Geum Prinses Juliana
Bright orange, and plenty of it. 'Prinses Juliana' is one of the older garden geums and still one of the most generous, throwing up wiry stems of semi-double flowers in a warm orange that reads from the other end of the garden. Below them sits a tight rosette of lobed, slightly hairy green leaves. Flowering starts in early spring and carries on through summer where the stems are picked or cut.
Short stature and long flowering make this a workhorse at the front of a border, along a path, or in a group through a cottage planting. The orange lifts blues and purples particularly well, so it sits happily with nepeta, salvia and geraniums. The flowers cut for a small vase and picking them brings on more.
Grow in full sun to semi-shade in soil that stays moist through summer but drains freely in winter. Geums are not drought plants and flowering drops away quickly in dry ground. Add compost at planting on light or thin soils. Allow 30 cm between plants, and split the clump every three years or so in early spring to keep it vigorous.
Makes a compact plant around 0.2 m tall in leaf and 0.3 m across, with flower stems held above.
Trimming: Take each flower stem out at the base once it finishes rather than shearing across the plant. Clear dead leaves from the rosette at the end of winter, leaving the healthy foliage in place.
Deadheading: Deadhead or pick constantly. This cultivar keeps producing stems as long as the old ones are removed, and letting it set seed brings the season to an early end.
Fertilising: Feed as growth starts in spring with a balanced fertiliser, and mulch lightly with compost. A second light feed in December supports flowering into late summer.
Watering: Water regularly through spring and summer. Even moisture is what keeps the flower stems coming, and a plant left dry for a fortnight will stop.
Pest Control: Sawfly larvae skeletonise the leaves in early summer and are removed by hand. Slugs and snails take the soft new growth in spring.
Disease Management: Powdery mildew marks the leaves where plants are crowded or dry. Divide congested clumps, water at ground level, and remove any badly affected leaves.
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