Plant experts at Thompson & Morgan have been reviewing the list of plants short-listed for the best plant of the century by the Royal Horticultural Society, and we thought you might like to hear our number one vote….
Buy Geranium ‘Rozanne’ from Thompson & Morgan
Paul Hansord, managing director has worked with the company for 25 years and knows a good plant when he sees one. Not satisfied with reports, Paul always tries to make sure that he tests the best of the best new plants in his own garden before they launch, so he really gets to see the plants up close and personal.
“Geranium ‘Rozanne’ has always performed extremely well in my garden, outperforming all other hardy geranium varieties. The large, sky-blue flowers with an attractive eye will flower from late May until late in the autumn, quite unique for a hardy geranium. ‘Rozanne’ has never failed to burst into life each spring, even this year after the cold, miserable, wet winter. I recommend this excellent geranium for Plant of the Centenary due to its colourful displays for months on end, its pest and disease resistance and extreme ease of growth. Over the years, I have grown many of the plants shortlisted on the RHS Plant of the Centenary, but not one of them came close to ‘Rozanne’ for garden performance. It represents an amazing advance in hardy geranium breeding, so vote now and plant some into your garden as soon as you can! You won’t be disappointed, I guarantee it.”
Michael Perry, new product development manager is Thompson & Morgan’s ‘Plant Hunter’. Michael works hard to seek out new varieties from around the world, and sees 100s of new hardy geraniums each year.
“Geranium ‘Rozanne’ has certainly made a name for itself in gardens up and down the country, quickly becoming a staple feature of any border display. Who could do without its 6 month flowering period, unfussy attitude and azure blue flowers, produced in a continuous procession from May to November? Plants are entirely bullet-proof, super hardy and will tolerate pretty much any UK soil. ‘Rozanne’ is a great investment too, as that incredible 6 month flowering period comes every year for 10 years or more!”
Peter Freeman, a plant buyer at Thompson & Morgan began his career within the Blooms of Bressingham company. He has seen new plant introductions such as ‘Rozanne’ through from the selection stage to the garden centre bench.
Rozanne is an RHS Perfect for Pollinators awarded variety
“I was fortunate enough to be involved in the trials of new plants at Bressingham, so have seen this plant for over 15 years, even prior to i’s public launch. Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is a totally hardy perennial, which will flower superbly from late May to November. Many plants claim to flower for such a long period, but will actually only ‘flush’ periodically. ‘Rozanne’ flowers prolifically from beginning to end. The flowers are an amazing, vibrant blue with vivid veins and the foliage is clean, tidy and not susceptible to any pests or diseases. Easy for anyone to grow in sun or shade, bees love them, plants are also ideal ground cover – there are too many good things to say about this plant! I consider myself to be in a privileged position and get to see most new plant introductions from across the world, but I do not think any plant has come close to beating Geranium ‘Rozanne’ in the last 15 years.”
Submit your vote for the RHS ‘Plant of the Centenary’ now and get your hands on Geranium ‘Rozanne’ now from Thompson & Morgan.
Rebecca works in the Marketing department as part of the busy web team, focusing on updating the UK news and blog pages and Thompson & Morgan’s international website. Rebecca enjoys gardening and learning about flowers and growing vegetables with her young daughter.
I bought three of your plug plants and have put them into a larger pot. they are growing well, but are they too young to plant out now? Should I put them into a larger pot and wait until spring, or can I plant out now? (Sept.2nd)
Hi Sue. Whilst Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is perfectly hardy once established, I would always recommend giving any young plant a little protection over winter. If you plant them out now then they won’t have much time to put on root growth before the cold weather sets in. Keep them in a pot in the cold frame or a cold greenhouse for now. Alternatively stand the the pot against a house wall for protection from the elements. They will nbaturally die back over winter, but once the spring arrives you can plant them out into borders and they will be raring to go!
All the best
Sue
I’ve been delighted with my ‘Rozanne’ geraniums. Can u pls advise if I could risk trying them in dry shade? I would dig in as much compost into the dry soil first, but…?
Hi Janet, this might work as long as you keep them very well watered for the first season, so that the roots can get established into the soil/compost. You will have to keep an eye on them and water if needed, but they should be fine
Hope this helps
You sent me a free plug last year, I grew it on and planted it out. This year it has really come into its own, it is a mass of flowers which seem to renew themselves daily. I want some more. I was wondering if I could propagate it by cuttings or perhaps root division. Is it the wrong time of year for plugs?
I was wondering if there is a pinker shade with the same properties as Rosanne?
Hi, you can propagate hardy geraniums through basal cuttings or division in spring. Basal cuttings are taken once new shoots start to appear in spring, cutting the shoots off as close to the base of the plant as possible. Division can be carried out in early spring by using garden forks to prise the clump apart, leaving at least two growth buds per piece. Autumn is the perfect time to raise geranium plug plants or plant out potted or bare-root plants. Some of the longest flowering pink geraniums include ‘Wargrave Pink’ and ‘Mavis Simpson’ although they generally need a trim in mid-summer to keep the plants tidy and promote more flowers.I hope that helps, Terri
This certainly looks a very nice Geranium, and gets my vote. Thank you Thompson & Morgan for putting this one out for vote.
I wholeheartedly agree with this recommendation. For me Rozanne is a perfect garden plant. I grew it in my garden in Maine where it withstood much colder (and higher) temperatures than we have in the UK and here it behaves wonderfully, flowering for a very long period and keeping to its allotted space. The flowers are large, a beautiful blue with a lovely white eye, the foliage too is pretty. A superb plant.
I have just listened to the video about Geranium “Rozanne”. It sound almost too good to be true. Just what I have been looking for. I shall place my order today and await delivery with anticipation.
I have a problem with pink hardy geraniums spreading like weeds in my garden. Does this one behave the same way?
Dear Joe, many thanks for your comment. Peter Freeman has just emailed me to say that, while many geraniums do self-seed, ‘Rozanne’ doesn’t and will not spread in your garden. I hope this helps.
I bought this plant last year after seeing it at High Grove gardens, certainly gets my vote.
This sounds like an ideal plant for anyone wanting long lasting flowers in the garden every year.