Wood cranesbill is a hardy, mound-forming perennial with mauve to sky-blue summer flowers, native to woodland edges across Europe and Siberia. It thrives in reliably moist soil in partial shade in temperate gardens.
Family
Geraniaceae (Geranium family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade, Shade
Water
Keep soil reliably moist, especially in dry spells.
Soil
Fertile, moist, well-drained loam.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; suited to temperate climates.
How easy
Easy
Native range
S. Greenland, Europe to Siberia and N. Iran
Climate
temperate
About
Geranium sylvaticum, the wood cranesbill or woodland geranium, is a species of hardy flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, native to Europe and northern Turkey.
The Latin specific epithet sylvaticum means "of woodland", referring to the plant's native habitat, as does its common name "wood cranesbill".
How to grow it
G. sylvaticum is one of many Geranium species which are valued in gardens. It is suitable for cultivation in temperate climates in reliably moist, lightly shaded positions, as the name suggests. It is particularly useful for underplanting deciduous trees, roses, lilies, and other summer-flowering subjects. Various cultivars have been selected, of which 'Album' and 'Mayflower' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Uses
It is the city flower of Sheffield in the United Kingdom.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Geranium sylvaticum 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.