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Madiera cranesbill

Geranium maderense

Also called Giant Herb Robert, Madeira Cranesbill, Madeira Island Geranium

Madiera cranesbill
Photo: Hedwig Storch, CC BY-SA 3.0

Giant herb-Robert, a large mound-forming evergreen biennial or triennial from Madeira, reaching 120 to 150 cm with ferny leaves and pink summer flowers. It is best grown in a mild, frost-free or coastal spot with good drainage.

Family
Geraniaceae (Geranium family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade, Full sun
Water
Water regularly during growth, letting the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings, and avoid waterlogging.
Soil
Well-drained, moderately fertile soil or loam with added grit.
Temperature
Mild conditions; hardy to about −5 °C in mild or coastal areas, protect in colder regions.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Madeira (N. facing rocky areas)
Climate
subtropical

About

Geranium maderense, known as giant herb-Robert or the Madeira cranesbill, is a species of flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, native to the island of Madeira. It is sometimes confused with another Madeira endemic, Geranium palmatum.

Growing to 120–150 cm (47–59 in) tall and wide, it is a mound-forming evergreen biennial or triennial with deeply divided ferny leaves. Spectacular pink flowers on hairy red stems are produced in large panicles in summer. It is grown as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, where it is hardy in mild or coastal areas down to −5 °C (23 °F). It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Other Geranium plants

Geranium albanum · Geranium aristatum · Geranium asphodeloides · Geranium cinereum · Geranium clarkei · Dalmatian Crane's Bill · Endres's cranesbill · Himalayan Crane's Bill · Iberian geranium · Hardy geranium · Spotted geranium · Knotted Crane's Bill

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Geranium maderense by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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