15 Reasons To Grow Borage + Ways To Use It

         Written by Elizabeth Waddington

Borage is often mentioned in organic gardening circles. It is considered by many to be a wonderful plant, which can find pride of place in many gardens. But what exactly is so great about this plant? What is borage? What are the reasons to grow it in your garden?

And how exactly should you use it in your garden (and once it is harvested)?

  Read on to find out. 

What is Borage?

Borage is the common name for Borago officinalis. It is also known as starflower.

This is an annual flowering plant. It flowers from around June right through to October in most temperate climates and grows to around two feet in height at a medium rate.

In warmer climes it may even bloom almost continuously for most of the year.

Borage is native to the Mediterranean region and has naturalized elsewhere. It grows very well in gardens across Europe and is also common in kitchen gardens across North America.

The plant is hairy all over its stems and leaves. The flowers are star-like, with five, narrow, triangular-pointed petals. These beautiful flowers are generally blue, though pink flowers are occasionally also observed, and there are also white-flowered cultivars.

The flowers are generally a deeper blue when the plants are grown in poorer soil conditions.

Borage is relatively unfussy when it comes to growing conditions.

It can cope with almost all soil types, including soils low in nutritional content. The plant can also cope with a range of soil pH levels, even very alkaline soils.

It can survive with very free-draining soils and is relatively drought tolerant. And can be grown in full sun, or light or dappled shade.

Borage is best grown from seed. Sow seeds under cover and plant them out once weather has begun to warm, or direct sow seeds where they are to grow after the last frost date in your area.

Sow once, this annual will then readily self-seed if left to its own devices.

 Why Grow Borage in Your Garden?

There are a great many reasons why you should consider growing borage in your garden. It is useful both while it is in growth, and as a crop for harvesting.

Here are just 15 reasons to grow borage in your garden:

1. Borage is an Edible Crop

One of the main reasons to grow borage in your garden is as an edible crop.

You can eat the leaves, raw or cooked, and the flowers, raw, as a garnish or in drinks. The dried stems can also be used for flavoring, and the seeds yield an oil that is particularly high in gamma-linolenic acid. 

We’ll talk a little more about how you can use borage as an edible crop a little later in this article.

Not only does it taste great, it is also a common ingredient in herbal medicine, and can be great for your health. 

A couple of caveats to mention, however: people with liver problems would be best to avoid eating these plants.

And no one should make borage a major part of their diet, as it does contain small quantities of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in tiny quantities.  That said, you will generally find that borage is a useful addition to your home-grown diet. 

2. Borage Looks Beautiful 

Wherever you choose to grow it, borage is beautiful as well as useful. Blooming over a long portion of the year, borage can bring a cheery splash of blue to your garden. Its delicate flowers stand out against a sea of green and can add to the visual amenity of your space.

They can add floral beauty to:

• Your vegetable beds or kitchen garden.
• Dedicated herb gardens.
• A fruit tree guild.
• Planting areas around fruit bushes or fruiting canes (or largely perennial polycultures).
• An ornamental bed or border in your garden.

3. It Self-Seeds Readily So Pops Up Year After Year

One of the interesting things about borage is that, even though it is an annual, it will generally, once planted, remain in your garden for years. Borage, when left to set seed, will generally self-seed very readily.

So once you have planted some in your garden, you should find that it seeds itself and pops up all around your growing areas year after year. 

While self-seeding plants are not always ideal for very neat and tidy gardeners, borage is such a useful plant that gardeners are often happy to let it naturalize around their gardens.

It is worthwhile remembering that self-seeding annuals and a good mixture of perennial plants are ideal for a low-maintenance garden. So, borage can be a great choice for those with limited time, who want to create a garden where there is less to do each year. 

4. Borage is a Dynamic Accumulator

Borage has the ability to dynamically gather nutrients from the soil. This can help reduce nutrient leaching and make sure that nutrients are gathered and stored.

Borage is said to be particularly beneficial in accumulating potassium.

While scientific evidence on dynamic accumulation is often scant, it could be worthwhile considering borage in this capacity. 

 5. So, It Can Also Be Great as Mulch

Since borage captures and stores nutrients (such as potassium) effectively from the soil, it can be beneficial when chopped and dropped around other garden plants as mulch.

Borage can be beneficial as a mulch around a range of common crops and may be particularly beneficial for flowering and fruiting plants. Mulching with organic plant material adds to the nutrients available in the soil for the uptake of other plants. It also improves the soil quality, reduces weeds, and aids in water retention. 

6. Or On The Compost Heap

As chopped plants, you can also add borage to your compost heap or other composting system. 

As a nitrogen rich green material, which is also high in potassium and other essential plant nutrients, borage can help all the materials in the heap to break down. 

Adding borage to your compost heap can also help make sure you have a nutrient-rich and well-balanced compost at the end of the process. 

7. Or When Used To Make a Liquid Fertilizer for Your Plants

Another way to use chopped borage is to make your own liquid fertilizer or liquid plant feed for your growing areas. Liquid fertilizers can be made using a range of different weeds and garden plants. They can give your crops a quick boost and help maintain fertility in your growing areas.

You can use borage alone or combine it with other weeds from your garden for a nutrient rich weed tea that provides other plants with a wider range of different nutrients. 

8. Borage Helps Break Up and Aerate the Soil

This plant’s roots have a simple structure, but the way in which they penetrate the soil can help to break it up and aerate it.  Borage, therefore, can be a good choice in regions prone to compaction. A cover crop of borage could help to improve the soil quality before other crops are grown. 

And by self-seeding prolifically, borage can help to cover areas of bare soil and fill in patches in your growing areas. The more you can cover soil, the more you will protect the fragile and essential ecosystem it contains. 

9. Borage is Great for Bees

But perhaps the most important function borage fulfils in a garden is as a boon to bees and pollinators.

We are currently in a worrying period of mass extinction. Many bee species and other pollinating insects are endangered. Without these insects, we would not be able to grow much of our food without immense effort. 

It is vital that we protect biodiversity whenever we can.

As gardeners and growers, one of the things we can do is make sure we have flowers in bloom for pollinators throughout the year. Since borage can be in bloom over such a long season, it is a particularly beneficial bee-friendly plant. Bees are also attracted to borage flowers in preference to those of many other plants.

Bees tend to be attracted to purple/ blue flowers, and the simple structure of borage flowers means that the nectar is easy for bees and other pollinators to access. 

10. So, It Also Aids in Effective Pollination

What is great for the bees is great for the gardener or grower too. By planting bee-attractant plants like borage, we can make sure that pollinators are around to pollinate our crops.

Many of the common plants we grow depend on insects for pollination. So planting borage close to those plants can make a big difference to the yields that we get. 

The pollinator attracting properties of borage are one of the main reasons why it makes such a great companion plant for a range of crops. To aid pollination, borage can be a great addition all around your property. 

11. It’s Also a Trap Crop for Aphids

But there are also other reasons why borage is such a good companion plant. One other great thing about borage is that it attracts aphids.

You may not immediately think of this as a good thing. But since it draws aphids to it, this plant can serve as a useful trap crop. Aphids will be drawn preferentially to your borage, which can keep them away from your other crops. 

12. And All Those Aphids Attract Other Beneficial Insects

Another thing to consider is that since they attract aphids and other pest species, they also attract a range of other, more beneficial insects.

Insects like ladybugs and lacewings that prey on aphids will be drawn to their food source.

And having these beneficial bugs in your garden can help maintain a balance in the garden ecosystem overall. 

13. It May Also Deter Certain Pests

While the evidence is largely anecdotal, some gardeners swear that borage can also repel or deter certain pests, such as tomato hornworm, and cabbage moths, for example.

Whether or not borage really does repel these pests, it could be worth a try planting it as a companion plant for vulnerable crops. 

Even if it does not actually repel these pests, borage will still have the other benefits mentioned on this list. 

14. Borage is Great for Birds Too

Once borage goes to seed, the seed also provides food for a range of creatures, including a number of seed-eating bird species, such as finches.

Attracting birds to your garden will help keep the ecosystem in balance, and help maintain a healthy biodiversity in your garden. 

15. Including Backyard Chickens

And wild birds are not the only creatures which could benefit. Your feathered backyard flock will also enjoy eating borage.

It can be a useful addition to your hens’ foraged diet, or can be chopped and tossed into their run to give your chickens a healthy treat. 

15. Companion Planting With Borage So, now you have a much better idea of the reasons to grow borage in your garden, let’s take a little time to explore in a little more depth how you might use it.

The first and most common way to use borage in your garden design is as a companion plant.

Borage is a common companion plant for a wide range of different fruits and vegetables. In fact, borage can be a good ‘nurse’ plant throughout your garden and works well with almost any plant.

In particular, for some of the reasons mentioned above, borage is said to be a particularly good companion plant for:

• Cabbages (and other brassicas)
• Beans
• Cucumber
• Fruit trees (and fruit bushes and canes)
• Squash
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes

For example, borage might be included as part of a polyculture with tomatoes and squash, as in the link below.

A Companion Planting Trio @ thespruce.com

Using Borage in Crop Rotation/ As a Cover Crop

Another way to incorporate borage into your garden plan is to use it as a green manure or cover crop, which gathers nutrients, protects the soil and attracts beneficial wildlife before being chopped and dropped to feed the soil ready for the next crop in rotation. 

Using Borage as an Edible Crop

Borage is such a useful plant in the garden, while growing and when harvested, that you may not immediately turn your attention to its uses elsewhere on your homestead.

But whatever else you choose to do with it, it is worthwhile keeping a few plants aside to use in your kitchen.

As mentioned above, borage can also be a useful edible crop. So how can be use it?

Here are a few examples demonstrating the different ways that the leaves and flowers can be used:

Borage Recipes

Mixed Herb Salad With Borage @ food.com.

Cucumber Salad With Borage Flowers @ allrecipes.com.

Cucumber and Borage Canapés @ growntocook.com.

Sandwiches @ food.com.

Borage Cucumber Salad Dressing @ tasteofhome.com.

Raita @ sophies-table.com.

Pasta With Borage @ eatsmarter.com.

Quiche @ ladittatrice.wordpress.com.

Borage Leaf, Pea and Mint Soup @ theseasonaltable.co.uk.

What is more, borage is also used in a number of different drinks. It is a common garnish for the UK drink ‘Pimms’ and for lemonade.

For cool cocktails in summer, you can freeze borage flowers in ice cubes then add them to your beverages.

Borage is also used to make a soothing tea.

Traditionally, borage tea is used as a herbal remedy for depression and melancholia.

In herbal medicine, an infusion is taken internally to treat fevers, chest problems and kidney problems.

It is also used in the regulation of female cycles and to promote good heart health. (Though if you plan on using herbal remedies on a regular basis, it is always best to work with a qualified herbal medicine practitioner.)

Other Uses for Borage

Borage is also used externally in herbal medicine to treat inflammatory swellings. You can make a poultice to sooth the skin.

Borage Poultice @ herbclass.com.

If the seeds are harvested, these can be used to create borage oil, which is extremely rich in gamma-linolenic acid (an essential fatty acid) also known as vitamin F. Borage oil has been shown to have a beneficial effect for those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

Borage oil can also be used in making soap, and in making a range of other skin care products. You can also simply add a few leaves or flowers to a number of other soap recipes, such as the one below:

Cucumber and Borage Soap @ thenerdyfarmwife.com.

Finally, borage flowers can be used to make a dye – either for edible recipes, or for dyeing fabric. The flowers work especially well for blue dyes when frozen.

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to give borage some space in your garden. So why not get some seeds and plant some in your garden! 

Verticillium Wilt, a Soil Pathogen

Verticillium wilt is a soil-borne pathogen that affects 300+ plant species. The name is derived from two types of fungus: Verticillium albo-atrum and Verticillium dahliae. Trees, crops and woody ornamentals can all succumb to this devastating fungal disease. Plants affected with verticillium wilt may decline or die. Annual plants often die quickly, while large trees may experience a slow decline over several years. In Idaho we commonly see verticillium wilt affect maple and ash trees, elderberry, lilac, viburnum, roses, tomatoes, potatoes, mint and peppers, just to name a few. It is also an important disease in Idaho potato production and landscape trees.

This fungus starts in the soil and infects plant roots. It then spreads through the plant’s vascular system, affecting the xylem and its ability to take up water and transport nutrients. The fungus survives in the soil as tiny resting structures (microsclerotia), which can persist for many years, even without a host plant.

Symptoms The infection is marked by sudden wilting of branches, often on one side of the plant. Other common symptoms include faded green or yellowing foliage, browning leaf edges, and stunted growth. You will eventually see dieback in branches.

During periods of heat or drought stress, symptoms often become more noticeable. Plants may wilt even when soil moisture is adequate.

If you cut open a branch of an infected plant, you may notice dark staining following the wood grain—an indicator of vascular involvement.

Quick identification tips:

• Wilting on only one side of the plant or branch
• Yellowing or browning leaves
• Branch dieback
• Dark streaking in the sapwood

Note: Verticillium wilt can be confused with drought stress, herbicide damage, or other diseases such as Fusarium wilt. A laboratory diagnosis is sometimes needed for confirmation.

How Does it Spread? Verticillium wilt is primarily spread through contaminated soil and plant material. The fungus moves when infested soil is transported on tools, shoes, plant roots, or transplants. It can also spread through root contact between plants and by moving soil with water runoff or equipment. The disease is rarely spread aboveground. Insects such as aphids may stress plants or create wounds, but they are not considered a primary means of spreading this disease.

How to Manage Verticillium Wilt In most cases, it is best to remove infected plants, as there is no cure once a plant is infected. If there is limited dieback in tree branches, a certified arborist may be able to prune out affected wood. If you remove affected branches, be sure to clean your pruners between cuts to avoid spreading contaminated soil or plant material.

You can sanitize tools with a 10% bleach solution (1 part household bleach to 9 parts water). Keep in mind bleach solutions lose effectiveness over time and can be corrosive to tools, so rinse and dry tools after use.

Verticillium can remain in the soil for many years, so replanting requires careful plant selection. Choose plant species that are resistant or less susceptible to verticillium wilt.

Crop rotation for 3–5 years may help reduce disease pressure, especially in vegetable gardens, but it may not eliminate the fungus due to its long survival in soil.

Additional management tips:

• Avoid planting highly susceptible species in infested areas
• Rotate with non-host plants such as grasses when possible
• Maintain healthy soil and proper irrigation—stressed plants are more susceptible
• Avoid damaging roots during planting or cultivation
• Remove and dispose of infected plant material (do not compost unless at high temperatures)

For vegetables like tomatoes, look for resistant varieties labeled “V” or “VFN.”

Sweet Scent, Strong Vines: A Guide to Growing Honeysuckle

Trumpet Honeysuckle

Looking to charm the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds?  Honeysuckle is perfect for you.  With its sweet scent, vibrant blooms and easy-going nature Honeysuckle is a garden favorite.  There are about 180 identified species that are characterized by long, trumpet-shaped flowers in bright red, orange and yellow colors, most with yellow centers. 

Heaven Scent Honeysuckle

 

Native Honeysuckles are an essential food source for many Lepidoptera species.  In addition to providing nectar and pollen, the plants are critical larval hosts for species like the Snowberry Clear Wing Moth, which mimics the look of a giant bumble bee. 

Two popular varieties are the Trumpet Honeysuckle and the Heaven Scent Honeysuckle.  Beware of the invasive Japanese Honeysuckle.

The 'Trumpet Honeysuckle' (Sempervirens) or 'Coral' Honeysuckle is known for its brilliant red to orange trumpet flowers that bloom profusely from Spring into Summer.  The foliage is bluish-green and slightly leathery.  This plant is not only decorative but also non-invasive, making it a favorite among native plant growers. However, it is non-fragrant, sadly!!                                       

The 'Heaven Scent' Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum is a deciduous vine loved for its highly fragrant, creamy pink and yellow flowers that open in midsummer and continue through early Fall.  Its blooms are very fragrant in the evening making it an interesting addition near patios or walkways.  The green foliage provides a dense backdrop, and red berries may follow the flowers.  It also serves as a host plant for the larvae of the Admiral butterfly and the Twenty-Plume moth.   

Goldflame Honeysuckle

While not a native, ‘Goldflame Honeysuckle’ (Lonicera × heckrottii) is a cultivated hybrid that provides many benefits similar to natives. It is non-invasive, produces highly fragrant, nectar-rich flowers that are excellent for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.

Honeysuckles are susceptible to powdery mildew, aphids, scale insects and caterpillars. Honeysuckle aphids are small grey-green colored.  They feed on new growth, causing leaves to curl and twigs to form stunted “witch’s brooms” (clustered deformed twigs). They are particularly damaging to Tatarian Honeysuckle.  

Aphids are often managed by natural predators, but if they return yearly, apply insecticidal soap.  Pruning and on occasion, chemical intervention may be required to save the plant. 

Honeysuckles will grow in light shade and full sun.  You are likely to get more blooms if  you plant in a location with 6 hours of sunshine per day and most varieties are hardy to USDA Zones 4-9. 

Resources:

https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/vines-in-the-landscape-goldflame-honeysuckle

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/lonicera-sempervirens

Why Are My New Plants Struggling? It Might Be the Soil.

Every spring, gardeners add fresh compost, topsoil, or raised bed mix and expect their new plants to thrive. Instead, plants may wilt, grow slowly, or struggle to establish despite regular watering.

Before reaching for fertilizer, consider a common issue with newly installed soil: it may not be fully hydrated. When very dry, some soil mixes can become hydrophobic, meaning they repel water rather than absorb it.

New Soil Can Be Hard to Wet

Many soil blends contain peat moss, compost, bark fines, or coconut coir. When these materials become very dry during storage or transport, they can resist water instead of absorbing it.

Gardeners may notice water pooling on the surface, running off the bed, or disappearing quickly while parts of the soil remain dry.

The soil isn't necessarily poor quality—it may simply need time to rehydrate.

Infiltration vs. Retention

A common misunderstanding is confusing water infiltration with water retention.

Infiltration is how water enters the soil.

Retention is how well the soil holds that water for plant roots.

A bed may appear to take water because it disappears from the surface, but water can move through cracks or channels in dry soil without fully wetting the root zone. For plants to thrive, soil must both absorb water and hold it where roots can use it.

Rewetting Takes Time

One of the biggest surprises for gardeners is how long it can take to fully hydrate a new bed.

A couple of waterings may not be enough. Depending on the soil mix and how dry it was, it can take several days—or even a week or more—of repeated irrigation to evenly moisten the entire bed. 

The goal is not simply to wet the surface. The goal is to hydrate the entire root zone.

Why New Plants May Struggle

Plants growing in partially hydrated soil often show signs of stress even when watered regularly.

Common symptoms include:

• Wilting during warm afternoons

• Slow or stalled growth

• Yellowing leaves

• Blossom drop on vegetables

• Uneven growth across the bed

The soil surface may appear damp while just a few inches below remains dry. Young transplants are especially vulnerable because their roots are still small and concentrated near the planting hole.

Check Below the Surface

A soil moisture meter can help identify dry pockets that aren't visible from above. However, newly filled beds with coarse compost, bark, or large air spaces can sometimes produce inconsistent readings.

The best method is still to dig down a few inches with a trowel and feel the soil with your hand. Ideally, it should feel cool and slightly moist throughout the root zone, not dry and dusty below the surface.

Give the Soil Time to Catch Up

Water slowly, water repeatedly, and check moisture below the surface. Once the soil is evenly moist, apply mulch to help retain that moisture.

Many struggling transplants don't need more fertilizer—they need soil that can absorb and hold water consistently.

Sometimes the healthiest thing you can do for a new garden isn't feed the plants—it's help the soil learn to hold a drink.

Who Sneezed on the Tomatoes? What Treasure Valley Gardeners Should Know About Plant Viruses

If you've gardened in the Treasure Valley for very long, chances are you've seen a tomato plant suddenly stop growing, develop curled leaves, and never recover. While insects, weather, and nutrient issues often get the blame, sometimes the culprit is a plant virus.

Plant viruses are not as common as fungal diseases, but they do occur in Idaho gardens. Unlike fungal diseases, plant viruses cannot be cured once a plant becomes infected. Understanding how they spread can help gardeners recognize problems early and make informed decisions.

One common misconception is that plant viruses come from the soil. In reality, most plant viruses do not survive freely in garden soil. Instead, they persist in infected plants, weeds, volunteer seedlings, perennial hosts, or occasionally seed. Insects then move the virus from one plant to another.

One of the most common viral diseases in the Treasure Valley is Beet Curly Top Virus (BCTV). It is spread by the beet leafhopper, an insect that migrates from weedy and rangeland areas into gardens and agricultural fields. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, potatoes, squash, and beets can all be affected. Symptoms often include upward leaf curling, thickened leaves, stunted growth, yellowing, and poor fruit production. Unfortunately, once a plant develops curly top, there is no cure.

Other viral diseases found in Idaho gardens include Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV), Tomato Mosaic Virus (ToMV), and Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV). These viruses can affect vegetables, flowers, and weeds. Symptoms may include mottled or "mosaic" patterns on leaves, leaf distortion, yellowing, reduced vigor, and stunted growth.

One challenge with diagnosing viral diseases is that many other problems can look similar. Herbicide drift, nutrient deficiencies, environmental stress, insect feeding, and even natural genetic variation can sometimes mimic virus damage. A plant with curled or mottled leaves does not automatically have a viral disease.

Viruses are commonly spread by insects such as aphids and leafhoppers. An aphid may feed briefly on an infected weed, pick up virus particles, and then transfer them while feeding on a healthy garden plant. In some cases, transmission can occur in just a few seconds.

Because viruses are spread by insect vectors, gardeners may occasionally see viral diseases even in gardens filled with beneficial insects. Lacewings, lady beetles, spiders, assassin bugs, and other predators help reduce pest populations, but they cannot always prevent a virus from being transmitted before the insect is eaten.

So what should a gardener do if a viral disease is suspected?

First, take a closer look before removing a plant. Not every unusual symptom is caused by a virus. If the diagnosis is uncertain and the plant is otherwise healthy, monitor it closely while watching for additional symptoms. However, if growth becomes severely stunted, symptoms worsen, or a viral disease is strongly suspected, removing the plant is often the best course of action.

Finally, practice good Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Manage weeds that may serve as virus reservoirs, encourage beneficial insects, keep tools clean, and maintain healthy growing conditions.

Most importantly, remember that not every odd-looking plant has a virus. Careful observation, patience, and a healthy dose of curiosity remain some of the gardener's most valuable tools.

Fire Blight: Recognizing and Managing a Common Fruit Tree Disease

If you grow apples, pears, crabapples, quince, or hawthorn in the Treasure Valley, fire blight is a disease worth watching for. Caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, fire blight is one of the most destructive diseases affecting pome fruits and many ornamental plants in the rose family.

Fire blight affects apple, pear, crabapple, quince, hawthorn, cotoneaster, pyracantha, and mountain ash. While apples and pears often receive the most attention, many homeowners first notice the disease on ornamental landscape plants.

The bacterium survives the winter in cankers—sunken, infected areas on branches and trunks. As temperatures warm in spring, bacteria become active and may ooze from these cankers as sticky, amber-colored droplets. Insects attracted to the ooze can carry the bacteria to open blossoms. Rain, heavy dew, and splashing water can also spread the disease.

Infection is most common during bloom when temperatures are warm and moisture is present. One of the earliest signs is the characteristic "shepherd's crook," where young shoot tips wilt and bend over. Blossoms may turn brown or black and appear scorched. Leaves often remain attached to infected shoots, giving the tree a burned appearance. As the disease progresses, it can move into larger branches and form cankers. If a canker develops on the trunk or rootstock, it may girdle and kill the entire tree.

Prevention is the best defense against fire blight. When planting new fruit trees, select varieties and rootstocks with documented fire blight resistance whenever possible. Avoid excessive nitrogen fertilizer applications, which encourage lush, succulent growth that is more susceptible to infection. Proper spacing, pruning, and weed management can improve air circulation and help reduce humidity around trees.

Pruning is an important management tool. During the dormant season, remove old cankers and infected branches. Once fire blight is detected during the growing season, prune out infected shoots 12 to 18 inches below visible symptoms. Avoid pruning during wet weather, as bacteria can be spread by tools and splashing water. Severely infected young trees may need to be removed entirely.

Chemical controls are available but must be properly timed. Commercial growers may use antibiotic sprays during bloom when infection risk is high. Homeowners may have access to copper-based products labeled for fire blight suppression. Always read and follow label directions and apply products only according to label instructions.

Monitoring weather conditions and local fire blight forecasts can help determine when infection risk is greatest and when management practices will be most effective.

Spotlight on Hardy Geraniums

Geraniums often bring visions of Grandma’s garden with their robust, scented foliage and dazzling flower heads. These geraniums are annuals for most regions and belong to a separate genus in the Geranium family known as Pelargoniums. Today, however, we are going to take a look at another type of perennial geranium in the same plant family known as hardy geraniums or cranesbills.

Max Frei Bloody Cranesbil first bloom of the season

Hardy geraniums come in a variety of growth habits, flower color and bloom time.  They can be hardy for zones 5-81.  Geranium flowers have 5 sepals, 5 petals and stamens in groups of 52.  Some are long season repeat bloomers while others give a flush of blooms once a season.  The leaves are lobed and can have varying degrees of dissection between cultivars.   Some cultivars have foliage that turns a beautiful red color in the fall, extending their season of interest.   

Rozanne Geranium using Gaura as a support

One of the best known varieties of cranesbill geranium is Rozanne with its purple-blue flowers.   Rozanne is a vigorous perennial that plays well with other plants, using them as support as it winds and weaves its way around. It has a growth spread of up to 3 feet3 but can be sheared back to rejuvenate if it begins to appear leggy. It blooms from late spring through autumn.   

In contrast to its more vigorous
growing cousin, Max Frei Bloody cranesbill grows in a tidy, mounding clump of 12-18 inches with small bright magenta flowers against its rich green foliage. A perfect front-of-the-border perennial.   The foliage turns brilliant red in the fall extending its season of interest.  

There are also varieties of hardy geraniums that have deep dark foliage such as midnight ghost with its chocolatey brown leaves, wine colored stems and white flowers.  In all, there are around 300 different cultivars4 of hardy geraniums and many of the lesser known varieties can be purchased online as bareroot plants.  They are wonderful plants that can add a pop of color to a garden or be used in a mass planting for ground cover.  

1. Cranesbill, Hardy Geranium

https://extension.illinois.edu/flowers/cranesbill-hardy-geranium

2. The Genus Geranium:  https://canr.udel.edu/udbg/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2024/02/Geranium-Featured-Plant-Article.pdf

3. Geranium ‘Rozanne’ the 2008 Perennial of the Year

https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/yardandgarden/geranium-rozanne-the-2008-perennial-of-the-year/

4. Hardy Geraniums for Northern Gardens

https://www.chicagobotanic.org/downloads/planteval_notes/no22_geraniums.pdf