Here’s a Geum you don’t see every day! Geum ‘Orange Pumpkin’ is certainly an eye catcher, with tangerine-toned double-flowered pom poms that form, unlike other Geums, on relatively short stems for a nice, neat habit.

How to grow Geum ‘Orange Pumpkin’ Flowering time: May to September Location: Pots, front of the border, pond margins Soil: Moist, fertile, well drained soil. Amend heavy clay or sandy soils. Light: Full sun Water: Keep soil moist, but not waterlogged Care: Deadhead regularly. Lift and divide clumps in spring. Size: 30cm height and spread

What’s different about Geum ‘Orange Pumpkin’?

After being shortlisted for RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2023, Geum ‘Orange Pumpkin’ piqued the interest of many suppliers and gardeners intrigued by its unique flowers, and its neat and compact mounding shape. It’s these elements that make it a stand out plant, not just at the front of the border, but in pots too!

With a bloom that’s almost akin in shape and colour to a marigold, this plant has all the charm with a contemporary edge. Its stems, shorter than other Geums, hold up those spherical flowers with little effort, and allow it to straddle the line somewhere between cottage garden charm, and exotic Mediterranean garden.

With regular deadheading, you can experience repeat blooming right through to autumn!

How was Geum ‘Orange Pumpkin’ made?

This plant was created and developed by Armand Kremer at Green Globe, a small nursery near Aachen, Germany, which he founded at the age of 21. In 2012, he decided to work on a collection of Geum as, at the time, there were only a few Geum hybrids.

Here, he tells us about his journey to Geum perfection:

“I sought contact with Sue Martin, the collection holder of Geum in Great Britain. At the same time, Brent Horvath from Intrinsic Perennial Gardens in the US, and Roger Proud from East of Eden Nursery in Great Britain were introducing many Geum Hybrids.

“So I collected Geum from all over the world and placed them in collection beds on the farm. Today, the collection includes more than 160 species and varieties. After just one year I found chance seedlings and the first Geum varieties of my own were created. Among them was Geum ‘Nonna’, who is still very popular today.

“During the flowering period in 2017 ,I couldn’t believe my eyes. I discovered a fully double orange Geum flower in one of the collection beds. It was a chance seedling and I couldn’t clearly determine how the cross had come about because there were several partly orange and half-filled Geum in the bed. The fully double flowers looked like a small pumpkin.

“I propagated the Geum vegetatively with particular care. I quickly had some plants available. Over the course of two years of observation, I could be sure that the plant I found was compact, vigorous and floriferous. So I looked for contact with the Plantipp company at IPM Essen 2020.

“Following our conversation Peter van Rijssen visited my nursery and initial specimens were sent to ten different plant companies for a test phase. After the test phase was successfully completed here, the decision was made to carry out in vitro propagation. We chose the name ‘Orange Pumpkin’ based on the appearance of the Geum.

Where can you plant Geum ‘Orange Pumpkin’?

Geums thrive in full sun, but don’t like their soil to be baked dry, so make sure they’re planted where the soil can be kept moist, but not waterlogged! 

As they grow to a compact height of 30cm, they’re ideal for the front of the border or in patio pots and containers. They also make great plants for pond margins, where a pond is situated in a sunny location.

Where can you buy Geum ‘Orange Pumpkin’?

Geum ‘Orange Pumpkin’ is available in the UK at Thompson & Morgan, and in North America by mail order from Phoenix Perennials.

Plant of the Month is sponsored by Plantipp, a company based in The Netherlands who handle the introduction of new plants into Europe.

See every Plant of the Month here.

Images courtesy of Plantipp.