woodland wildflower

Carolina crane's-bill

Geranium carolinianum

Also known as Carolina Geranium, Wild Geranium, Carolina Cranesbill

Native to most of the USA and southern Canada

Scattered from New England to Wisconsin and British Columbia, southern across the US to Florida and then south to central Mexico

In the garden

A woodland wildflower for partial shade. At up to 2 ft, it suits shade gardens and woodland edges. Hardy in USDA zones 4–10.

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Find your zone:

Bees Golden Sweat Bee

also Silky Striped Sweat Bee, Bristle Sweat Bee, Rugose-chested Sweat Bee +14 more
Cranesbill Miner, Hylaeus affinis, Osmia conjuncta, Goatsbeard Miner Bee, Sixteen-spotted Cuckoo Carder Bee, white-winged sweat bee, Asian Honey Bee, Florida Masked Bee, Coelioxys alternata, Hoplitis pilosifrons, Lasioglossum tegulare, Pseudopanurgus parvus, Tetragona dissecta, Nason's Mining Bee
Butterflies Common Buckeye

also Viceroy, Reakirt's Blue, Thecla edwardsi +2 more
Papilio cresphontes, Elkalyce argiades
Flower flies Margined Calligrapher also The Merodon equestris Group, American Snout Fly, Eastern Orange-tailed Leafwalker
Also visited by
- Wasps: Metric Paper Wasp, Fraternal Potter Wasp
- Beetles: Downy Long-horned Beetle, Onthophagus pennsylvanicus

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Habitat: WoodlandThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: Most of the USA and southern CanadaUnited States (48): AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY. Canada (4): AB, BC, ON, SK. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Scattered from New England to Wisconsin and British Columbia, southern across the US to Florida and then south to central MexicoThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Light: Partial shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Hardiness zones: USDA 4–10 · Canadian 4–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Gravelly to clay soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.

Height: up to 2 ft (to 0.6 m)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: Annual or biennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).