Geranium hybride Blue Sunrise

'Blue Sunrise' belongs to a new generation of perennial geraniums. It is an astonishing hybrid with late and prolonged flowering, just as remarkable for its highly cut golden foliage as for the delicate blue of its flowers that mature to purple. It continues to surprise with its modest size and compact semi-creeping habit, far from the overflowing opulence of its parents. For any soil that retains moisture, in full sun.

The perennial geranium 'Blue Sunrise' belongs to the Geraniaceae family. Its parentage is complex, giving no hint of the qualities of this plant. It is the result of cross-breeding between G.wallichianum 'Buxton Variety' x G. 'Ann Folkard' (G.procurens x G.psilostemon). 'Blue Sunrise' forms a semi-creeping clump, it does not produce long stems like its parents. It reaches a height of 40 cm (16in) and spreads 60 cm (24in) on the ground. The foliage is deciduous. The young leaves emerge late in spring, dressed in a bright yellow, edged with orange. They gradually turn green until mid-summer, with the autumn growth again becoming golden. The leaves are wide, highly cut, carried on red petioles, with a beautiful golden yellow in the centre, becoming tender green towards the edge of the lamina. The late flowering occurs from July to October. The flowers, in harmony with the foliage, are a delicate and vibrant blue, without a white centre, turning purple as they age. This hybrid is mainly reproduced in vitro, as its multiplication is delicate.　

'Blue Sunrise' is a magician of colours and a worshipper of the sun that it captures in its foliage. It can be paired with other golden foliage and blue-flowering plants, such as Veronica prostrata 'Aztec Gold'. It will decorate the base of the golden hop, or provide shade for that of clematis 'Arabella', whose very blue flowers will complement the softness of the scene.