I have two Midnight Reiters and they are blooming their heads off right now. Very reliable, not sprawlers, very well behaved. They bloom for a long time and great color.
Mine are somewhat shaded with filtered ligh and they keep their dark color....love them alot!

I have a Midnight Reiter str. plant that starts out quite dark but does eventually turn to a very dark green with a wine tinge. Its a well behaved plant, forms about a 2' mound. I have just purchased G. pratense 'Black Beauty' the foliage on this one is a dark purple almost black, I kid you not. It is supposed to make a 2' mound too. I hope its foliage stays as dark as it is now, it's really striking.

A......

I'm glad to hear about Midnight Reiter. I bought it last year when it came out, but the deer ate it almost immediately. And with 3 dogs? They don't usually come near my house. Hmm... maybe it was voles, but they usually leave the foliage.

Anyway, These all look pretty gorgeous, don't they?

What's your experience with sun exposure?
Christine

aftermidnight - "Black Beauty" sounds fantastic from what I've read, but I can't find it anywherre near me. Did you order it online? If not, can I sign up for a small division from yours next year?

I'd gladly share with you but we've got that dang border between us. I got mine from Fraser's Thimble Farms on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Some of their plants are a little pricey but I've never been disappointed with anything I've bought there.
They will send to the states, priority post. Below is a link that might be of some help. When importing plants it helps if several get together to share the expenses.

A......

Here is a link that might be useful: Good source for the more unusual...

Thanks aftermidnight - I checked the Thimbler Farm's website and with shipping and everything the one plant would cost me over $50!! I dont' see anything else that they sell that I'm interested in that I can't get locally, so I can't even spread that cost over multiple plants. I gues I'll have to do wihtout it :(

I just added 2 Victor Reiter Jr. this spring (so far, so good), I think I may have had a Midnight Reiter last year, but I was not careful about labeling. One geranium that is dark, if not black, is 'Espresso', I have 3, underplanted in containers w/ Jmaples, & they are thriving, they grew so tall, the blooms were right under the JM leaves...

I have 'Midnight Reiter.' I've had it for about four years now, and it's never really increased or bloomed, but it does live. Since I bought it as a tiny, tiny start with only about three leaves, that means it has no presence whatsoever in my garden. If I were to do it all over again, and I'm not sure I would, I'd try harder to find a decent-sized plant to start with--preferably locally, where I could actually see the plant I was buying. On a positive note, the leaves emerge very dark and stay that way (pretty much indistinguishable from the soil from a distance of more than 18 inches).

I have tried this plant twice and it is failing again. It is planted right next to another geranium that is happy and jumping all over the place. Is there special requirements for the black varieties? It gets 8 hours of afternoon sun and well drained soil. I believe the variety is black beauty.