Wild Geranium

Geranium maculatum L.

Family: Geraniaceae (geranium)

Anna Fiedler, MSU Entomology

Wild geranium

Bloom Period:
- Early,
Growth Cycle:
- Perennial,
Growth Habit:
- Forbs/Herbs,
Insect Type Attracted:
- Natural Enemy,
- Pollinator,
Light:
- Full,
- Partial,
Region:
- Northern Lower Peninsula,
- Southern Lower Peninsula
Soil Moisture:
- Medium,
Height:
- 1-2ft

Natural enemies attracted

Mildly attractive: Chalcidoidea, Salticidae, and Cynipoidea.

Pollinators attracted

Minimually attractive: bees

Pests attracted

Mildly attractive: thrips, lygus bugs, froghoppers, leafhoppers and aphids.

Plant notes

Has attractive pale pink to lavender flowers and bloomed from mid-May through early June. Attractive maple-leaf like foliage dies back after bloom, but some remains green through the summer. This species was the third least attractive to natural enemies in the early season.

Habitat

Wild Geranium tolerates full sun to partial shade, and mid-range soil moisture (neither very wet nor very dry). It naturally occurs in rich deciduous woods, including moist sites such as pond borders, streamsides and swamp forests. It usually grows in rich deciduous forests.

Cultivation and management

This plant flowers from seed in its second or third year. It can also be grown from plug material (flowers in first or second year). This plant is showy and long-lived.