Geranium Catherine Deneuve

• Variety: Catherine Deneuve
• Latin name: Geranium psilostemon 'Catherine Deneuve'
• Common name: Armenian cranesbill
• Type: Herbaceous perennial
• Flower: Dark pink stars with narrow petals, a black eye and purple veins
• Spread: To 90cm (3ft)
• Habit: Mound-forming
• Flowering: June-August
• Foliage: Mid-green, deeply divided, often red in autumn
• Hardiness: Hardy anywhere in the UK (H7)
• Pruning: Cut back after flowering for fresh leaves and more flowers
• Sold as: P9 pots, grown on by us in Somerset from licensed young plants. Peat-free compost
• Plant outdoors: Any month the ground is workable
• Delivered: Year-round, whenever it is in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available
• Collection: Perennial plants

Catherine Deneuve is a hardy geranium with a difference: dark pink flowers shaped like stars, each with a black eye, on a mound of divided leaves up to 90cm (3ft) across.

Geranium Catherine Deneuve: Dark Pink Stars with a Black Eye

Catherine Deneuve is a mound-forming hardy geranium, a selection of Geranium psilostemon, that carries many single, dark pink, star-shaped flowers through summer. The petals are narrow, which is what makes the star, and each flower has a black eye and purple veins. The leaves are mid-green, deeply divided and lobed, and they often turn red in autumn before the plant dies back. Bees and other pollinators are drawn to the flowers.

Its parent is the big magenta cranesbill that no one forgets and not everyone forgives. This selection keeps the black eye and the vigour, with narrow petals in dark pink, and the result is easier to place. It is easy to please: any moderately fertile soil that is not waterlogged, in full sun or partial shade, and it will even put up with full shade. Cut it back after the first flush and it rewards you with fresh leaves and more flowers. It is hardy anywhere in Britain.

Your plant arrives in a 9cm pot and takes two to five years to fill out, so set it with its eventual 90cm in mind and let it grow into the gap. Planted at the front of a border, it will spill forward over the edge and soften the line of your path or lawn.

Planting Companions

Hardy geraniums and roses are an old marriage, and the dark pink stars are at their best threading through the skirts of shrub roses. For blue beside the pink, Rozanne is the obvious partner, and the upright spikes of Salvia Caradonna give a vertical line against the mound. The flat heads of Achillea Summer Pastels finish the picture in a sunny border.

Why buy from Ashridge?

Ashridge Nurseries holds the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award, earned on customer reviews. Your geranium is grown on in Somerset in peat-free compost, in recycled pots, by the same small team who pack it and answer the telephone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Geranium Catherine Deneuve grow in shade?

Geranium Catherine Deneuve grows in full sun or partial shade, and it tolerates full shade too. Flowering is most generous with some sun.

When should I cut back Geranium Catherine Deneuve?

Cut Geranium Catherine Deneuve back after flowering to bring on fresh leaves and a second show of flowers. Clear the old dead foliage in spring before new growth starts.

What is the difference between Geranium psilostemon and Catherine Deneuve?

Catherine Deneuve is a selection of Geranium psilostemon with narrower, star-shaped petals in dark pink. Both have the black eye that marks the species.

Is Geranium Catherine Deneuve good for bees?

Geranium Catherine Deneuve has single, open flowers, and bees and other pollinators are drawn to them. Single flowers are the ones insects are able to use.

What soil does Geranium Catherine Deneuve need?

Any moderately fertile soil that is not waterlogged. It is not fussy.