Crambe Cordifolia
Crambe Cordifolia. How satisfying is it when a plant which you think may be borderline, and you don’t really expect it to flourish ends up being outstanding.
Keeping your expectations in check makes the pleasure of success all the more pleasurable. Crambe Cordifolia was planted in the round garden fifteen months ago.
This perennial grows to around seven feet tall. A single stem arises from the very large dark green leaves creating a huge canopy of small sweetly scented white flowers in June/July, although you may find flowering starting a little later in Aberdeen and continuing to bloom into the month of August.
I like the position where we
have ours planted, it appears to be at the very back of the main border in the back garden, it is in fact a level above, in the round garden. This positioning allows the not so very attractive leaves and stem to be concealed.
Our Crambe was purchased from Crocus mail order fifteen months ago. Planted in Spring in a position that is very free draining, the plant clearly did take a good hold producing the large green leaves which the slugs unfortunately seem quite fond of. No flowering stem was produced in the first year. This year in Spring the leaves emerged and I cant say that I was feeling all that optimistic, I don’t know why this should be, there is nothing to suggest that the plant is tender or temperamental. 
Anyway by late May I had all but forgotten about it, leaves hidden completely out of sight by lush growth of foliage at either side of the plant.
Then in mid June I spotted the sturdy stem pushing its way through the foliage of other plants. The flowering stem is exceptionally sturdy, however in mid July it was leaning slightly and I felt it would be wise to give a little support.
I haven’t seen Crambe all that often, when I first came across it in a country garden I convinced myself that it was a form of Gypsophila, (its not) I am surprised that it is not more widely grown in this area as it is quite outstanding.
Unsurprisingly Crambe Cordifolia received the RHS award of garden merit. Plant in sun or
part shade, however in Aberdeen I reckon full sun would be best.
Well there you go I think you can gather I like our Crambe and before I forget, it is said to like very free draining soil, even the poor dry stuff which other plants may turn up their nose or should I say petals at..
Hardiness—Fully hardy
Position — Full sun/part shade
*** Crambe cordifolia – buy now ***
See the Crambe at the back of the border , just to the left of the centre of the picture.
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Hardy Geraniums, apart from the fact that I really like them, they also simply flourish in our cool climate here in Aberdeen. The one below Jolly Bee I particularly like, for the fact that it flowers from June through till early November, and what about that fabulous colour.
It really is a fantastic colour, but the reason I mention it today relates to the fact that it is no longer available. I wont go into it in any great detail but the reason for its withdrawal from sale all boiled down to the fact that it was said to be identical to an earlier introduction named Rozanne. Well anyway I said in an earlier post that you would be unable to get Jolly Bee.
I am not alone in thinking Jolly Bee is a better behaved plant, and look what I came across quite recently. A mail order nursery who if you order Rozanne will in fact send you Jolly Bee, Penlan plants Give them a ring, you will find the owner very helpful.
See how the blue of Jolly Bee in the front garden tones down the brightness of the Begonia Flamboyant
If you happen to leave a comment I will be sure to visit your site and do the same
Hi Helene, glad to see you making a recovery even though it may be slow.
Hi Alistair, loved your Crambe Cordifolia, I have never heard about it before so had to look it up. I would have loved to grow it in my garden, slim and tall plants do well in small gardens like mine 🙂 But I doubt it would like my wet heavy soil from what you are writing so I better just enjoy your photos.
Hi Jennifer, I want to stick with blotanical in the hope that the talk of upgrades will take place, in spite of the current problems within the site. The trouble which I have been having recently is of my own doing.
Hi Alistair, I was so intrigued by your Crambe Cordifolia that I opened a second window on the internet to see if this is something that I might be able to grow here. As best I can figure, it is hardy to zone 6, so I just may be able to do so. Love the color of your Jolly Bee!
Sorry to read about your issues with Blotanical. I have always been a bit frustrated with the site and must confess I rarely visit anymore.
Always tempting to try those plants which we are sometimes in doubt of. Thanks for giving me the information regarding blotanical.
Your Crambe is exquisite! I wonder if it will grow here. I would love to have it in my gardens. Blotanical must be working quite well for you now. I came here through the Most Visited page. So glad you are back.
I like gereniums too. Mine bloom only in June and early July. I have purple and pink ones, can’t remember their names…
Thanks for the information Allan, I planted Patricia last autumn, Didn’t do well in this its first year, may just take a while to settle in.
Geranium psilostemon, [fuchsia flower with an intense black center], blooms most of the summer. The Species is enormous and the variety “Patricia” is only a little bit tamer. This plant is a combination ground-cover and climber. It defies verbal explanation, does not photograph well from a distance, and has to be experienced to appreciate.
I would like to see a lot more hardy geraniums with longer flowering periods.
There is some agreement on this side of the pond that, from the perspective of DNA, Geranium Jolly Bee and Geranium Rozanne are one and the same plant. I too have watched Rozanne continue to bloom until winter sets in. It’s one of those plants that keeps on giving, long after all others have gone dormant.
I hope it does as well in your garden Crystal
Dens, that is also the main reason for my use of blotanical.
I am so impressed with your borders, and your Crambe is sited to perfection! Blotanical is having problems of its own, but I am glad you are back. I use Blotanical a lot for navigating to my favorite blogs.
Many years ago, I considered getting a Crambe cordifolia, but never got round to buying one. After reading your very informative post, I’ve decided to add it to my wish list.
Or perhaps the plant had been sprayed with some foul smelling substance.
Jordan, the pictures showing the Crambe were taken four weeks ago, the ones in the front garden last week. The cool weather and plenty rain has the garden still looking very lush. It has been warming up in the last couple of weeks.
Thanks for the comment. I forwarded it to Nancy. I’m sure she will be thrilled. Your garden looks fabulous. Are the photos recent? Things are starting to turn brown here in Seattle. It would be nice to live in a summer rainfall climate. We had a day at 35C last week. It was not at all pleasant.
Sorry, I must have skimmed over that part. I can’t believe someone didn’t like the smell, but then we all perceive perfume in different ways and hey! maybe they don’t like honey! Christina
Hi Christine, I did mention about the fragrance, in fact one of my commenter’s said they hated the smell of it.
I sort of gave up with Blotanical, maybe I should try again. Crambe cordifolia is a wonderful plant, you didn’t mention the fabulous honey scent. I had one in my English garden but have had no luck here in Italy, although I grew some from seed and the one I gave a friend is doing well. Christina
Yes Donna, we were also thinking that the blue of Jolly Bee takes the edge off of the vibrant red of the Begonia Flamboyant. As for Blotanical I am not yet fully convinced that we have it right as yet.
Glad you are back and running at Blotanical. Sometimes the links get corrupted and Blotanical loses the connection. I love how you wove Jolly Bee through that bed. It really is a pop of color. The blue is so vibrant.
I am glad that I came across Crambe again, will it do so well next year, I hope so.
Hmm, I wonder if some may feel the scent of Crambe is sickly sweet.
Crambe can grow to be a very large plant, given that it is herbaceous, it really is incredible how large it can get in a year. Well done with yours! We definitely don’t have room for one. You said the flowers were sweetly scented and so we must have come across another variety as its flowers were definitely “off” and did not smell good at all – it really put us off.
Hi Alistair, Crambe is a new plant to me too, beautiful flowers, and clever planting to conceal the less attractive stems and leaves. I remember your post about the geranium argument. Gorgeous blue, at least you should be able to propagate it so that you, at least, are never without it!
Hi Linnie, well, sort of planned it. Its a pity there isn’t more geraniums with a long flowering period.
Hi Alistair
Well you are torturing me again with the unattainable hardy geranium! It sounds like it can be bought in the UK if you know the trick… I haven’t actually done a search here but I think I may, so pretty and late blooms. Excellent job of positioning the Crambe shrub, just like you planned every aspect of it which of course you did. I doubt your problems with blotanical have very much to do with you and more with their site.
Greggo, looks like the rusty grass is a permanent feature, of course it could die off. I will hopefully get the blotanical thing sorted out.
Looks like you still have that rusty grass…he he.
I remember early on with blotanical my blogs disappeared on my plot page and no one could comment. I had to redo the feed.
It is only my pleasure, I put my list in the logon of blogger, not on blog itself, for that reason! hehe. Many stop blogging or only once in a while (months), so I want to see new happenings, but not put it on blog. I keep updated like that! Anyway, whatever..that’s me. Love your blog. I will keep an eye! LOL! LT
Hi Astrid, I have a strange feeling that the problem was at my side, hoping it is now sorted out.
Hello Frances, I think you are right, some of the changes which I made looks now to be very likely the cause of the problem. My son in law who is a computer whiz kid is working on it.
Thanks for dropping by LT, I did have a long list of the blogs I visit, but I have removed them in the meantime as I was told it was slowing down the time which my blog takes to open to an unacceptable length of time.
Hi Larry, I have been posting once every two weeks. I don’t think my subscription thing has been working for those who looked for my latest posts arriving by email, I am thinking it must now be working. I hope my Crambe lasts for 25 years, that will see me through till the age of 92.
Jane, I think it may all be down to me messing about with my site.
Ahoy Al’. I have to confess to having given up with Blotanical. There were all sorts of ‘things’ going on, including other peoples posts appearing under my name, my posts not showing at all, blah, blah, blah… I think they’re re-inventing it so hopefully all ‘glitches’ will get fixed.
Meanwhile, I hope you & Myra are well, your garden is looking simply amazing, not sure how you manage to squeeze in more ‘loveliness’ (or maybe I do!). x
Hi Alistair… so pleased to see something from you after what appeared to be a lengthy hiatus with no posts coming into my in box. Regarding Blotanical… I seldom open the site unless I want to search out posts on a particular plant.
My crambe has been in place for about 25 years. It generally has a number of very tall stalks, although with our drought, appeared to be less developed this season. For me, staking is an absolute necessity as the stalks will definitely go over without benefit of doing so,
So good to see a post from you once again… I do so admire your begonias! Larry
What a beautiful garden and you added with the great pics. I am one of those who can just look and admire, salty winds will not allow this. But wow, you have a great garden. I also find all sorts of funny things on my picks in blotanical, hope you get sorted of the listing, luckily I copy all my ‘want to read’ to my blog watchlist, which I think is better for the longer term. Good luck. LT
hello Alistair, sorry you seem to have problems with blotanical, up until last night your blog was in my fav list and I had been reading your blog from there and picking posts, do you think it could have anything to do with the changes you have made to your blog, I have not been spending much time on the computer with our dry weather and light evenings I have been in the garden a lot,
I have noticed lots of professional gardeners rave about Crambe cordifloia and have put it on my plant list order for this autumn as I think it could work in my free draining front garden, thanks for the review,
hope you get your blog sorted soon, Frances
Hi Alistair
Re: Crambe and your garden – wow! I first saw Crambe on a garden tour several years ago and remember how it stood out tall and strong when everything else was fading away. Your border is exceptional and full. And the Jolly Bee contrasts so well with your bright red flowers. Beautiful!
Re: Blotanical. I quickly hopped onto my Plot, which is still there and onto my Faves, of which Aberdeen Gardening is a part of and your are still linked there. So hopefully everything is back in order. I remember Lona commenting (soon after I joined) how Blotanical was having difficulties so I hope they are resolved.
Hello Donna, I think I may have mentioned in the past about the long blooming time of plants here due to the cool weather. On the other hand at times it makes some of them a bit later in the season to bloom. Thanks for taking the trouble to get back to me on email, lots of work going on behind the scenes at the moment.
Thanks Carolyn, picked up your other comment, hoping all is well now.
catmint, my son in law is working on it, apparently still a few tweaks required.
Hello Carolyn, Thanks for the information/ My son in law is working on my site at the moment so I am feeling optimistic. You managed to pick my post, really pleased about that, its the first success in seven weeks. Its not showing up as yet, but it maybe takes a little time to appear.
Hi Martin, I hope the success with our Crambe isn’t a one of thing. I think it would be a shame if blotanical were to go under.
Thanks Holley, I am getting some information that the problem perhaps is with the settings of my site.
The Crambe looks fabulous! I don’t know this plant, but I really like the looks of it. And every year I say I’m going to get some geraniums. I have added a few this past spring, but I definitely need more – and I love the blue of your Jolly Bee! As for Blotanical, well, good luck. Wish I knew how to help you. I know there are happenings behind the scenes, because my plot has been doing some odd things lately, too. Although I haven’t disappeared like you. And the picks page looks like it is out of whack, too. I don’t know what it would take to get Stuart’s attention, but I hope you do.
Hi Alistair,
Your Crambe is magnificent. I have one which flowered well last year but has only produced a few leaves this year, no flowers. Shame. Re blotanical, I’ve given up using it, if you remember I had a strange message which I have since discovered was from the owner of the site, who I think has been messing around with the votes. I don’t really care about votes, but I feel something weird is happening on the site and I now don’t bother.
I just successfully picked your post and visited your plot.
I don’t know what happened Alastair, but everything seems normal again with your blog. Is it possible that blotanical is operating on automatic pilot?
Crambe looks like a great plant but it is the positioning in your garden that really sets it off. I came to your post through my faved blogs in Blotanical so that part is working. Now I will see if I can pick it.
Alistair, I left you an email that maybe was my issue but maybe not about some issues with your blog cropping up. I had a hard time commenting. I forgot to mention in that email that some widgets can also cause problems and I have deleted some from my site that helped.
Now to this lovely post. This is a brand new plant to me and I love it. The flowers are so wispy. And you know I love hardy geraniums and especially this one. I wish I could make them bloom longer but no luck with our heat and especially the drought this year.