I grew up in a town that was less than an hour’s drive from Niagara Falls, but the only time we paid a call on that natural wonder was when we hosted visitors from England. In similar fashion, I have lived—at least horticulturally speaking—near the perennial hardy geranium ‘Rozanne’ since its introduction in 2000, but never installed one in my own garden until now.
Of course, I have recommended ‘Rozanne’ many times and even installed it in friends’ gardens, but somehow, other plants kept capturing my attention. Like the crows that occasionally inhabit my landscape, I have a weakness for the garden equivalent of shiny objects.
For those who have not seen ‘Rozanne’ in garden centers and nurseries everywhere, the plant is a relative low-grower, maxing out at twelve to fifteen inches tall and equally wide when mature. It has graceful, deeply dissected green foliage that reddens in the fall, as well as a somewhat sprawling, mounding habit. It moves through the front of the border beautifully, interweaving itself into a tapestry with plants of similar habit.
Foliage and habit are great assets, but ‘Rozanne’s real glory is its flowers. At up to one inch wide, they are some of the largest in the hardy geranium or cranesbill clan. All “blue” cranesbills feature at least a hint of purple coloring, but ‘Rozanne’s flowers are among the bluest, with five sky-blue petals surrounding a pale blue-white central “eye zone”. Those flowers are not shrinking violets either; holding themselves above the foliage so that onlookers can appreciate them. Perhaps best of all, the plant is a rebloomer, producing flowers at intervals throughout the growing season.
The plant’s tags all say “full sun to part shade,” but that is optimistic merchandisers’ hype. ‘Rozanne’ flourishes best and flowers most copiously in full sun. Light shade—which is what the words “partial shade” really mean on most plant tags–is OK if that is all you have. Every gardener, after all, has to play the hand that he or she has been dealt.
‘Rozanne’s origins are noteworthy. It began life as a seeding in an English garden, bearing a resemblance to what was probably one of its parent plants, Geranium wallichianum ‘Buxton’s Variety’, which has similar flowers, foliage and growth habit. The seedling was a strong grower, with larger leaves and flowers than the parent. Eventually the gardeners, a couple named Donald and Rozanne Waterer, made contact with Adrian Bloom, a noted English horticulturist and plant breeder, who was also proprietor at the time of Blooms of Bressingham, a well-regarded nursery. The Waterer’s seedling was propagated and trialed at the Blooms nursery and proved to be a great all-around garden plant. It was introduced in 2000 and named after Rozanne Waterer.
Since that time Mrs. Waterer’s namesake has gone on to win multiple awards, not to mention the hearts of gardeners all over the world. It has won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit for all-around garden performance and was named the Chelsea Flower Show’s “Plant of the Decade,” an honor bestowed on a single plant introduced between 1993 and 2003. When the RHS celebrated its centenary in 2013, ‘Rozanne’ was named “Plant of the Centenary’ by RHS members.
The American plant buying public has decided with its collective pocketbook, snapping up thousands of ‘Rozanne’ plants. A horticulture industry group, the Perennial Plant Association, selected the variety as its “Plant of the Year” in 2008. While not as big a hit as the Knock Out rose or the ‘Stella de Oro’ daylily, ‘Rozanne’ shows up in a lot of places.
My new ‘Rozanne’ is blooming right now, but that event was probably the result of intervention by a wholesale grower. Most people’s plants will begin blooming in another couple of weeks, if the weather is warmish. The first flush of flowers is always the most impressive. When it is over, cut the plants back to keep them looking healthy and stimulate regrowth. Delicacy is not needed for the pruning job. I use hedge sheers on all my hardy geraniums and they respond with affection.
Part ‘Rozanne’s allure is that it makes such a good companion. Blues and yellows are natural complements to each other and the blue geranium looks especially good with ‘Moonbeam’ coreopsis or one of the yellow-flowered yarrow or achillea. If you mix perennials and annuals, try it with yellow or peach-colored snapdragons. A plant named ‘Rozanne’ is especially fitting for a rose bed, where you might plant it at the feet of a really good yellow rose like ‘Graham Thomas’ or ‘Golden Celebration’.
Needless to say, it combines nicely with pink flowers, not to mention white ones. In fact, I can’t think of a color—including vivid orange—that would not work well with the blue of this geranium.
Hardy geraniums are allegedly deer resistant, which is a blessing for people who live in deer-infested areas, especially if the deer in those areas are fond of reading catalog copy. I can say with some authority that my deer posse has not eaten any of the hardy geraniums, so the resistant description may actually be true.
In any event, don’t let ‘Rozanne’ get away. You never know when this particular worthy plant sensation may be displaced by a less worthy plant with a more aggressive publicist.