Read a commented heron's beak profile here with information on growth, leaves, flowers and the beaked fruits. Useful tips explain how to properly plant and care for Erodium.
What is the heron's beak and how to care for it?
Heron's-bill (Erodium) is an easy-care perennial from the cranesbill family. It produces delicate cupped flowers in colors such as pink, white, yellow, violet or blue and has distinctive, beaked fruits. The plant prefers sunny locations with moderately dry, poor soil and is suitable as a ground cover and for rock gardens.
Profile
- Scientific name: Erodium
- Family: Geraniaceae
- Occurrence: worldwide
- Growth type: Perennial
- Growth habit: cushion-forming
- Growth height: 3 cm to 40 cm
- Leaf: pinnate, oval-lobed
- Flower: cup-shaped
- Fruit: beaked split fruit
- Roots: shallow roots
- Winter hardiness: hardy
- Use: ground cover, rock garden
Growth
Viewed through botanical lenses, the name heron's beak stands for a genus of plants within the family of storksbills (Geraniaceae). The plant family is well known to hobby gardeners, as the popular geranium (pelargonium) comes from it. The heron's beak genus doesn't just emulate the famous family member, but also knows how to impress with these growth characteristics:
- Growth type: one- to two-year-old or perennial herbaceous plants with delicate cup flowers and distinctively beaked fruits.
- Growth habit: initially flat leaf rosettes, later cushion-forming to almost upright shoots with wintergreen or evergreen leaves.
- Special feature: delicate hair on all parts of the plant above ground.
- Height: 3 cm to 40 cm, rarely up to 60 cm.
- Growth width: 10 cm to 20 cm, rarely up to 30 cm.
- Roots: shallow root system.
- Occurrence in Germany: on the side of the road, on stony ruderal surfaces and dry to semi-dry grasslands, in the shadow of trees and buildings.
The characteristics of a heron's beak plant that are interesting for hobby gardeners are: easy to care for, hardy, non-toxic, tolerates cutting, decorative ground cover, long flowering period, wintergreen decorative foliage, fruit decorations worth seeing.
Leaf
Outside the flowering period, a heron's-bill perennial can be easily recognized even by the untrained eye because of leaves with these characteristics:
- Leaf shape: depending on the species, simple or compound, lobed to finely pinnate on short or long, softly hairy petioles.
- Leaf edge: toothed or sawn.
- Leaf color: dark green above, whitish hair underneath.
- Arrangement: opposite or alternating.
- Special feature: edible
Bloom
From spring to early autumn, delicate inflorescences float above the foliage. You can accurately name a flowering heron's beak plant thanks to these unmistakable characteristics:
- Inflorescence: Umbel with 2 to 10 hermaphrodite individual flowers.
- Single flower: stalked, fivefold (5 free sepals, 5 free petals) with two circles of 5 stamens each and a star-shaped stigma in the middle of the flower.
- Flower colors: pink, white, yellow, violet to blue, often clearly veined, dashed or dotted.
- Flowering time: May to September/October.
Fruit
Trademarks of a heron's-bill perennial are fruits with these characteristics:
- Fruit type: Split fruit with five chambers, each containing a seed.
- Special feature: strongly elongated style in the shape of a heron's beak (hence the plant name).
- Fruit ripeness: August to November.
A ripe split fruit breaks down into five fruits with a long fruit beak, which is actually an awn. As a result of the withdrawal of water, a screw-like curvature occurs, with the help of which a partial crop drills into the earth so that its seeds can germinate there. You can follow this fascinating process in the following video:
Video: Look and be amazed: Heron's beak fruit drills into the ground
European species
Of the 60 to 75 heron's beaks found worldwide, these species are often found in Germany:
| Heronbill species | Common Heron's Bill | Garden Heron's Beak | Dwarf Heron's Beak | Heronbill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botanical name | Erodium cicutarium | Erodium variable | Erodium Reichardii | Erodium malacoides |
| Synonym | Common Heron's Bill | Dwarf Garden Heron's Beak | Balearic Heron's Beak | Mallow-leaved Heron'sbill |
| Growth height | 10-40 cm | 5 cm to 15 cm | 3 cm to 10 cm | 10 cm to 60 cm |
| Leaf shape | feathered | oval-triangular, lobed | heart-shaped, notched | heart-shaped |
| Flowering time | April to September | May to September | June to September | February to November |
| Flower color | pink, purple, white | pink | white-pink | pink to purple |
As the climate continues to warm, Corsican heron's-bill (Erodium corsicum) is becoming increasingly important as a rock garden perennial in this country. Rosette-shaped growth, wintergreen leaves and pink cupped flowers characterize the ground cover. With winter protection, the southern European Erodium species can also overwinter north of the Alps.
Planting heron's beak
You can buy ready-to-plant heron's-bill perennials from spring to autumn in tree nurseries and garden centers for a price of around 3 euros. The best time to plant hardy Erodium species is in autumn. Mediterranean species such as the Balearic heron's-bill (Erodium Reichardii) benefit from planting in spring. You can read tried and tested planting tips here:
Location
The general conditions in the natural distribution areas allow important conclusions to be drawn about the perfect location of heron's beak in the garden and on the balcony:
- Sunny, warm summer location.
- Moderately dry, poor garden soil.
- Preferably calcareous soil, sandy-gravelly and well-drained without waterlogging.
The heron's beak plant looks particularly beautiful as a ground cover in the rock garden. Other recommended locations include a Mediterranean gravel bed, the dry zone in a herb spiral and the summit region of the Alpinum. On the balcony, the perennial is often useful as a flowering underplant for large potted plants.
Planting Tips
Heron's-bill perennials are easy to plant. The focus of the correct planting technique is protection against waterlogging. The following planting tips explain all the important details:
- Mix the bed soil and substrate with sand, expanded clay or fine-grained chippings.
- Add a handful of horn shavings (€32.00 on Amazon) or compost as starting fertilizer to the potting soil.
- Planting distance as ground cover: 20 cm to 30 cm, large varieties up to 60 cm.
- Plant requirements per m²: 22 to 26 pieces, e.g. B. for Dwarf Heron's Bill (Erodium variabile) up to 2 pieces, e.g. B. for Common Heron's Bill (Erodium cicutarium).
- Plant heron's beak in a pot over a 5 cm high drainage made of potsherds, lava granules or gravel.
Did you know that drought stress is the most common cause of a heron's beak plant not growing? Regular watering is therefore a gardening requirement in the first few days and weeks.
Excursus
Winged namesake
An amazing similarity connects the bird species gray heron (Ardea cinerea) with the plant genus heron's beak (Erodium). Both creatures are equipped with a tweezer-like beak. In herons, the beak on the long, S-shaped neck serves as a catching tool. The plant fascinates us with a 4 centimeter long, heron-neck-shaped fruit beak as a flywheel and drilling tool, as can be admired in the video above.
Caring for the heron's beak
The heron's beak plant is very easy to care for. The mainstays of the simple care program are water supply as needed and light winter protection. The nutrient supply is eliminated without replacement in the first few years. Pruning is primarily considered for aesthetic reasons. Useful care tips for Central European heron beaks to read:
Pouring
- Water Erodium abundantly in dry conditions without causing waterlogging.
- Let the bed soil dry thoroughly until the next watering.
- Water regularly and thoroughly in the pot.
Fertilize
- The starting fertilizer covers the nutrient requirements for the first few years in the bed.
- If there are deficiency symptoms (yellowish leaves, pale flower colors), fertilize with compost in March/April.
- Provide the heron's beak plant in the pot with a liquid fertilizer every four weeks from April to September.
Cutting
- Do not clean out the heron's beak so that the beaked fruits form.
- Cut off dead stems and wilted leaves in February.
Wintering
- In the year of planting, cover each heron's beak plant with leaves or straw.
- Winter-hardy, planted Erodium species do not require winter protection later.
- Place the heron's beak in the pot on wood every year, cover the container with fleece, mulch the substrate with leaves.
- Winter care: water the wintergreen perennial occasionally when there is frost, leave a blanket of snow on the plant.
Share
Division every two to three years keeps the heron's beak plant young and blooming. The best time is in spring. You can divide hardy common heron's-bill (Erodium cicutarium) and garden heron's-bill (Erodium variabile) in autumn. Dig up the root ball. On a stable surface, divide the perennial with a knife or sharp spade. Any section with at least three visible buds will happily take root in the new location. A positive side effect of rejuvenating division is the production of additional heron's beak plants in the sense of vegetative propagation.
Diseases and pests
A heron's beak plant does not fall victim to pests. Like most cranesbill plants, the above-ground parts of the plant contain aromatic ingredients that have a deterrent effect on pests. Aphids avoid the leaves, as do voracious snails. Since the shallow roots extend close to the surface of the earth, Erodium species are endangered by waterlogging. Fungal infections, such as powdery mildew or gray mold, then spread on permanently moist leaves.
Popular varieties
Some beautiful varieties of European heron's-bill species are available:
- Album: Mediterranean heron's-bill Erodium Reichardii with white, red-veined flowers and wintergreen foliage (winter protection recommended), height 5 cm to 10 cm.
- Bishop: Lover's variety with pink-violet cup flowers from May to September and evergreen leaves, beautiful ground cover for rock gardens and gravesites, growth height up to 5 cm.
- Almodovar: Erodium hybrid, violet-pink flowers with dark eyes, evergreen pinnate leaves, easy to care for and hardy, height 20 cm to 25 cm.
- Country Park: Garden Heron's Bill Erodium variable, finely pinnate, evergreen leaves, pink cupped flowers with red veins from June to September.
FAQ
Is Common Heron's Bill poisonous?
No, Common Heron's Bill (Erodium cicutarium) is not poisonous. On the contrary, the young leaves are edible. Harvested shortly before the flowering period begins, the leaves pamper the palate with a particularly aromatic taste. Natural food recipes recommend preparing it as a salad, vegetable, bread topping and soup. The roots can be chewed raw, like chewing gum.
Are heron's beak plants hardy?
When it comes to winter hardiness, you can't just lump heron's beaks together. There are wild species that thrive right on our doorstep and are hardy down to -30° Celsius. These include common heron's-bill (Erodium cicutarium) and garden heron's-bill (Erodium variabile). Erodium species from the Mediterranean region are less frost hardy at up to -10° Celsius. The best-known representative is the Balearic heron's-bill (Erodium Reichardii), whose wintering is guaranteed by a cover made of leaves or straw.
When and where should a heron's-bill plant be planted?
The origin of a heron's-bill perennial determines the best planting time. Native, hardy species such as Common Heron's Bill (Erodium cicutarium) are ideally planted in autumn. Erodium species from the Mediterranean region are partially hardy and come into the ground in spring. When it comes to site conditions, all heronbills agree. It should be a sunny, warm summer location with a nutrient-poor, sandy-gravelly and well-drained soil that can contain lime.
