Wild geranium

Geranium maculatum

A spring woodland carpet of pink flowers for early bees under fruit trees.

Type: groundcover · native and wild plants
Hardiness: zones 3 to 8
Light: part shade
Size: about 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide
From: E. North America
Here: Hardy in the Lake Erie shore climate (zone 6b to 7a), so it can live outdoors in the ground.

Good for: pollinators.

Native to: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest & Great Lakes, Great Plains & Texas, Eastern Canada. Hardy in zones 3 to 8.

The story

Wild geranium is called cranesbill for its seed capsule, a long beak that dries, snaps and flings the seeds several feet. It carpets eastern woods in May.

Planting

Part shade and woodsy soil. It is easy under fruit trees and along the north side of a fence.

Growing

None. It may go dormant in a dry summer and come back in spring.

Harvest and use

Pollen and nectar for mason bees, mining bees and syrphid flies just as the orchard blooms.

What to watch for

Nothing much. Deer mostly leave it alone.

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More native and wild plants

General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home