Erodium

Growing in Pots, Balconies & Indoors

Erodium, a heron’s bill (10-60 cm / 4-24 in), is a low, mounding, sun-loving plant – excellent in troughs, alpine pans, and small containers, but not a houseplant. It is neat and drought tolerant, perfect for a sunny balcony.

Quick Details

• Container Size: A small pot, trough, or shallow alpine pan with sharp drainage
• Indoor Suitability: Not a houseplant; a very bright sill is the most it will take indoors
• Best Spot: Full sun to light shade
• Soil & Drainage: Gritty and very free-draining
• Watering in Pots: Water lightly – it is drought tolerant, so let it dry between waterings

Indoors & On the Windowsill

• Houseplant limits: It needs real sun and sharp drainage, so it does not do well as a room plant; a bright, sunny sill is the best you can offer indoors.

On a Balcony or Patio

• Sun & drainage: Ideal for sunny balcony troughs and rock-garden pots. It tolerates heat and dry spells well, but insist on sharp drainage – it hates sitting wet.

Choosing the Pot, Soil & Long-Term Care

• Pot & drainage: A shallow pot or pan with strong drainage holes and no standing saucer; a terracotta pot suits it, as it breathes and dries fast.
• Potting mix: A gritty, free-draining mix – add plenty of grit or perlite; a topping of grit keeps the crown dry.
• Feeding: Feed only lightly – too much feed spoils its compact habit.
• Refreshing: Refresh the mix or pot on every couple of years, and divide congested clumps.

Bloom & Flower Guide

Quick Details

• Bloom Season: Spring through autumn — a long-flowering plant
• Time to First Bloom: Flowers in its first season
• Flower Appearance: Small, flat, five-petalled flowers in pink, white or purple, carried in loose clusters
• Edibility: Ornamental — the flowers are not typically eaten

Detailed Blooming Overview

Erodium (storksbill) is a low, long-blooming relative of the geraniums, dotted with small, flat, five-petalled flowers over a remarkably long season from spring into autumn. The blooms come in pink, white or purple and are held in loose clusters just above neat, ferny foliage, making it a favourite for edges, troughs and rock gardens.

Flower Characteristics

• Small, flat, five-petalled flowers.
• Colours: pink, white or purple.
• Borne in loose clusters over a long season.

Bloom Care & Thinning

• Keeping it blooming: Drought-tolerant once established; a light shear after a flush and a sunny, well-drained spot keep flowers coming.
• Pollinators: Visited by bees and other small insects.