I have been gardening forevcer. Well, seems like it anyway. But sometimes I stumble upon a plant that I have never grown.

I sent for a catalog from Annies Annuals (and now perennials too) and there is the most beautiful Geum listed. This one is bright red and called Blazing Sunset.

Anyway, I don't know anything about geums. All advice appreciated. Thanks!

I first planted geum a couple years ago. I found some plants did very well for me but others languished or even died. I discovered that they weren't native to our wet climate and to plant the crown one inch above the surface of the ground. This spring they have all come back as nice large healthy plants. Its also good to know that this is a plant that benefits from deadheading.

Its not a plant I have even noticed before, much less tried to grow. But sometimes its good to try out new plants. Thats how I discovered some great doers in my garden, took a chance on something compleatly new to me.

Geum are new to me as well, I've seen them in catalogs for years, but hadn't seen them growing anywhere close. Tried one from a greenhouse a few years ago, but it didn't last long. I lived in a moist, woodland setting then, so that was probably the reason. I received some seeds from a swap this year and wintersowed them with no expectations. They germinated just a few days ago, so this will be a fun experiment.

Honestly if I have seen them, they didn't impress me. This one Blazing Sunset did. I love the color, I love the fact that the plant is not overly large and sprawly. I love the fact that this one blooms all the time. Thats what I like, A perennial that just keeps on blooming.

I just ordered ten plants.

Rita - how are your blazing sunsets doing? I bought 2 plants 3 weeks ago - they are still in the pot....haven't prepared a place for them yet.

Ha, they only arrved yesterday and planted them yesterday. Very tiny plants but I am sure they will take off with the warm weather now.

What a disaster that turned out to be. The plants were so small with such small roots that I just couldn't keep them going over the summer. By fall 8 out of the 10 I had gotten had died. This spring I transplanted the remaining two early from the front yard to the back yard and they are blooming. The plants are still quite small and need to grow lots. But the flowers (one on each plant) really are pretty.

Only one plant of the seeds I started survived, but it is blooming too. Very bright and showy, but I haven't decided if I really like it yet. If it survives the summer, I may move it to a bed where I have a lot of bright color. I'm thinking it will be a good one to plant near some bright scarlet Poppies- they started blooming just as the Poppies finished, so I think they'll be a nice way to extend the season of color there.

I personally do like the color. It has more red tones than the orange geums I am more used to seeing. Mine are not getting moved again and seem to like their new location.

I use mostly cool tones and pastels closer to the house, and brighter, hotter colors further away where they show up from a distance. But some hot colors I find difficult to partner with other plants, like the scarlet Poppies and the Geum- seems like a lot of blooms just don't show up near those 55 mph colors. I think if I get them combined with bright yellow, purple, and white, I'll be a lot happier with them.

Wood hyacynths blooming in the bushes. I think I will get more. Canadian mayflower is filling out under the shrubs & the front lawn. Must have been a good year for them.

Does geum like sun or shade? We were given a 'zonal geranium' after judging the iris show. It is supposed to have 8 hrs of sun. there is no place in our garden which has 8 hrs of sun per day.

I have my Geum in sun and it seems happy. I've got some zonal Geraniums and they grow well with half a day of sun. I've had them in more shade and they still did ok, but the zonal coloration in the foliage became faint and they didn't produce as many blooms.

Rita - sorry that your blazing sunset geums did not do well for you. As I mentioned last April, I did not get them into the ground until May or June. They grew fine, but no blooms the first year. They overwintered without any problems, and they literally exploded in the spring. Those two plants covered a 5 foot area - surpassing the area I had allocated for them.

Here is a photo from April - in May, the number of flower stalks doubled. The main flush of blooms are done, but there are still about 5-6 stalks blooming. They are growing in morning sun, gets afternoon shade about 3 PM. So the variety is as robust as Annie's catalog claims - hopefully they will like their new location in your yard.

They do seem to love were I put them this spring and have been blooming. I think they will grow lots this year. Besides I really like this location for them. I love the flowers. Yours are so beautiful.