Hey Christin! Yes! Four thumbs up for 'Cooky'! Thank you again for the seeds. I absolutely love this plant. Just yesterday I was working out in the beds and it is still putting out blooms. And with the still fresh green foliage I decided it is going to become my go-to groundcover.

My seedlings of 'Flames of Passion' went up in flames.
This year I picked up 'Totally Tangerine' and so far that is a winner too. Taller and a blooming powerhouse in quite a shady spot.

I too really like the seedheads of 'Prarie Smoke'.

Thanks for introducing me to Geum! I wish more nurseries would stock it. I rarely see it offered in local nurseries.

Thanks so much. This is fantastic.

-arisonn, you are welcome!

-Susan, glad the seeds did well for you. I forget, did you start them under your grow light, or was it from the WS method? Nice to know the seed produced good offspring too- I was wondering if they would be as floriferous second generation.

Your name will be on a chunk of my 'FOP' next time I get around to dividing it! Love this one. Hard to believe I picked it up at an ACE hardware, lol.

That is interesting Geum aren't as prevalent in your nurseries over there. Another GWebber (Lisa I think?) mentioned the same thing and she lives one state over. Strange!

Hopefully everyone will comment more next year on 'Totally Tangerine' and how it makes it thru the winter. I looked it up on that free patens online site and it said it was a cross between an unpatented species of rivale and G. chiloense 'Mrs. Bradshaw'. It will be interesting to see if the rivale makes it less finicky with wet winters.
CMK

This post was edited by christinmk on Mon, Nov 11, 13 at 18:22

Gorgeous! I had never put much thought into this genus. Purchased 'Fireball' and one other this year on autopilot and they survived the summer but we shall see how they overwinter. Thank you for giving me things to add to my Christmas list!

Those are such beautiful and interesting plants! I believe that many of these are not hardy in my zone, but I'd have fun trying and could also provide winter protection.

Terrance

-Terrance, you might need to double check, but I do believe G. triflorum is hardy to zone 3 and rivale to 2/3? I'm not sure if any of the interspecific hybrid crosses with G. rivale would be hardy for you (maybe in a protected site, like you said), but I bet the plain rivale and cultivars like 'Coppertone' sure would be!

-Karolina, hopefully I make a Geum-ophile out of you ;-) Then we can have fun compareing notes, lol.
CMK

This post was edited by christinmk on Mon, Nov 11, 13 at 23:34

CMK, I should further check into these. I don't know what selection I had grown years ago and had lost in its first winter, though such could have occurred during one of our rare snowless winters. Yes, come to think of it, a native species does grow here .... so, I might have better success than thought.

I'm content to admire other people's geums. I wouldn't plant them here because yellow avens (a wild Geum) is a weed in my garden. I'm not sure why it keeps coming back because it only spreads by seeds and I remove every plant I can find. The seeds are probably coming in on the coats of the local wildlife. If I tried to plant a cultivated Geum, I'd undoubtedly rip it out at some point, thinking it was the weed one!

It's always so nice to see something actually growing in someones garden instead of just the online photos or catalog photos and the real-life narrative from experience just makes it all the better. So thank you for this post.

I've stayed away from Geum thinking they might be too fussy for me, but maybe I have to reconsider that notion. From what I see here, there's a lot to love about these.

To boot, you also made me realize I already grow one - Geum triflorum which I adore. In fact, last summer I spent some time dividing a big clump of these and moving them all over the garden to see how adaptable they might be.

Kevin

-woodyoak, it took me awhile to rid myself of the G. macrophyllum too. It was so darn difficult to keep tabs on their bloom/seed production. The flowers aren't showy in the least (or even very noticeable) so it's not like they were waving some big colorful flower flag saying "I'm blooming over here!! I'll be making seeds soon!". Lol. You are right, those seeds are like Velcro!

-Kevin, on the whole they are pretty easy. The only issues they have is the need for good draining soil and semi-frequent division. It depends on the cultivar too. Some I practically divide every 3 years while others can go much longer.
CMK

Christin do you have a blog? You should, this would (and is) an awesome post for it.....
Great pictures and information! Thanks :)

-kato, thanks! ;-) I've thought a few times about starting a blog. Last winter I toyed with the idea of starting one on 'blogger' (seemed a fairly easy format- which is good since I am challenged in the computer department, lol).

I'd just worry no one would find it interesting enough to read, LOL. ;-) But maybe it is something I should give another thought to...
CMK

This post was edited by christinmk on Tue, Nov 12, 13 at 21:12

I winter sowed 'Blazing Sunset' several years ago and divided the plants this spring. In previous years they bloomed sporadically after the first flush. Also have grown prarie smoke geum for several years.

This spring I winter sowed 'Cooky' from traded seeds but haven't planted them out as wanted to see how orange they are and wondering where to plant them as I have mostly pink, purple, and white flowers. Any suggestions? Three plants went to my sister's garden and I have 4 or five left. May take a couple to our Mn GW spring swap.

I'd love to add some more varieties. Had fun looking at some UK sites with their many choices.

-mnwsgal, that's cool Blazing Sunset has lasted so long for you. Do you normally have wet winters/springs or not so much?

At one point I had my 'Cooky' planted with Euphorbia dulchis 'Chameleon' and Ajuga and it was a nice combo. Then the Chameleon and Ajuga started to get out of control (reseeding and spreading) so I ripped them out. Too bad, I liked that the blue of the Ajuga cooled down that fiery orange...maybe pairing yours with blue/purple would help too?

{{gwi:282055}}

A new combo from this spring with Euphorbia polychroma/epithymoides 'First Blush'. Not bad, though maybe a bit too garish....
CMK

re blogging - I think it's more fun to participate on a forum like this where there are wide-ranging discussions with lots of people. Blogs seem to be more of a monologue in that there is usually not much back-and-forth between the blogger and the readers. I have a blog site but I only use it to hold my garden maintenance manual (which is also a record of the garden and its changes each year). I also have a Picturetrail account to hold pictures for posting to forums etc. It is organized into albums for each garden area organized in a time sequence. So, different sites have different purposes. I hope we don't lose you from the conversations here if you decide to add blogging to your suite of on-line activities!

-woodyoak, thanks so much for your input on blogging!

That was another slight concern on my part- how much time blogging might suck away from doing other things. It's not so much of an issue in winter when my time is my own, but in spring/summer things are hectic at the nursery and then I have my own garden to contend with on my day(s) off.

I wouldn't want blogging to be a time-sucker! Lol. Especially if it meant taking away from actually gardening.

Not to worry! I have too much fun talking plants with you guys to ever leave the forums ;-D
CMK

'Blazing Sunset' geums are in my mailbox red bed. We generally have frozen ground all winter with with good snow cover. This bed gets covered with a huge pile of snow from cleaning the driveway. That pile is there until March and melts slowly. I checked the divisions today which look nicely sized after a summers growth.

Thanks for the suggestion to plant 'Cooky' with blue bloomers to tone down the orange. For years I gave away orange bloomers but decided last spring that it is time to add some punch to my mostly pastel gardens.

For the first time in my new little garden, I tried a geum this year. I stuck to that old stalwart Mrs Bradshaw to see how it liked it here. I was very pleased with the result.
It started flowering in early May and was still flowering in the heat of late July.
They were very small plants when I planted them. I wasn't even sure that they would flower at all in the first year, but flower they did.
A self seeded Lychnis coronaria flowered with them, which meant I needed my sunglasses on when looking at them!

{{gwi:282057}}

{{gwi:282058}}

I have ordered Geum Rubin and Firestorm to try. They should be arriving next week.
Unlike you Christinmk, here in the Mediterranean Sea, I will be sticking to those geums with some chiloense in their heritage. I grew Geum rivale and coccineum hybrids when I lived in England and loved them. It was great seeing your photos. Do you have any more we can enjoy?
Daisy

Thanks for this post. Like Kevin, I treasure the information given by other gardeners from hands-on experience and like seeing what the plants look like in a real garden.

I stayed away from these for a long time because of hardiness issues, but I did plant prairie smoke a couple of years ago. It is struggling a bit, whether due to voles, too much moisture or too rich soil, I am not sure. With our warmer winters and some hardier varieties than Mrs. Bradshaw, I think I have some additional choices I can try.

I saw T2D's this spring, and it is good to know it is still blooming. I really like the color of hers and the way the flowers stand above the foliage.

I think I'll have to look into getting some of these, particularly the coccineum x rivale hybrids.

-Daisy, I bet that purple sage of yours was a nice combo with the red Geum! That's about the extent of my Geum pics...but next year I'll try and get more. Maybe a few from further back...

-nhbabs, glad you found it helpful ;-) That's why GW is so valuable- it gives us a place to share REAL info and not have to rely on skewed catalog blurbs!
CMK

Wonderfully organized post CMK. I have learned a lot.

This year I picked up 'Totally Tangerine' and so far that is a winner too. Taller and a blooming powerhouse

I agree with this for sure. Quite tall when including the flowers and very floriferous. (I did not know that it could be productive in more shade...good to know).

I guess I was under the impression that this geum (all geums?) would rebloom after that initial spring flush? But my TT has never done this.

(I have provided a link which does include a picture of mine from a couple of summers ago)

Here is a link that might be useful: My Tangerine from 2012

Beautiful photos. No success with any except for one that is totally wonderful for me. Geum boresii or 'King Boris' was introduced here over 20 years ago. All the other wonderful sorts never get to the next year. And its foliage is evergreen. Cannot say if the others are from my experience and would have to look that info. up.

I planted a Mrs. Bradshaw Geum from a nursery this spring. It was very slow-growing, although it did reach 12" tall. It has never bloomed which is hugely disappointing. Is this normal for the first year? It is planted in full sun with good, well-drained soil. Any tips or information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi - thanks so much for your post. I never knew there were so many kinds of Geum! I got a few divisions at a local plant sale. They were just labeled "Geum" so I don't know what kind they are. They have orange flowers - about 2 feet tall - in the early summer. Now, in late August, they have dried seed heads. I didn't deadhead because I leave the seeds for the birds. I was told these were native to my NY area so I assumed native birds would enjoy the seeds. Now I would like to harvest some seeds to try to winter sow. I can't tell if there are any seeds left! Nothing looks like an obvious seed - just a lot of chaff. Can you describe the seed or post a photo so I know what I'm looking for? Thanks so much.

hi there and welcome. Just google "geum seeds" and then look at "images", that will give you some visual samples.

Hi dear friends, do you know where can I buy Geum reptans seed or flowers..I live in turkey and eBay does'nt ship here and I couldn't buy from Etsy because my country does not allow PayPal method..

Please help me..

Campanula UK Z8 Thanks in advance but I'm afraid they've ran out of that supply..:-(

Boo hoo, I can't see any of those apparently wonderful Geum photos that came via Photobucket. Instead of photos it says I need to upgrade to third party hosting. Am I the only one that is too cheap to pay?