Solved Dove’s foot cranesbill, Herb robert or something else?

Discussion in 'Identification Area' started by icehockeyuk, Sep 14, 2019.

  1. icehockeyuk

    icehockeyuk Apprentice Gardener

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    I have absolutely no knowledge of gardening. Sorry for the stupid question but is this Dove’s foot cranesbill, Herb robert or something else? The flowers have five rounded pink petals with rounded ends.

    I'm not sure whether or not it is a garden weed or geranium ground cover?

    Thank you in advance for any help you can provide
     

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  2. CarolineL

    CarolineL Total Gardener

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    It looks like geranium sanguineum from foliage though I'm having trouble as flower out of focus.
     
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    • Nikolaos

      Nikolaos Total Gardener

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      Definitely not Herb Robert, flowers aren't clear enough but my guess would be Geranium endressi if covering ground well, could also be Geranium oxonianum (hybrid of versicolor and endressi). You say petals are rounded but they seem very slightly notched to me.

      geranium endressii - Google Search

      Nick
       
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      • Silver surfer

        Silver surfer PLANTAHOLIC

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        Welcome to the forums.
        Please can you try to get sharp pics of flowers and leaves.
         
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        • Marley Farley

          Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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          Hello @icehockeyuk and Welcome to GC.. if you could get some better clear pic it would help.. It could be Dovesfoot but we really need clear pics of flowers and leaves.. Perhaps move your camera a little further away so it can focus please..:thumbsup:
           
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          • icehockeyuk

            icehockeyuk Apprentice Gardener

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            My photography leaves a lot to be desired. Are any of these identifiable?
             

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          • Nikolaos

            Nikolaos Total Gardener

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            Yep, I think my guess was correct. Probably more likely to be oxonianum or a variety of it due to the tone of the veining, I think. But some of these geraniums are very hard to distinguish from photos, at least for me. Probably hard IRL too, I have heard of misidentification and mislabelling even with very knowledgeable and experienced specialist nurseries.

            I just consulted my Yeo book which gives silhouettes of some of the leaves. These are endressi and oxonianum 'Claridge Druce'. There always seems to be a slight degree of variation even in cultivars of the same species, never mind those of different but related ones!

            DSCN0923.JPG DSCN0924.JPG

            Hope this edited post gives you an idea of just how complicated accurate identification sometimes is with these, @icehockeyuk! :)

            Nick
             
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              Last edited: Sep 16, 2019
            • icehockeyuk

              icehockeyuk Apprentice Gardener

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              To be honest, I was hoping you would identify it as Dove's foot cranesbill. You seemed very confident it wasn't Herb robert. Geranium endressii or g. x oxonianum either way it was mistake to pull it up. I should have paid more attention to the shape of green leaf in the first place. In hindsight, the shape of the leaf is a dead giveaway. The Herb robert is different in appearance.

              I must admit it felt like a punch in the gut when I found an old geranium endressii price tag still attached to the odd plant today. I had been reading up on the subject matter over the weekend and apparently endressii is rarer to find in the garden than g. x oxonianum. Not sure how it would happen, but perhaps I've now got both species growing in the garden? They appear to be spreading all over the garden. Self-seeding? As I mentioned yesterday, they are growing in some unusual places.
               
            • Nikolaos

              Nikolaos Total Gardener

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              @icehockeyuk No, you wouldn't get oxonianum unless you had this species very close to it. Nice that you now know what you have. :)

              Geranium versicolor | pencilled geranium/RHS Gardening

              Trevor Bath (geranium expert) mentions endressi's tendency to promiscuously hybridise with versicolor and several other species, but unfortunately fails to mention which! Yes, it will self-seed but not that much (seems to love gaps between the paving of my patio, grrr!) and you can always move larger seedlings to where you want them, they should develop into decent clumps in a couple of years. You could even divide those clumps then and this is the easiest way to propagate most (but not all) geraniums!

              Nick
               
            • Silver surfer

              Silver surfer PLANTAHOLIC

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              Geranium robertianum ..herb Robert is THE easiest to id.
              It grows from a single root...the leaves radiate from it like spokes on a wheel.
              Smells just foul if you touch it...once smelt never forgotten.

              Id of other tiny Geraniums is not easy...esp if pics are not crystal clear.
              GERANIUM  ROBERTIANUM  HERB  ROBERT 06-Mar-12 11-21-13 AM.JPG GERANIUM  ROBERTIANUM  HERB  ROBERT 10-May-08 12-20-15 PM.JPG GERANIUM  ROBERTIANUM  HERB  ROBERT 31-03-2014 16-35-22.JPG GERANIUM  ROBERTIANUM  HERB  ROBERT 17-07-2014 14-29-29.JPG GERANIUM  ROBERTIANUM  HERB  ROBERT 28-06-2014 14-56-00.JPG
               
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