'Bloody Cranes Bill'
10 to 24 inch wide clumps with nicely attractive foliage that is topped off with 1.5 inch round cup like flowers of bright rosy-purple coloration. This species forms slowly spreading clumps that develop into very attractive carpets of six to ten inch tall foliage with showy flowers interspersed just above the foliage. Long blooming from mid spring to mid summer. Great used as an edging or used intermixed with large rocks. Sow in moist medium and put in the fridge for four weeks. Germination in 3-100 days at F 65. I sow mine in a bag as above but leave the seed in my cold fridge (33-35F) until the seed starts to germinate: about two months, once seedlings have a root, I move them to a pot and keep them at F 55 for a few weeks until I have leaves. Plants will bloom in three months from germination and should be grown in full sun in well draining but moisture retentive soils, in a shady location the foliage can develop black spots and fall off the plant, but I must say that these seed raised plants look a lot better than the named cultivated clones on the market. Plants have stayed attractive all season long, looking good even in the fall with large attractive green leaves that often turn a bright reddish color.
Zones 4-7.
10 seeds.
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