Geranium sanguineum Hannelore

The Geranium sanguineum 'Hannelore', also known as 'Hannelore' Bloody Cranesbill or Crane's Beak, is distinguished by its compact and generally low growth habit. It forms a dense tuft of finely divided foliage, which turns red in autumn. It offers its large flowers in deep pink cups, veined with purple, in successive waves from May until the beginning of autumn. Over time, it forms a good ground cover, thickening year after year. It thrives in sun, shade, and drought, making it particularly well-suited for Mediterranean gardens.

Geranium sanguineum 'Hannelore' belongs to the Geraniaceae family. It is a hybrid of Geranium sanguineum, native to Europe and Turkey, and geranium procurrens, a little-known perennial that is creeping and climbing, native to the Himalayas. This spontaneous hybrid appeared by chance in the garden of a passionate perennial geranium enthusiast. It grows fairly quickly, forming a compact tuft 20 to 40 cm (8 to 16in) tall, and slowly spreads by its creeping rhizomes, forming a carpet that can reach 40 cm (16in) in diameter or more. Its beautiful flowers are rather large, dark pink with distinct veins of very dark pink, and bloom from May to July, and again in autumn. The fruits are elongated with a long beak, resembling a crane's beak (hence its name). The foliage is semi-evergreen, turning various shades of red in autumn and winter. Its leaves are deeply cut, villous, medium green, and measure 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4in) in length.

In the wild, it is often found in rocky soils, but in the garden, it adapts to all types of soil and exposures. It is valuable in woodland borders, where it is not hindered by competition from shrub roots. It makes an excellent ground cover in dry shade, alongside epimediums (elf flowers), brunneras, periwinkles, and dead nettles. It is also welcome in sunny rock gardens or on wild slopes, and this geranium readily self-seeds (not always faithfully) among other perennial ground covers such as thyme, Caucasian rockcress, and woolly wormwood.