Ashy cranesbill

Ashy cranesbill: how do you recognise it?

Habit

A low, compact rosette or cushion, 10–15 cm tall and 25–30 cm wide.

Leaves

Small, rounded in outline and deeply cut into five to seven lobes; grey-green and slightly hairy.

Flowers

Cup-shaped, about 2.5 cm across, pale pink to pink with dark veins, from May to August.

Fruit

A beak-shaped fruit that flings out its seed when ripe.

Roots

A sturdy rootstock; the plant slowly widens but does not run.

Flowering: May–August · Plants: March–April and September–October

Why grow it?

• A long flowering season from May to August, on a plant barely 15 cm tall.
• Grey-green, finely cut leaves that look good even without flowers.
• Drought-tolerant: ideal for a rock garden, gravel garden, trough or wall.
• Bees and hoverflies visit the open, cup-shaped flowers.
• Little work: no pruning and no staking.

Ashy cranesbill: where does it grow best?

• Full sun: the sunnier the spot, the more flowers.
• Sandy or loamy soil, neutral to chalky, preferably with plenty of grit or stone chippings.
• Dry, very free-draining soil; wet roots in winter are fatal.
• Ideal in a rock garden, between stones, on a wall or in a trough.
• Plant 25–30 cm apart.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand or loam

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Dry

Size

0.15 m tall, 0.3 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -25 °C)

Goes well with

• Houseleek: Little rosettes that grow between the stones in the same dry, sunny spot.
• Creeping thyme: A fragrant mat between stones, also a good bee plant.
• Pinks: Grey leaves and pink flowers that echo the cranesbill.
• Blue fescue: Blue-grey tufts as a calm contrast in the gravel garden.

Ashy cranesbill: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and September–October.

1. Plant in March–April or September–October.
2. Lighten heavy soil with coarse sand and grit, or plant on a raised spot.
3. Dig a hole slightly larger than the root ball and set the plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, no deeper.
4. Space plants 25–30 cm apart.
5. Water straight away, then only in dry weather until it has established.
6. Spread a thin layer of grit around the base to keep the rosette dry.

Care

Watering

Rarely needed once established; only in long dry spells in a pot or trough.

Feeding

Not needed. Poor soil gives a more compact plant with more flowers.

Grit

A thin layer of grit keeps the rosette dry and prevents rot.

Spent flowers

Snip or pinch them off: it will flower for longer.

Rejuvenating

After a few years the centre sometimes goes bare; divide the plant in spring.

Tip: Plant it between stones or in a gravel bed in full sun: a dry, warm root run is the secret of a long flowering season.

Ashy cranesbill: when to prune it?

When: No pruning is needed. You can remove spent flowers in summer and clear dead leaves in spring.

How:

• Snip off spent flower stalks in summer: it will flower for longer.
• In March, remove dead, brown leaves from the rosette.
• If the plant looks untidy after the first flush, cut the long, spent flower stems back to the foliage.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Division

In March–April: lift the plant and carefully divide it into pieces, each with part of the rootstock and a rosette.

Cuttings

In spring, take cuttings of young shoots at the base with a piece of rootstock and insert them in sandy cutting compost.

Seed

Possible in spring in a pot, but cultivars do not come true from seed.

Ashy cranesbill: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• Hardy to about −25 °C: Belgian frosts are no problem.
• Wet winters are the main danger: make sure drainage is excellent.
• In a trough or pot: during wet spells, move it against a wall or under an overhang so it stays dry.
• Most of the foliage dies back in winter; it reshoots in spring.

Diseases and pests

• Root rot: Yellow leaves and a rotting base after a wet winter. Replant it higher up in gritty soil.
• Slugs: They eat young leaves in spring. Pick them off and spread sharp grit around the plant.
• Vine weevil: In pots and troughs the grubs eat the roots and the plant wilts. Use nematodes against vine weevil in late summer.
• Few flowers: Too much shade or soil that is too rich. Move it to a sunny, poor spot.

Through the year

• March: Remove dead leaves. Plant or divide.
• April: Plant. Take cuttings.
• May: Flowering begins. Bees on the flowers.
• June: Full flower. Remove spent flowers.
• July: Flowering. Remove long, spent flower stems.
• August: Last flowers. Water plants in pots in dry weather.
• September: Plant.
• October: Plant. Top up the grit around the base.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• Geranium comes from the Greek geranos, crane: the long, beak-shaped fruit resembles the bill of that bird, hence the name cranesbill.
• Cinereum means ‘ash-grey’ and refers to the grey-green leaves.
• The ‘geraniums’ in window boxes are actually pelargoniums, a different genus in the same family.