‘Blushing Turtle’ Hardy Geranium Brings a Long Bloom to the Garden
Warm pink flowers adorn the easy-to-grow ‘Blushing Turtle’ hardy geranium, which can serve as a ground cover or filler in sunny gardens.
'Blushing Turtle' hardy geranium has a low, mounded and spreading habit that makes it a nice filler plant or ground cover. This low-maintenance perennial offers a long show of pretty pink flowers above small, maple-like foliage.
Common name: 'Blushing Turtle' hardy geranium, cranesbill
Botanical name: Geranium 'Blushing Turtle'
Origin: 'Blushing Turtle' is a hybrid of Geranium sanguineum and one other species or hybrid. It was bred by Karin Kosick in British Columbia, Canada, and selected for its vigorous growth, long flowering period and growth habit. It was introduced in the early 2000s.
Flowers: Warm pink flowers marked with magenta veins appear in profusion from spring into summer, or even into autumn in cooler climates. Trimming the plant as flowering wanes can bring about another, lighter round of blossoms.
Foliage: Small, finely lobed green leaves in a medium green color. These densely cover the stems to make a solid mass of foliage. The leaves take on red tones in the fall.
Size and habit: It reaches 18 to 20 inches tall and can slowly spread 24 to 36 inches wide, with a mounding shape that may suggest a turtle shell.
Related: For earlier bloom and more shade tolerance, try the North American native Geranium maculatum.
Growing 'Blushing Turtle' hardy geranium
Exposure: Full sun to part shade
How to grow it: Grow 'Blushing Turtle' in full sun or part shade and average soil with good drainage. Keep the soil moderately moist while the plant is establishing. Thereafter it can take short periods of drought. This plant is a strong grower that responds well to trimming if it begins to outgrow its space. USDA Zones 5–8.
