Geranium nodosum Simon

The Perennial Geranium nodosum 'Simon', also known as Perennial Nodose Geranium 'Simon', is a good ground cover for dry or wet shade. It offers a long flowering period, from spring to autumn, with open cups of magenta pink. The overall effect is soft and bright, perfect in woodland scenes, welcome in dry or moist soil, between areas of shade and light.

The Perennial Geranium nodosum 'Simon' belongs to the Geraniaceae family. It is a cultivar derived from Geranium nodosum, native to the Pyrenees, Italy, and Yugoslavia. This herbaceous and deciduous perennial, very hardy, forms a 30 cm (12in) tall carpet and spreads thanks to its stolons to a minimum width of 40 cm (16in). Its growth is quite rapid, however, this very beautiful yet rare form develops more slowly than the species. It blooms from late spring to September, with magenta pink flowers in open cups, with petals marked by a notch. The foliage is finely pubescent on the underside, light green and shiny when young, darker later on, deeply cut. The glabrous stems, 20-50 cm (8-20in) long, are strongly swollen at the nodes. This plant with a horizontal, elongated, rather slender stump spreads by underground rhizomes.

This perennial geranium appreciates all shades of the garden, in ordinary, dry or wet soil. Geranium nodosum 'Simon' is an excellent ground cover plant, endowed with great robustness. It will quickly add a colourful touch to exhausted soil under trees, bushes, along facades or north or east-facing alleys, at the base of sunless walls. It will advantageously conceal the base of shade-loving shrubs like Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen', in the company of Tiarella cordifolia with white flower spikes. This plant is a blessing where few plants are willing to grow, such as Symphytum caucasicum and the large periwinkle.