Plant Library

Other Names:  Bloody Cranesbill

Description:

Large, fuchsia colored, saucer-shaped flowers cover mounds of deep green, finely cut leaves during the early summer months; foliage turns a stunning red during the cooler autumn months; compact form, great for beds, borders and cottage gardens

Ornamental Features

Max Frei Cranesbill has masses of beautiful fuchsia cup-shaped flowers with white eyes at the ends of the stems from late spring to mid summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. Its deeply cut lobed palmate leaves are dark green in colour. As an added bonus, the foliage turns a gorgeous red in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Max Frei Cranesbill is a dense herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Max Frei Cranesbill is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Max Frei Cranesbill will grow to be about 8 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 10 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under typical garden conditions. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Max Frei Cranesbill is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.