I am ever amazed that I found this post, which was exactly what I was looking for when I signed on. We are in a rainy spell, thankfully, I am going to go out and prune all my cranesbills immediately. They root so easily that I have them bordering my flower bed.

How do you propagate cranesbill? ALso, I have never cut mine back and they return year after year. What are the advantages of cutting them down?
Thanks,
Otter88

If you're still there otter88, the reason I cut mine back is just for cosmetic purposes. Some of them get so sprawled out and gangly looking, I like to spruce it up by cutting back. The resulting new growth looks much better. I don't have to do this to my macrorrhizum's, though.

I had to resurrect this post because I put it up almost exactly 1 year ago today. And to think that last year I thought my plant was getting long... look at them this year!

Now yes, they are very large. But I honestly do not like it. They dwarf my liriope, and the new stuff I'm putting in looks like it is in the land of the giants (see the coreopsis at the top right).

Once their first show of blooms is over with, how much do you think I can safely cut these back?? And next year, do I have to divide these or is it possible to cut them back as they're growing to keep them smaller (i.e. like mums).

I trim my cranesbill geranium back after they flower for a couple of reasons. First I hate those long seed pods and second to keep control of the size. If it's crowding your path just dig out the part you don't want. You can divide them or leave a couple of pods and collect the seeds. If you didn't cut the seed pods off last year look around and you will see plants with miniature leaves the same distinctive shape as the ones on the plant.

How far can you cut back without hurting the plant?

I think that this plant is indestructible. I have taken a sprig of it with one slim chance of a root, plunked it in the ground somewhere for the heck of it, and it grows. Mine are like weeds now with the self seeding and because I adore this plant, i can't bear to throw any part of it away. My favorite plant. The perfect flower. I want more.

I have discovered a cranesbill in a bed I'm renovating. It is very leggy with no foliage below a canopy of leaves, no flowers. I would like to move it, should I cut it back first, will it grow any more leaves this year, or survive w/o foliage til next season??

Yes, cut it back when you move it. It should soon grow new, healthy leaves and may even flower this year. Not knowing what type it is, I cannot say any more right now. Hardy geraniums are mostly very tough plants that can stand a certain amount of abuse or neglect.

Thank you! I don't know the type either, as I'm new to this yard and am still finding perennials in this area, but I'm sure about the geranium/cranesbill part. It's almost 3 feet high, trying to reach some sun. I'll try it and see what happens, can't hurt!

It's thriving and upright and some new leaves are forming!

Do cranesbill bloom all summer? I was breaking off the seed pods thinking this would make it re-flower. Am I wrong? Here in central PA mine is not a prolific bloomer like the pics I've seen here (Frank 325). I mainly wanted it for ground cover along the hillside, but it doesn't appear to bloom throughout the summer like most of my perennials.

Now it's blooming, I'm amazed, I should take some photos and post here, as I'd like some help id'ing it.

Canterbury sage, my sanguineums bloom off and on most of the summer, especially if we get lots of rain like this summer. Other types of geraniums have a very definite bloom period with no re-bloom, e.g. ger. magnificum and sylvaticum.

I cut mine back until i see the new green buds. I cut all leggy stems and cut flowers. This gives the plant energy to grow, then it will produce even more flowers