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Geranium Brookside

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Maggiepie  Send Maggiepie a private message!


Posted on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 - 10:29 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I bought a Brookside geranium early spring and have to say I am very disappointed in it.
It has smallish flowers that seem to be getting smaller, the plant is ratty looking and the leaves have gone to autumn colours.
Last week I saw some in the nursery and they looked exactly the same as mine.
Has anyone had any success with this particular geranium?
I am on the verge of digging it up and chucking it.
Am also wondering if anyone has a good coloured splish splash, mine is almost all white with occasionally a tiny piece of blue on it if you search carefully.

Maggiepie - New Brunswick, Zone "4b"
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Psilo  Send Psilo a private message!





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Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 06:09 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Hi Maggie
In no way should Brookside be a disappointing plant. If yours are small and disappointing then more than likely they have a virus in them and they want getting rid of. I grow Brookside and its cousin Orion on my allotment and it grows huge with lovely big flowers that seem to go on forever.

Geranium Splish splash is a very variable plant. I have grown many and have only had two that are excellent forms. The problem with it is that even if someone divided a form that they had you cannot guarentee that you will get a good form too as the plant is too unstable. The only thing you can do is persevere and grow several from seed in the hope you will get one or buy them when they are in flower so you can see what you have.

Psilo - United Kingdom, Zone "8"
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Maggiepie  Send Maggiepie a private message!


Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 06:56 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Hi Psilo,
Thanks for your response, I have taken your advice and it is now gone.
I didn't realise Brookside was related to Orion, mine has just opened its first flowers yesterday, and I am pleased to say I like it better than I did last year when I first got it.
btw, do you by any chance have a picture of your Brookside?
I have been reading some of your older posts and can see you must have a fantastic collection of geraniums.
I am wondering if you have ever come across a geranium bred in Australia by Michael Pitkin, named X Alaska.
I had it growing in my garden in Oz and it flowered almost non stop from spring through summer.
He told me
>>I did send seeds of Alaska (my name) to the UK and I know they have it in the national collection. I believe it was a cross between Geranium pratense and an unidentified Geranium grown from seed from Juneau in Alaska.

Btw, this is my Orion .

Plant Forum

I planted some seed this year and can't wait to see what I get .

Maggiepie - New Brunswick, Zone "4b"
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Psilo  Send Psilo a private message!





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Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 02:44 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

HI Maggie
The geranium in the photo below is not Orion but one of the victor reiter strains all of which have various names. The Orion of which I speak is very similar to Brookside except that it is a more compact plant and the flowers are bigger. Sadly I do not have a photo of my brookside on this pc. My plant has a spread of about 3 feet.
I used to have a fantastic collection but alot of it got destroyed (long story) though I still have quite a lot of them and have once again started a breeding program of my own with some interesting results.
Im not sure which geranium alaska you mean. I know that i raised an erianthum from Alaska which was superb though.

Psilo - United Kingdom, Zone "8"
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Maggiepie  Send Maggiepie a private message!


Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 09:56 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Psilo wrote on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 02:44 pm:

The geranium in the photo below is not Orion but one of the victor reiter strains



Grrrrrrrrrr, I really hate spending money on a plant that has the wrong name.Especially geraniums as they are my all out favourite .
Perhaps that explains why I haven't seen this particular plant in any local nurseries in the province this season, perhaps there were legal issues.
If I could only have one species of perennial in my gardens I would choose geraniums in a heartbeat.
I am sorry to hear your collection was destroyed ,but you sound hopeful that you can rebuild it gradually.
I think the UK has a much better opportunity for finding plants and seeds than here in Canada.
I bought a "Red Admiral", a few weeks ago and am wondering if that is some sort of bogus name too.

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it .

Maggiepie - New Brunswick, Zone "4b"
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Psilo  Send Psilo a private message!





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Posted on Thursday, July 05, 2007 - 12:03 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Misnaming is rife int he horticultural industry though hardy geraniums are a prime example of this. Red admiral is indeed a correct name. It is a hybrid from Psilostemon and is one of my favourites.
UK is one of the best places for hardy geraniums as it has many national collections.

Psilo - United Kingdom, Zone "8"
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Maggiepie  Send Maggiepie a private message!


Posted on Friday, July 06, 2007 - 01:42 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Am glad to hear it, I think it is lovely , but have only seen pictures of Psilostermon, I ordered one recently but they sent me Patricia which I had already bought .
I guess this is where your nick comes from huh?
Takes awhile for the penny to drop :-)

Maggiepie - New Brunswick, Zone "4b"

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