Geranium kikianum was first described, by Kit Tan et al, in January 2011 -- see the Nordic Journal of Botany.
It is related to Geranium macrorrhizum and is endemic to the Taïyetos mountain range of the Greek southern Peloponnisos, at an altitude of around 1400-1450m. The plant is a similar size to G. macrorrhizum, but the flowers are smaller and have the petals reflexed backwards. The plant is entirely herbaceous (G. macrorrhizum remains leafy above ground during the winter).
It has been hardy outside, here in Norfolk, in a relatively dry, slightly alkaline soil in partial shade, for a number of winters, and has been unaffected by -6C in 2010 and 2011. It flowers here around the second half of April. In the wild it grows on damp, schistose soils, and flowers in early summer - its native habitat is streamsides in black pine forest, with regular winter snow. Maybe it would grow even better in the UK in a damp soil, but that's not an option in my garden!
My plants originated from Taïyetos.
Seed gathered June 2011. As far as I know, seeds of this species are not available elsewhere. The plants produce very few seeds. I would recommend sowing the seeds when received, in individual pots, and planting out in autumn or spring once they are sufficiently grown.
There are 5 seeds per packet. Since we have so few seeds there are only a very few packets available. You may like to email to check if we still have stock.
£3.00, includes UK postage. This item is available for UK customers only. |
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