woodland wildflower

Woolly cranesbill

Geranium erianthum

Also known as Woolly Geranium

Native to Alaska and southern Canada

Northwestern British Columbia and southwestern Yukon to southern Alaska

Light Partial shade Sun tolerance
Moisture Moist Moisture preference
Zones 1–8 Cold to heat range
Bloom Jun–Sep Flowering time
Height up to 32 in to 81 cm
Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A woodland wildflower for partial shade and evenly moist soil. Its pink flowers peak in July. At up to 32 in, it suits shade gardens and woodland edges. Hardy in USDA zones 1–8.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Hardiness zones

Find your zone:

When it blooms

The Woolly cranesbill's pink flowers bloom June to September, peaking in July. This midsummer display draws bees and butterflies.

Woolly cranesbill blooms pinkFoliage

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee +70 more
Two-spotted Bumble Bee, American Bumble Bee, Ligated Furrow Bee, Tricolored Bumble Bee, Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, Pure Green Sweat bee, Bombus fervidus, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Perplexing Bumble Bee, Fuzzy-Horned Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Colletes inaequalis, Orange-legged Furrow Bee, Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee, Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Flat-tailed Leafcutter Bee, Golden Sweat Bee, Spurred Ceratina, Blue Orchard Bee, Indiscriminate Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Horn-faced Mason Bee, Orange-tipped Wood-digger, Eastern Thistle Longhorn Bee, Dark-winged Sweat Bee, Black-and-yellow Nomad Bee, Bufflehead Mason Bee, Sanderson's Bumble Bee, Rugose-chested Sweat Bee, Say's Cuckoo Leafcutter Bee, Deep-blue Sweat Bee, Cranesbill Miner, Black-and-green Metallic-Sweat bee, Ceratina dupla, Anthophora ursina, Experienced Sweat Bee, Osmia pumila, Spot-sided Dark Bee, Maine Blueberry Bee, Beardtongue scraper bee, False Sunflower Cuckoo Nomad Bee, Cresson's Nomad Bee, Eucera rosae, Osmia collinsiae, Variable Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Goatsbeard Miner Bee, Andrena personata, Osmia simillima, Nomada sulphurata, minor cuckoo sweat bee, Colletes productus, Colourful Willow Miner Bee, Forbes's Sweat Bee, Cuneate Nomad Bee, Mock-orange Scissor Bee, Nimble Ceratina, Xylocopa virginica virginica, Dunning's Miner, Waterleaf Mining Bee, Lasioglossum coriaceum, Nason's Mining Bee, Spring Beauty Miner, Andrena polemonii, Agapostemon viridulus, Hoplitis pilosifrons, Eucera belfragei, Denticulate Nomad, Augochlora nominata, Augochlorella persimilis, Tetragona dissecta
Butterflies Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

also Pearl Crescent, Silver-spotted Skipper, Pipevine Swallowtail +16 more
Spicebush Swallowtail, Zabulon Skipper, Peck's Skipper, Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, Silvery Blue, Hobomok Skipper, Long Dash, Dreamy Duskywing, Amblyscirtes hegon, Coenonympha tullia mixturata, Thecla edwardsi, Papilio cresphontes, Juvenal's Duskywing, West Virginia White, Western Arctic Skipper, Elkalyce comyntas
Beetles Asian Lady Beetle

also Spotted Pink Lady Beetle, Fourteen-spotted Lady Beetle, Polished Lady Beetle +11 more
Two-lined Leatherwing, Acmaeodera tubulus, Lined Longhorn Beetle, Trachysida mutabilis, Stripe-legged Long-horned Beetle, Pachyschelus purpureus, Downy Long-horned Beetle, Greenish Flower Chafer, Double-lined Longhorn Beetle, Evodinus monticola, Chlorophorus glaucus
Also visited by
- Flower flies:
  
  Margined Calligrapher, Eastern Calligrapher +10 more
  Long-tailed Aphideater, Thick-legged Hover Fly, Black-shouldered Drone Fly, The Merodon equestris Group, Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly, Variable Duskyface Fly, American Snout Fly, Broad-headed Marsh Fly, Bombylius coquilletti, Bombylius pulchellus
- Moths:
  
  Snowberry Clearwing, Hummingbird Clearwing +4 more
  Horned Spanworm Moth, Morbid Owlet, White Slant-line, White-spotted Sable
- Wasps: Bramble Mason Wasp, Parancistrocerus leionotus

Butterflies that use this plant

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

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: WoodlandThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: Alaska and southern CanadaUnited States (1): AK. Canada (2): BC, YT. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Northwestern British Columbia and southwestern Yukon to southern AlaskaThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Partial shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: MoistThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 1–8 · Canadian 0–8The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Moist soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil texture: Light to heavy (sandy to clay)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
Soil pH: 4.0–7.5The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: MediumHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Salinity tolerance: NoneHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.

Growth & form

Height: up to 32 in (to 81 cm)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: ModerateA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
Shape: ErectIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 12+ in (30+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Jun–SepWhen it flowers.
Flower color: PinkThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: Schizocarp (beaked); ripens Jul–SepThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.

Propagation & seed

Cold stratification: Not requiredWhether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: Bare root, container, cuttings, seedHow to start new plants.
Seed: ~0.1 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
Seed spread rate: SlowHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Vegetative spread: ModerateWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.