Armenian Cranesbill Geranium psilostemon 'Jason Bloom'

👤 Non-toxic to humans

🐾 Non-toxic to pets

🌸 Blooming

🍪 Not edible

‍🌱 Easy-care

ABOUT

Geranium psilostemon 'Jason Bloom' is known for its vibrant and striking flowers. The plant is adorned with eye-catching magenta blooms that have a distinctive black star-shaped center, giving them a unique and engaging appearance. These blooms are held above the foliage on sturdy stems, creating a vivid display of color. The flowers are circular in shape, contributing to a lush and rounded look. The leaves of 'Jason Bloom' are as attractive as the flowers; they are deeply cut, with a fern-like appearance, and offer a rich, green backdrop that contrasts beautifully with the vivid flowers. The foliage is dense, creating a lush and full-bodied look. It has a tendency to turn into beautiful shades of red in the fall, adding another layer of visual interest to the plant as the seasons change. Overall, 'Jason Bloom' is a colorful and cheerful plant, famed for its show-stopping flowers and decorative foliage.

Plant Info

Care

Common Problems

About this plant

Names
- Family
  Geraniaceae
- Synonyms
  Armenian Cranesbill, Black Widow Crane's Bill
- Common names
  Geranium psilostemon.
Toxicity
- To humans
  Armenian Cranesbill (Geranium psilostemon 'Jason Bloom') is generally considered non-toxic to humans. While it's not recommended to ingest plant material that is not meant for consumption, accidental ingestion of this geranium typically does not result in poisoning or severe symptoms.
- To pets
  Armenian Cranesbill is also largely considered non-toxic to pets. If pets were to ingest parts of the plant, they are unlikely to suffer from serious poisoning. As with any non-food plant, ingestion can sometimes cause gastrointestinal irritation or discomfort, but severe toxicity is not expected with this geranium species.
Characteristics
- Life cycle
  Perennials
- Foliage type
  Deciduous
- Color of leaves
  Green
- Flower color
  Magenta
- Height
  3 feet [91 cm]
- Spread
  2 feet [60 cm]
- Plant type
  Herb
- Hardiness zones
  5
- Native area
  Caucasus

Benefits

General Benefits
- Attractive Flowers: Geranium psilostemon 'Jason Bloom' is known for its vibrant magenta flowers with black star-shaped centers, adding color to gardens.
- Long Blooming: It has a long flowering season, usually from early summer to early autumn, providing extended visual interest.
- Drought Tolerant: Once established, it is quite drought-resistant, making it suitable for gardens in drier climates.
- Pest Resistant: Typically resistant to many common garden pests, reducing the need for chemical treatments.
- Easy to Grow: It's relatively low maintenance and can prosper in a variety of soil types as long as they are well-draining.
- Attracts Pollinators: The flowers attract bees and butterflies, promoting pollination in the garden.
- Works as Ground Cover: Its dense growth habit helps suppress weeds and covers the ground effectively.
- Versatile in the Landscape: Can be used in borders, beds, and containers, offering versatility in garden design.
- Deer Resistant: Tends to be unpalatable to deer, which can help prevent damage to gardens located in deer-prone areas.
Medical Properties
This plant is not used for medical purposes.
Air-purifying Qualities
This plant is not specifically known for air purifying qualities.
Other Uses
- Artistic Ink: The vibrant color of Geranium psilostemon petals can be used to create a natural dye for pen inks or artist's pigments.
- Fabric Dyeing: Soaking fabrics in a solution made from the crushed flowers can transfer the beautiful hues to textiles.
- Creative Crafts: Pressed flowers and leaves from the plant can be incorporated into scrapbooking, card making, or decoupage projects.
- Eco-printing: The leaves, when sandwiched between fabrics and steamed, can leave interesting eco-prints, which are unique patterns for fabric design.
- Garden Design: The plant's striking appearance can be used to create focal points or color themes in garden designs.
- Photography Subjects: Due to their vivid colors and appealing structure, they make excellent subjects for floral and botanical photography.
- Culinary Garnishes: Although not commonly consumed, the petals can be used as decorative, non-toxic garnishes for salads and desserts.
- Plant Combinations: They can be paired with other perennials to enhance each other's colors and textures in a garden setting.
- Teaching Tool: In educational settings, the plant can be used to teach about pollination and the lifecycle of perennials.
- Natural Confetti: Dried petals can serve as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional paper confetti at celebrations.

Interesting Facts

Feng Shui
The Armenian Cranesbill is not used in Feng Shui practice.
Zodiac Sign Compitability
The Armenian Cranesbill is not used in astrology practice.
Plant Symbolism
- Unity and True Friendship: Geraniums are often associated with unity and true friendship, suggesting a bond that is both strong and caring.
- Health and Healing: Historically, geraniums have been used for their medicinal properties, making them symbolic of health and healing.
- Happiness and Positive Emotions: Geraniums, with their bright flowers and pleasant scent, are commonly associated with happiness, good spirits, and an uplifting of moods.
- Fertility and New Life: Their robust growth represents fertility and the blossoming of new life or new stages in life.
- Protection: Some believe geraniums offer protection from negative energies and can ward off evil spirits when planted around the home.

💧

Every 1-2 weeks

Water

☀️

2500 - 10000 Lux

Light

💦️

Humidity

🪴

Every 2-3 years

Repotting

🌱️

Spring-Early Summer

Propogation

✂️️

As needed

Pruning

Water
Armenian Cranesbill should be watered deeply once a week, allowing the soil to dry out slightly between waterings. In hot, dry conditions, you may need to water twice a week. Provide about one gallon of water per plant for each watering session, ensuring that the water penetrates the soil to reach the roots. Avoid overhead watering to minimize the risk of leaf diseases. During the winter when the plant is dormant, reduce watering frequency.
Light
Armenian Cranesbill thrives in full sun to partial shade. It performs best when provided with at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. However, in extremely hot climates, some afternoon shade is beneficial to prevent scorching. Choose a location that receives morning sunlight and dappled afternoon light for optimal growth.
Temperature
Armenian Cranesbill can survive in a wide range of temperatures but prefers a consistent range between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. It can tolerate minimum temperatures down to about 5 degrees Fahrenheit. To promote vigorous growth, maintain a daytime temperature around 70 degrees Fahrenheit and slightly cooler temperatures at night.
Pruning
Armenian Cranesbill benefits from pruning to encourage bushy growth and more blooms. Prune back the foliage by one-third in late summer to rejuvenate the plant and promote a flush of growth. Pruning is also necessary to remove any spent flowers or dead foliage, which can be done as needed throughout the growing season.
Cleaning
As needed
Soil
Armenian Cranesbill thrives in well-draining soil enriched with organic matter and prefers a slightly acidic to neutral pH between 5.8 and 7.2. A mix of garden soil, compost, and perlite or sand is ideal to provide the necessary nutrients and drainage.
Repotting
Armenian Cranesbill should be repotted every 2-3 years to refresh the soil and accommodate the growing root system, typically in the spring before active growth begins.
Humidity & Misting
Armenian Cranesbill tolerates a wide range of humidity levels but does best with average to slightly above average humidity, avoiding excessively dry or overly damp conditions.
Suitable locations
- Indoor
  Provide bright light, well-draining soil and water when topsoil is dry.
- Outdoor
  Plant in sun to partial shade, in moist, well-drained soil.
- Hardiness zone
  5-8 USDA
Life cycle
Geranium psilostemon 'Jolly Bee', commonly known as Hardy Geranium or Cranesbill, begins its life as a seed, which, when planted in fertile, well-drained soil and given the right temperature conditions, will germinate and sprout. The seedling stage involves the emergence of the first true leaves as the plant establishes its root system. As it enters the vegetative growth stage, it develops a robust foliage of deeply cut leaves and begins to spread. The plant then reaches the flowering stage, usually in late spring to early summer, where it produces vibrant magenta flowers with black star-shaped centers that attract pollinators. After pollination, the plant sets seed in beak-like capsules, from which seed dispersal can occur, completing the reproduction cycle. During the winter or in unfavorable conditions, the plant may die back, but it is a perennial, so it will re-emerge from its rootstock the following spring to complete another life cycle.
Propogation
- Propogation time
  Spring-Early Summer
- One of the most popular methods of propagating Geranium psilostemon 'Jason Bloom', also known as Armenian cranesbill, is through stem cuttings. This can typically be done in early to mid-summer. To propagate by cuttings, a gardener would take a 4 to 6 inch (about 10 to 15 centimeters) section of a healthy stem and remove the lower leaves, leaving a few at the top. The cut end of the stem should then be dipped in a rooting hormone to encourage root development and placed in a well-draining soil mix. The cutting should be kept in a warm, humid environment with indirect light until roots have developed, which usually takes a few weeks, after which it can be transplanted into the garden or a pot. Regular watering and avoiding direct sunlight during the initial rooting phase is crucial for successful propagation.