'Giuseppe', 'Biokovo' & 'Rozanne' are the most robust growers in my slightly acidic sandy loam. I have multiples of them in various beds and all are currently exploding with blooms. I'm in north-central CT.

Thanks for the offer Ruth! Gardenweed - how much shade do your geraniums receive?

Geranium phaeum does well in shade. I grow 'Samobor' but there are apparently many other varieties now. A bit weedy with self-sowing, but deadheading helps.

Mary G - my hardy geraniums are planted in part sun/part shade areas where they get 2-3 hours of mid-day or early afternoon sun. One plant is growing in a full sun bed that gets 5+ hours of direct sun every day. My soil is slightly acidic, organic (no chemicals) sandy loam. My house sits square with the compass & faces east. The geraniums are planted at the north side of my garden as well as one that's in a bed on the south side (full sun). They receive zero supplemental water other than what Mother Nature supplies. All were planted 5+ years ago.

Mary, try taking a look at this blog post. The garden is in Wisconsin but I think her conditions and end effect might be exactly what you're looking for. Like Ruth said, it's g. macrorrhizum which works very well as a groundcover.
geranium post

Thanks katob! Wonderful helpful post.

Was out working in the garden this morning, and thought of another plant that would probably do well in your area - persicaria Painter's Palette. It can get two feet tall or more once established, but can be cut back mid-season. If you stick the cuttings in the ground and keep them watered, they'll root/grow too. The flowers are nondescript (and it blooms very late in the season), but I really like the foliage. It seeds around, but I definitely wouldn't consider it invasive and you can cut the flowers off to stop that.

check out hallsons garden ... it would be a great daytrip for any of you SE MI peeps ... but not his weekend with the big race weekend in brooklyn ...

hit the link for shade perennials ...

basically.. take 94 west to 127 south [near jackson]... and go south for a bit ...

call ahead and make an appointment ...

ken

http://www.perennialnursery.com/

Feeling a tad disconsolate at my gappy garden myself and pondering falling back on the faithful hardies...but really, I think you can do a bit better than the ubiquitous macrorrhizum...unless you can get your hands on the outstanding White Ness - a compact and very floriferous pure white. The wallichianums do rather well in shade...although I agree, I am heartily sick of Rozanne...but there are others such as the neat Sweet Heidi or the pink Syabru and also, Lilac Ice - not as prolific as some wallichianums but distinctly better than the pale Crystal Lake. There are some interesting shorter bloomers such as platyanthemum and, my new favourite, soboliferum which will do OK in shade. Maculatum, obvs, but also magnificum and Himalayense are sterling performers, good for a second flush with nice foliage. If you have space, there are some good oxonianums with larger flowers (Robin Moss in the UK has been doing wonders with this group) and Patricia is a good doer, even in a shade-y spot. I must also put in a good word for Red Admiral - huge leaves and a long season of bloom...although that screaming magenta might not be to your taste. Another astonishing find - the south african incana/robustums which, although do best in sun, will also perform in shade - there is a neat hybrid - Silver Cloak...although might be lacking in hardiness for a zone 6. If you have a very sheltered wood, you might take a punt on one of the Canary Island palmatums - great foliage...but needs space. Finally, better, to my mind than the seedy phaeums are the nodosums - glossy fresh foliage and a long season of delicate lilac blooms - Svelte Lilac is the cultivar which comes to mind.

Completely forgot about those woodland stars - the sylvaticums. Have several of them - Birch Lilac, Mayflower, etc. Lovely, partnered with early anemones.

eta - I have the lovely Rose Madder phaeum - the best of the bunch to my mind.

There is a rather good pyrenicum called Snow Flake or something similar - a goodie for sure. I would probably discount the palmatum in a Z5 though.

For a mid-height, G. magnificum can't be beat. For groundcover, I have "Biokovo" - tough as nails, always look good.

Take a look at the geranium nursery "Geraniacae" (of course I can never spell it) website which has most of the geraniums you'd ever want: for borders, groundcovers, shade and sun. Even if you don't order from them it will give you ideas that go far beyond Rozanne, which needs full sun anyway!

I find the wallichianums sulk between 12-2, looking like withered cabbages when the sun really hits their leaves, Marie. Although not as hugely floriferous in light shade, Rozanne always looks happier to be out of direct hot sunlight...and this is of the mild british variety - it must surely frizzle to a cinder in the blazing US heat. As a (very rough) rule of thumb, I tend to keep the larger leaved geraniums in a cooler, shadier position than the small leaved sanguineums or cinereums.

In my garden 'Rozanne' is planted in the middle of my little green acre, in slightly acidic sandy loam & full sun. It's been in the ground since about 2007 and has bloomed every season, happily, from June to October, with no supplemental water or assistance from me. I live in Southern New England. Granted we don't have Zone 8 heat but we do have some very hot weather in mid-summer. Rozanne has been content & thrives where it's planted. I love perennials that not only bloom where they're planted, but in addition need nothing further from me other than a smile.

Margaret Roach who has a very good blog wrote an article on g.macrorrhizum as a ground cover. There are several of them; some are more refined than others. The geranium mail order co. I referenced above carries "white-ness" that campanula references. I've ordered from them and can tell you more if you wish. The owner is very helpful and will email back and forth with suggestions.

I've also have large patches of Bivoko and sister Karmina. Their leaves are smaller than Macros overall more refined. They might look better in what sounds like a thickly planted bed. The macros. spread, but are extremely easy to pull up. They do NOT have an invasive root system.

You might also look at Lazy S on line catalogue. As I recall they have an extensive collection of hady geraniums.

I love Mrs AT Johnson. It is a tidy scrambler (not a sprawler like Rozanne) with a lovely warm pinky/salmon flower. It gently pokes up among the neighbors all summer long. Definitely not trying to be a star but it provides a bit of surprise color when most other shade plants are quiet. I've found it does well in full sun and part shade.

I too am a huge fan of G. macrorrhizum for shade, and 'Biokovo' and 'Karmina', both of which tolerate considerably more sun. They are nearly perfect groundcovers: handsome, semi-evergreen, very low maintenance and very easy to control, highly weed suppressing, and highly deer resistant. What more could anyone want. Well, I'd like that white macrorrhizum, and I'm going to check it out.

Thanks all for such great ideas - I now am eager to go shopping - I have lots of options. I still hesitate on a few of those hardy geraniums, thinking they would still do better in a location with a bit more sun. Afraid a few of those will become lanky and leggy without it. Might even consider the low growing drawf goatsbeard - thinking this particular area is in the midst of large leaved plants and the smaller delicate foliage of goatsbeard would be a good contrast. Thanks again for your ideas.

What's to be afraid of! Plant a one or a few. See how it does. If it doesn't grow well, move it, toss it or pass it on.

You're not get it right every time, anyway. No one does.

G. macrorrhizum is THE plant for dry shade. Unless your shade is so deep and dark that nothing will grow, G. macrorrhizum will grow and look terrific.

I don't remember if anyone mentioned Epimediums for shade. Great plants, many, many cultivars, some clumpers and some slow spreaders. Highly deer resistant as well.