Cranesbill - clearing old stems please?

Hi All,


(Sorry that should be 'stems' not 'steams'!)

This is my first summer with my new garden. There are a LOT of cranesbills, which is great, but I have never had them before. Last year, although I owned the house, I didn't live here, so didn't cut them back in the Summer, nor in the Autumn/Winter.

Now I have given some the '(late Chelsea Chop') I can see there are a lot of stems from last year, matted on the soil and they look pretty tough, as if they won't break down easily.

It is clay loam soil and I am an organic gardener and trying to do no-dig as much as possible, so happy to let as much OM return to the soil as possible, but don't want to harm the soil either by leaving OM that won't decompose very easily.

So, my question please. Should I gently try to remove last years stems, before the flowers grow back (hopefully) OR just leave them and they will break down in organic matter and be taken back into the soil by beneficials please?

Many thanks in advance.

 

Hi,

Never left them to see if they rot down, expect they would but as they create a tight mat they might restrict the new growth a bit ?

If it was us, we would lift up those old stems and cut them off as close to the ground as possible which should reveal plenty of new shoots trying to get up.
Even if you don't see any new shoots, think they will soon appear once you clear to old stems away, they seem very tough plants.

Hopefully you will still get another flush of flowers this summer.

They are very easy plants to propagate, where you see some new shoots coming up around the edge of the plant, just lift a trowel full of its roots and place it where you want a nice plant for next spring.

 

Brilliant @ricky101, thank you. I will clear them tomorrow, chop them up and add them to the new compost heap, they might act as ‘brown’ compost, which I need anyway.

Thank you again

 

I bought 3 more Cranebills today, to go with the 3 I have, so wondering if I divide these up with a knife to make more plants? Can I also plant cranebills in a very shady area, thinking in 2 north facing gardens under a hedge and a apple tree?

 

I generally leave my cranesbills until they are about three years old before dividing them. If yours are large plants with a good root system you could divide them now, but leave them if they are about to flower. Some cranesbills will grow in dry shade, it depends which variety you have.

 

I rake off the old foliage, it's easier than trying to remove it by hand.

Cranesbills or hardy geraniums prefer to be in the sun. I'm currently experimenting with one planted in a bed in front of a 6ft high, north facing wall. It will only get early morning and late evening sun.

 

Macrorrhizums will happily grow in shade. Not as much flower as in sun but we always gets a good show from ours. We’ve got some in almost full shade against a north facing wall in a dark corner plus some under hazel trees (so sunny in early spring but then only a bit of dappled sun)

I never tidy up the old growth on my geraniums, it’s soon covered by fresh foliage. The macrorrhizums are semi evergreen

 

Geranium Ann Folkard grows well in semi shade here. I'm trying G. Hexham Velvet and G. x oxanianum Walter's Gift this year nearby, selected for long flowering period.

 

Not sure what Cranebill I have, I just want something to cover a tricky area, in a north facing garden under a apple tree (this area has no issue, with bindweed) and around my mums in a north facing garden under a headgear, I want something simple that will cover an area, before the weeds do. So thought Cranebill would be perfect.

3 years is along time to divide a plant, can I take cuttings easily?

 

So I have 'Russell Prichard, 'Endressii', and 'Rozanne.'

 

What size pots are they ? If they're quite large it might be possible to divide. Any chance of a photo to see the growth please ?

 

I would have thought any of those would cope with some shade. You might get as much flower than if in full sun but you should get some

 

Here is my cranebills.