Geranium Rozanne: 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year

Feb 19

Geranium Rozanne: 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year

Each year since 1990 Perennial Plant Association members have nominated plants for promotion as a Perennial Plant of the Year. Those nominations are narrowed down to 4 choices and then all PPA members vote. Usually the selections will be lower maintenance, grow in many zones, and be a dependable contributor to a perennial garden. I can only think of one, veronica “Sunny Border Blue”, that was a poor performer in my area. Talking to a rep at Willoway nursery in Columbus about Sunny Border Blue’s award he agreed with “yeah… shouldn’t a perennial of the year survive an Ohio winter?” But, 2008’s selection, Geranium Rozanne does look like a winner with repeat blooms of violet-blue flowers that persist with the healthy foliage all summer. Rozzane’s large 2 inch plus saucer shaped keep coming through the heat of summer. It’s Rozanne’s heat tolerance that really makes it a standout among perennial geraniums. They are vigorous enough you may use them as a ground cover, yet they have a mounding habit that is not invasive.

Crane’s Bill

The perennial species of geranium have the common name of Cranes Bill, though I only know this from books and catalogs. Gardeners I know just call them by their cultivar name, or geranium, or ground cover geranium or perennial geranium or…pretty blue flowers. the name Crane’s Bill comes from the shape of the seed pod. And yes, just to cover all the name bases…annual geraniums are actually pelargonium with the common name of geranium. This plant was discovered in Somerset England 1989 by Donald and Rozanne Waterer. Two blue hardy Geraniums grew as neighbors in their garden, Geramium himalayense, normally flowering in early June and Geranium wallichianum ‘Buxton’s Variety’, which usually starts in late July or August. Yet the insects had a chance one summer to cross pollinate the 2 and Rozanne collected and planted the resulting seeds. The best of the lot the next year were the long blooming verdant plant that was named Rozanne.

Plant it This Year!

Not only is this plant great for a summer blooming groundcover, but it will perform well in containers like for patio pots, window boxes and hanging baskets. It can handle the heat better than other geranium, but will still do best if water as needed in summer heat…and especially in containers that may dry out. Moist organic soils will promote spread. Tolerates summer heat better when given ample moisture and partial shade. Plants can be sheared to 3″ to rejuvenate. Rarely needs division.