Tennessee ecotype
Duration: Perennial, ephemeral
Habit: Low, clumpingSize: <1-2 ft. tall/wide
Blooks: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul
Habitat: Moist to dry woods, dappled meadows, forest edgesMoisture: Moist to average, well draining
Light: Shade to part sunSoils: Loamy
Uses: woodland garden, shade garden, rain garden, front of border
Geranium maculatum (Wild geranium)
Also known as spotted cranesbill. Wild geranium prefers rich, damp soil high in organic matter common of deciduous forests. It grows in dappled sun and light shade, making it a great woodland, shade, or forest edge species. Commonly found in undisturbed wooded areas in the wild alongside wild ephemerals such as bellwort, bloodroot, mayapple, and trilliums.
Wild geranium prefers soils high in organic matter for the best growth, but does well in average moisture. It does not tolerate high clay content, so soil should be very well and widely amended with organic matter if it is being planted in such a site. Brighter light means heavier pink-lavender blooms, which peak in May and June, and sporadically through the rest of the season.
While not a true ephemeral, wild geranium may go dormant and die back in severe drought and heat stress. It returns with ample moisture, or in the next season by its thick webbed rhizomes, which can be dug up and easily divided in fall. Can be done in or early spring, but expect few to no blooms.
Bumblebees, solitary bees, syrphid flies, ants and beetles pollinate the pink to lavender five petalled flowers. Wild geranium blooms are a food source for a rare specialist pollinator bee, the Cranesbill Miner (Andrena distans), which can only survive by using this species.
Geraniums are also an important larval host plant for several species of butterflies and moths.