Geum coccineum
Scarlet Avens
Common names: Red Avens, Balkan Avens
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 5 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Flowering
- May–Jul
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Jerzy Opioła · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Scarlet avens, botanical name Geum coccineum, comes from the mountains of the Balkans and blooms from May to July in bright orange-red. From a rosette of softly hairy, pinnate leaves rise thin stems 30 to 40 cm tall, carrying cup-shaped flowers that resemble small wild roses. Cutting off spent stems often produces a second, weaker bloom into late summer. Numerous cultivars are available in orange, yellow and red, including double-flowered forms. The perennial looks best in small groups at the edge of a perennial bed, in front of grasses and beside blue or violet companions. Bees and bumblebees readily visit the open flowers. It also grows well in pots and troughs. However, it stays vigorous for only a few years, and regular division keeps it young.
Care instructions
Plant scarlet avens in spring or September in a sunny to partly shaded spot. In hot, dry locations, partial shade with morning sun is better. Space plants 30 cm apart so that the heart of the rosette sits at soil level. The soil should be fresh and humus-rich: water thoroughly during dry periods, but never let the soil stay constantly wet. Cut spent stems back to the rosette, and it often blooms a second time. In spring, remove withered leaves. Divide the clumps every three to four years, otherwise they become woody in the centre and bloom less. The most common mistake is heavy soil that stays wet in winter, and the plant will die after a few years.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingFeb–Mar, Oct–Nov
FloweringMay–Jul
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 10 °C, ideally 15 °C
- Days to sprout
- 14 to 42 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, loamy, nutrient-rich
Scarlet avens likes fresh, humus-rich and well-drained soil that does not dry out in summer and does not stay wet in winter. Loamy garden soil with some compost suits it; the pH may range from slightly acidic to neutral. On heavy, clay soils it lasts only a short time, because winter wet harms it. There, mix in sand and compost before planting or set it on a slight rise.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Mar, Jun
In March, scatter mature compost around the leaf rosettes; that is enough for the new growth. After the first flowering in June, a second thin dose of compost helps so the plant flowers once more. Too much nitrogen brings lots of foliage and few flowers. In a container, give a weakly mixed liquid feed for flowering plants about every four weeks during the growing season.
Overwintering
Scarlet avens is hardy and survives frost down to about minus 25 degrees without protection. Wet is what endangers it: on heavy soils, plants readily die in wet winters, so plant it there slightly raised and mix in sand. In spring, remove withered foliage between the rosettes. In a container, place the pot against a sheltered house wall, let water drain away well and protect it with fleece in hard frost.
Propagation
Methods
- Division
- From seed
The surest way to propagate scarlet avens is by division. In spring after it has started to shoot, or in September, dig up the clump, divide it into pieces with several leaf rosettes and replant them immediately. Every three to four years this rejuvenates the plant. Sowing is also possible: the seeds germinate best after a cold period, so you sow them in pots in October or November, or in February and March, and leave these standing outside. Varieties do not come true to the cultivar from seed; the seedlings often flower in other colours and less double.
Companion planting
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Scarlet Avens yourself
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