SG551: Robin Parer and The Plant Lovers Guide to Hardy Geraniums

Your nursery is named Geraniaceae. How do you help folks pronounce it?

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What’s the best part of owning and operating your own nursery for 33 years?

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Do you have a busy season or do you grow year-round and sell year-round?

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People get confused when talking about geraniums, because the term is applied to many different plants. How did the whole mess with terminology in the geranium family happen?

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First, let’s talk about the plants most people think of as geraniums, but are actually pelargoniums. Let’s try and help the audience determine what is a pelargonium.

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So, the focus of this interview is on the hardy geraniums. Why did you decide to go with the hardy ones?

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The true hardy geraniums would be great in native gardens, right?

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Why are geraniums called crane’s-bills or stork’s-bills?

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In one of my favorite gardening blogs, Per Joy, the author Joy wrote a great post about hardy geraniums. In it, she wrote something that I’d like to get your reaction to, “I have found that sometimes,  when I suggest a specific type of Geranium on a client’s planting plan, during the planning stage of a garden design, I get the feedback;” I don’t really like geraniums” . They are inevitably thinking of their Grandma’s clay pot of orangey-red mop heads, and are simply looking for something different for their own garden.” Thoughts?

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Geraniums are truly versatile plants, and they’re survivors too aren’t they?

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I listened to a recent interview that you gave with Jennifer Jewell. You said that hardy geraniums appeal to gardeners who subscribe to the belief that it’s a sin to have any bare ground in the garden. How do hardy geraniums play a role in the garden and in garden design?

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I have a friend and the minute her johnson’s blue geranium is done blooming, she cuts it to the ground. Does that hurt the plant?

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Now, your book features great garden designers, but you also get a lot of feedback from your customers. It’s sort of like citizen science results. What are some of the standout stories that you’ve heard from your customers?

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Your book divides hardy geraniums into 9 categories. The first is Rock Gardens & Containers. What are some of your customer favorites from this category? 

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The second category was Ground Covers. I love these. I thought geranium macrorrhizum would be great for a Northern gardener. Thoughts?

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The other thing I’m curious about is the rigorousness of these ground covers. What is in your regard some of the more rigorous hardy geraniums?

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Shade was your next category. I loved this section. However, you’re not talking about having completely no sun for these hardy geraniums, right?

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Jen McGuinness from Frau Zinnie asks if there’s any shade hardy geranium that she can grow underneath her black walnut tree.

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The next section is called Scramblers & Crawlers. The one that caught my eye was called Jester’s Jacket. Tell us a little bit about this.

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After the geraniums are done blooming, you’re left with a lot of foliage. What are some of the standout leafs that look appealing in the garden?

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The fifth section is called Borders & Beds. I love the simple geranium joy in this section. It’s so innocent!

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I have to ask you too. There’s the geranium delmatican, what’s the origin of that name?

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There’s a section devoted to Tuberous-Rooted Species and I had such a difficult time embracing these guys. They seem very finicky. I had no idea these existed.

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The 7th category was for Annuals and Biennials. I also didn’t know there were Biennials! Do you get a lot of demand for these?

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Well, the last two categories are for the North American and South American species. Drawing from both of these categories, what geraniums stand out the most to you?

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Can hardy geraniums be used as cut flowers? Do they make a good cut flower?

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Let’s talk about propagation before we close the show.

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Are these true geraniums endangered?

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