STICKY GERANIUM

Geranium viscosissimum

Sticky geranium is one of the easiest natives to grow in a traditional garden setting. It can handle sun or shade, and it is not averse to rich soil and regular water in the summer. The inch-wide deep pink blossoms are held in an airy dome above the leaves and the plants are quite showy in full flower. The flowering season lasts for several weeks in early to midsummer. This plant is also attractive when flowering is finished, as the large, hand-shaped leaves form a compact leafy mass of deep green. In fall the leaves turn a spectacular wine red. Sticky geranium is a long-lived plant that comes back from the roots year after year. The only maintenance needed is to trim the stalks back after flowering, and even this is mainly for cosmetic purposes. Trimming also tends to reduce self-sowing. Sticky geranium plants do not make many seeds, but they can fling their seeds a surprising distance with a springlike release mechanism, so that volunteers show up in unlikely places. Good native companions for sticky geranium include Wasatch penstemon, showy daisy, and meadow fire.