Geranium wallichianum Havana Blues

The Perennial Geranium wallichianum 'Havana Blues' is a recent creation with a promising future. Its flowers are very abundant and larger than average, with a almost electric blue colour and intense magenta veins that dive towards a small white heart. This beautiful contrast brings a lot of brightness to the flowering. They appear from summer to autumn, irresistibly attracting attention that will also be drawn to its young chartreuse green foliage in spring. Its stems cover the ground, in full sun or partial shade. Hardy, very floriferous, and highly tolerant, it only fears waterlogged soils in winter.

The Geranium wallichianum 'Havana Blues' belongs to the geranium family. It is a recent selection from the Netherlands, originating from a wild Himalayan species found from Afghanistan to India, where it grows up to approximately 3600 m in altitude, on the slopes, in forests and among bush hedges. 'Havana Blues' has a dense and wide dome-shaped habit, reaching a height of 35 cm (14in), with a minimum spread of 40 cm (16in), sometimes much more depending on the conditions. This geranium has a particularly long flowering period, from June-July to October-November depending on the climate. The cup-shaped flowers measure 4 to 5 cm (2in) in diameter and are adorned with a bright hue, a vibrant iris blue, with magenta veins that darken and thicken as they dive towards a white heart surrounded by a very pale pink area. The foliage is semi-evergreen, finely and deeply cut, chartreuse green at the beginning of the season, gradually darkening over time. The leaves are deeply lobed, crinkled, with serrated edges. This perennial produces creeping stems of 45 cm (18in) in length, highly branched, slightly prostrate on the ground, without rooting. It has a specific root system, with a central and singular main root (taproot), along with a few large secondary fibrous roots.

The Perennial Geranium wallichianum 'Havana Blues' is ideal for borders or flower beds. In semi-shaded areas, it will thrive alongside Campanula 'Burghaltii' and Pulmonaria 'Diane Claire' with their beautiful silver foliage. It can also be planted above a wall, in a semi-shaded rockery where it will lean, with its base in the shade and its head in the sun, among corydalis, Chiastophyllum oppositifolium or Chrysogonum virginianum. It likes to spread under low branches of bushes, where it is never suffocating, except for weeds.