How far apart to Transplant Geranium macrorrhizum 'Spessart'

Willow99 · April 2023

Hi all, I have an area where there are old conifer stumps which is very shady. I have a large area of Geranium Macrorrhizum Spessart already and want to transplant some of them to this area to give ground cover all year round, the original area was planted years ago with only one plant so no idea how to space them. I am fed up with weeding and do not want to use weed suppressing fabric and bark as it needs topping up and the birds keep throwing it on the lawn in another area. Can someone please advise on a suitable spacing when transplanting and also suggest other ground cover plants for a shady area including geraniums.

Ceres · April 2023

Are you going to move mature plants or go in for cuttings? I find macrorrhizums root very readily from cuttings and I usually plonk them in the ground about 30cm apart. If you take a length of stem (10 to 15 cm long approx) and leave three leaves at the end, you can just bury the stem in the ground, cover it with a stone to stop blackbirds pulling it out, keep it watered and it should root in no time. They will quite quickly grow together to make good ground cover.

Vinca minor is very good in shade and it is evergreen. Ivy makes good ground cover but you will have to make sure it doesn't romp away and bury everything else.

You mention conifer stumps. The ground beneath conifers can be very dry and devoid of nutrient. If you haven't already done so, it might be an idea to add some compost to the ground to help the new plants.

Willow99 · April 2023

Thank you, the ground in question is fairly moist most of the time which as you say is can be usually dry due to the conifer roots. I removed most of the roots nearer the surface. I will take a look at vinca minor.

How far apart to Transplant Geranium macrorrhizum 'Spessart'

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