I'm glad you are asking this question - hardy geraniums should be such a 'good thing', but somehow they don't seem to be around here. It will be interesting to hear what people have had success with. I have "Rozanne" (not grown from seed though, of course) and it flops and is lanky. Not in enough sun, to be fair. Is it our humidity and warm nights they don't like?

It's my understanding that hardy geraniums can't take our heat and humidity. I believe it, because wild geranium (a true cranesbill) is a late winter weed here, making glorious ground cover with tiny pink blossoms in rich waste spots (and flower beds). When the weather warms, it disappears.

Nell

I have mixed results. I bought three from a nursery year before last. All of them out and out died. The ones I started from seed last winter made it through the summer ok in the ground. You couldn't say they flourished, but they grew and survived. Waiting to see what they do next year. I had a samobar that I loved. Never saw a geranium do so well the first two years. Last year it died in the middle of the summer. I went back to the nursery this year to replace it, and all of theirs had died the previous summer too. So I guess you can write off samobar. As a rule, mine have done well in the spring and languished through the summer. Except for this year's seedlings, I've stopped trying. I'll see how they do next summer, but I'm not hopeful.

Nell, I get a LOT of wild geranium, lol. A LOT.
I know that Pins grows some geranium successfully, and so do others...I just need to be able to get some started so that it self-sows in the part-shade areas of our backyard.
True enough, it's not all that fond of the combo of heat and humidity, but some gardeners have good success with moist, well draining soils.

I grow Rozanne. I think it's lanky and wildly too, but to be fair, gardeners in more northerly climates have also commented on this trait. However, if it's a bit of a weaving groundcover you need, it fits the bill.

GGG

Glynis My best hardy geranium is 'Biokovo'. You can see a pictures on my webshots. The plant has a nice compact shape, yet it blooms longest period. Next one I like is Cransbil, for it's beautiful veins, but it does not bloom as long. Rozanne comes 3rd or 4th favoriate of hardy geranium.

THANK YOU Ms. Pickle!

GGG

My favorite might be Biokovo also. Ingwersens Variety is the same except instead of white flowers they have pink.Both are easy to maintain and have unigue fragrants. I also have Beatie Crug, Tiny Monster and Brookside, all of which have a nice red color now. The only one I have thats at all dificult for me is Max Frei. And of course Rozanne is Rozanne

Good to hear about Ingwersens. I keep wondering if it would do well here. Glad to hear some of you have had success with it.

GGG, I don't have a clue what mine are but they all do great in full shade here. I've never noticed them re-seeding, but they seem to multiply nicely. How 'bout I trade ya some plants for some firewood!!!

I just love finding lost plant tags! And these have been lost for a long time....

One is called "Wargrave Pink", and the other "Bevan's Variety". The third one that I'll never find the tag to has to be very closely related to the Bevan's. Same leaves and flowers, just a different shade of pink. I give no special care to any of these and they do very well for me.