Geranium pratense
| Geranium pratense | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 4' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Early Fall |
| Meadows | |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Geranium pratense (common name: meadow crane's bill)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring or autumn. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any moderately fertile retentive soil in a sunny position[1]. Tolerates a wide range of soil types[1].
There are many named varieties, selected for their ornamental value[1].
Plants can be naturalized in meadows[1].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[2].
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, the Himalayas and N. Asia.
Habitat: Meadows and roadsides[3].
Medicinal: The plant is used as a vulnerary[4].
The root is used in Tibetan medicine where it is said to have an acrid, sweet flavour plus a cooling potency[5]. Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and febrifuge, it is used in the treatment of fevers from influenza, inflammation of the lungs, pain and swellings of the limbs[5].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tsarong, Tsewang. Tibetan Medicinal Plants. Tibetan Medical Publications, 1994.