Geranium oxonianum Dusky Crug

The Perennial Geranium 'Dusky Crug' forms a compact ground cover with moderate spread. Its long flowering period of pale pink with pearly tints contrasts beautifully with its dark bronze to chocolate foliage, mixed with green, rounded and slightly lobed. Hardy and adaptable, it thrives in moderately dry soil, and can tolerate partial shade or full sun. It will cover the ground alongside a path, punctuate a flowerbed or border, or fill a pot on the terrace. It is a strange but poetic plant!

The perennial hybrid geranium oxonianum 'Dusky Crug' belongs to the Geraniaceae family. This plant, discovered in Wales, is the result of cross-breeding between Geranium antipodeum 'Crug Strain' and Geranium x oxonianum. This recent hybrid combines and brings together the qualities of all its ancestors. It forms ground cover that reaches a height of barely 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12in), spreading up to 60 cm (24in) or more in optimal conditions, reaching its adult size in 2 to 5 years. It has a compact, dense and spreading growth habit. It displays numerous pendant funnel-shaped flowers from June to August-September, in a bright pale pink with pearly reflections and darker veins. Its leaves are slightly hairy, rounded and minimally lobed, with visible veins and an almost entire five-lobed shape. The deciduous foliage is beautiful and dark, bronze to chocolate, with hints of purple and a more intense green hue in summer.

This perennial geranium makes dark, unusual, and stunning ground cover, which is also easy to care for. It will find its place in rockeries, perennial or low shrub beds, alongside pathways, on slopes, or in large pots on the terrace. It pairs well with hepaticas, columbines, peonies, and even ferns in moist soil. In drier soil, it can be paired, for example, with a 'Rosenschleier' Baby's Breath, small periwinkles, the silver foliage of artemisias, or to cover the base of a 'Cuisse de Nymphe Emue' rose.