Geum: How to grow geums

Flowering from late spring into summer, these varied hardy perennials are growing in popularity. Here’s our expert guide to growing them. Words by Naomi Slade.

By Veronica Peerless

Published: Tuesday, 06 June 2023 at 12:00 am

Hard-working and handsome, geums (also known as avens) are hardy perennials that come into bloom in late spring (they are often spotted in show gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show) and carry on flowering well until summer. Geum flowers are typically orange, red or yellow, but also peach and pale pink. They are perfect for the front or middle of a border and can also be grown in pots. Many geums attract bees and butterflies and also make good cut flowers.

Geums are evergreen and resistant to pests and diseases – they are said to be slug, deer and rabbit resistant. The edible leaves and clove-scented roots have been used for brewing, baking and in medicinal tinctures to combat chills and catarrh – and even protect against plague.

“In the British Isles, there are two native species of geum,” says Sue Martin, who now holds the UK’s only National Collection of Geum. “In the south there is Geum urbanum or wood avens, which grows in shaded copses, and in the north we have larger Geum rivale or water avens, which is found in damp and shady locations. There is a cluster in the Balkans, mainly alpines such as Geum coccineum, and another one in South America, including Geum quellyon, which are the ancestors of the big commercial cultivars.”

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How to grow geum

How to divide and propagate geum

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Propagate plants by division in autumn and spring to conserve the named variety; geums do not tend to come true from seed. Different varieties mature at different rates, so rather than adhering strictly to the idea of dividing every three to four years, keep an eye on the plant and divide it for maintenance purposes when it starts to look tired. This will create lots of fresh new plants and prolong the longevity of the clone. If more plants are required, plants can be divided as soon as they are sufficiently large and established.

Methods of division vary according to the species. When clumping Geum quellyon cultivars get woody and begin to deteriorate, lift the plant and immerse the root ball in a bucket of water, so it can be gently pulled apart. Cultivars of Geum rivale can be divided when there are lots of conspicuous rhizomes spreading across the surface of the soil.

When to cut back geums

There is no need to cut back the plant itself, however, as the evergreen leaves are an attractive feature in their own right. The low-growing Geum rivale types develop attractive seedheads so can be left on the plant.