands of eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and northeastern China, Siberian Cranesbill forms a low mound with long trailing stems. Its velvety foliage is among the best of all geraniums, taking on brilliant shades of red, orange, and golden yellow in fall. This vibrant autumn display rivals the foliage of many deciduous shrubs.

Sun: Partial to Shade
Size: 1' tall x 2' wide
Blooms: Spring

‘Biokovo’ is a vigorous, semi-evergreen, mat-forming perennial, renowned for its delicate yet profuse floral display and year-round ornamental appeal. This cultivar was discoverd in the Biokovo Mountains of Croatia as a naturally occurring hybrid of G. dalmaticum and G. macrorrhizum. Its scented foliage makes it highly resistant to rabbits. It is also the winner of the 2015 PPA Perennial Plant of the Year.

Sun: Partial to Shade
Size: 1' tall x 2' wide
Blooms: Spring

‘Karmina’ is prized for its vibrant flowers, aromatic foliage, and adaptability. This low-growing, mat-forming perennial reaches a height of 6-10 inches and is an excellent ground cover, quickly forming a dense, spreading carpet. From late spring to midsummer, it produces an abundance of lilac-pink flowers, emerging from deep red buds. The leaves are aromatic and are distasteful to rabbits.

Sun: Partial
Size: 2' tall x 3' wide
Blooms: Summer to Fall

Renowned for its striking violet-blue flowers and bright foliage, this cultivar forms a low spreading mound. The leaves emerge amber-yellow in spring, gradually transitioning to chartreuse by summer, with red highlights appearing in autumn. Its resilience, sprawling habit, and long-flowering period have earned it an Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

Sun: Full to Partial
Size: 1' tall x 3' wide
Blooms: Summer to Fall

Named after British geranium enthusiast Dilys Davis, its vibrant flowers and vigorous growth habit have earned it the prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM). A hybrid between G. sanguineum and G. procurrens, this low-sprawling geranium forms a profusion of bright magenta flowers deep purple veins and eyes. It blooms nonstop from midsummer until the first frost.

(Photo credit Hardy Plant Society)