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christinmk

my little Geum obsession....

'Arisonn' asked me to comment a bit further on the Geum I've tried over the years. Prepare yourselves folks! Are you comfortable? Got a hot beverage and comfy chair? I'm long winded about my favorite genera ;-) Don't say I didn't warn you, LOL.

Geum coccineum 'Borisii' (occasionally seen written as Geum borisii, which is wrong)- fair grower. Stands a bit taller than my 'Cooky' and has darker orange flowers.

Geum coccineum 'Cooky'- super vigorous and uber floriferous! This is a very low grower- probably not much taller than six inches when in bloom. Nice spreading habit too. I've noticed in recent years that this one still performs well even if it doesn't get regular division. It probably will soon, but it's nice to find a Geum that can go a bit longer. I sent seed of this one to my good GW bud and she was duly impressed with the offspring. So two (four?) thumbs up for this cultivar.

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Geum x 'Coppertone'- this is a rivale cultivar. This is my second time trying it. I killed it first time around without much trouble. It seems to be a weak thing, although it might not care much for the semi-arid weather over here. If it doesn't like the new situation I put it in (an area out front that the Geums excel in, what with the sandy soil) than I will try it in a damper/semi-shady area. The rivale species like it moist. Hence the name 'Water Avens' I imagine, LOL!!

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Geum x 'Cosmopolitain'- from the 'Cocktail Series'. Only just got this fellow in the summer, so the jury is still out. Seems to be a tough cookie though- it survived a few days of severe neglect!

Geum x 'Fireball'- a quellyon (formerly chiloense) hybrid I believe. This is probably the only chiloense I've had long-term luck with. The first few years it surpassed expectations. Then the spot became a bit too shady for it and it dwindled. I've put starts of it elsewhere, but so far I haven't been able to get it as big and robust as it got in that first location. One observation- it is very tall and the double orange flowers seem to weigh the stems down a lot. In some locations this can cause some major flopping, in others it seems to hold itself upright okay. It does best to plant this near things that can prop it up a smidge. 'Firestorm' is a new-ish improvement of 'Fireball' that supposedly is more compact and less leggy. Flowers are darker orange than appear in my pic...

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Geum x 'Flames of Passion'- could be my favorite. It is a rivale hybrid (x coccineum??) selected by the great Piet Oudolf. Wonderful upright habit with slightly nodding flowers on dark stems. Exceptionally vigorous bloomer. Doesn't mind drying out too much- perhaps that is where it's coccineum heritage shines through?

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flowers against 'Touch of Class' Jacob's ladder
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Geum quellyon 'Lady Strathden'- semi-double yellow flowers. This one put up a greater fight for life than some of my other chiloense cultivars did. Seed strain. Think mine is dead now...not terribly distraught about this, LOL.

Geum x 'Mai Tai'- from the 'Cocktail Series'. According to this site free patents online it is a hybrid cross betweeen 'Mango Lassi' and 'Flames of Passion'. Got this last year, but am quite impressed with it already. It's not even in a very nice spot either. If it declines in this location (crap soil with a dash of crap soil) I might move it elsewhere. So far it shows the wonderful vigor of 'Flames of Passion'. Peachy-apricot color with darker pink highlights. As the blooms age they take on a more of a pinkish hue.

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Geum coccineum 'Mango Lassi'- Golden orange with darker orange highlights. Not sure what's gone wrong with this guy in recently. First couple years it did well and had a good amount of flowers. Last few years it hasn't produced much flowers, even with division. I've put extra starts around and those haven't done much either. Good foliage growth but not much else. It could need fertilizer to do well, though it seems strange since my other Geum go without (excepting the few odd handfulls of compost when I get around to amending the beds, which isn't often!).

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Geum triflorum- "Old Man's Wiskers"/ "Prairie Smoke". An outstanding native Geum that (surprise, surprise!) is native to prairies, lol. Honestly, it doesn't really resemble other Geum at all. It's hard to describe the flowers. Nodding pink sepals that hold the stamens? In any event, it's the seedheads that are the main attraction here. It's like the love child of Pulsatilla and Fallugia paradoxa, LOL. After blooming the gorgeous pink-tinged seed heads emerge above the kind of weedy (to me) looking foliage). They don't last terribly long, but boy are they something! Love the texture it provides. Incredibly easy to grow. Does well in full sun and part shade. Doesn't need to be divided quite as often. A winner in my book!

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Geum coccineum 'Pumpkin'- long since dead. Can't even remember what was noteworthy about it. Think the flowers were a bit larger than 'Cooky'??

Geum x 'Tequila Sunrise'- of the 'Cocktail Series'. Holy smokes, it happened again. I was on total Autopilot when I bought this. I didn't even remember it until I saw a picture of it in my files! LOL!! Heck, I'm not even sure where this is in my garden. I suppose that gives you an idea on the impression it made on me. From the pic it seems that the flowers are a light to medium yellow, with some orange highlights I believe? I should wait until next year to comment further on it (and find it, lol).

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Geum macrophyllum- big leafed native avens. Don't do it people. Don't be temped by this uggo. It seeds like crazy and the flowers are small and unattractive.

Geum quellyon (formerly chiloense) red hybrids: I've only a vague memory I tried of the red forms over the years. Many a 'Mrs. J. Bradshaw' of course. Those lasted a couple years before croaking. Think I might have tried 'Bloody Mary' & Blazing Sunset'. I want to say I tried 'Red Dragon' at one point too, but am not positive. I've given up on the quellyon/chiloense species. They simply don't do well in my region. I suspect it is a combination of our wet winters combined with lack of hardiness. Maybe they would survive in a dryer zone 5, I'm not sure.

Overview: if you have a climate anything like mine steer-clear of the quellyons. Go for the coccineums instead. If you have a damp situation go for the rivales. Even better? Go for the coccineum x rivale hybrids. I'm very impressed with this combo- it seems to bring out the best qualities of each species. Can't grow Geum at all? Give G. triflorum a try. Its tough and does well in a variety of situations.

Ps. If anyone knows where I can get my hands on Geum repens seeds let me know! It's my current lust-after Geum! Along with 'Alabama Slammer', 'Gimlet' and maybe 'Sangria'. Maybe peppered with a few straight rivale cultivars too ;-)

Further interest:
National collection of geum in UK: HERE

Avondale Geum catalog (!!!!): >HERE
CMK

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