Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' (Mrs Bradshaw avens) care

Light

Most houseplants will scorch where geum 'mrs bradshaw' thrives. Give it the windowsill you'd otherwise leave empty because everything else burned there. Full sun to part shade suits it well; full sun gives the most flowers, while light afternoon shade helps in hot, dry climates to keep the soil cool and moist. A plant moved abruptly from low light to direct sun bleaches in 48 hours — always acclimatise over a week.

Watering

Aim for when the top 2-3 cm of soil is dry; keep evenly moist in summer for geum 'mrs bradshaw', but treat that as a starting point rather than a rule. A south-facing summer windowsill will dry the pot twice as fast as a north-facing winter room. Lift the pot; if it feels noticeably lighter than it did wet, water it. Prefers consistently moist soil and dislikes drying out, which shortens flowering and scorches leaf edges. Avoid waterlogging, which rots the crown, especially in winter.

Soil and pot

Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' grows best in fertile, moisture-retentive, well-drained soil. Best in fertile, humus-rich soil that stays moist but drains freely. Tolerates most pH levels. Improve clay with organic matter and grit so the crown is not sitting in winter wet. A pot with a working drainage hole is non-negotiable for this species — even free-draining mix will turn soggy in a closed planter. If you love the look of a decorative pot without a hole, use it as a cachepot around an inner nursery pot you can lift out to water.

Humidity and temperature

Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' sits happiest at around Ambient outdoor humidity humidity and -29 to 27°C (-20 to 81°F). A hardy border perennial with no specific humidity needs; reasonable airflow helps prevent foliar fungal problems. If you keep the room above year-round and avoid placing the plant near a cold draught, a hot radiator, or an air-conditioning vent, you have already handled the two biggest indoor stressors.

Fertilising

Feed geum 'mrs bradshaw' sparingly. Moderate feeder. A spring mulch of compost plus a balanced general fertiliser supports prolific flowering; reapply a light feed in midsummer if growth flags. Skip fertiliser entirely on a stressed, recently-repotted, or actively wilting plant — fertiliser salts make damage worse, not better. Wait for a round of healthy new growth before resuming a feeding rhythm.

Common problems

Below are the issues we see most often on geum 'mrs bradshaw' in the Growli community. Each is annotated with the most common cause so you know where to start.

• Clumps dying out in the centre — Geums weaken and bare in the middle after a few years. Lift and divide every two to three years to rejuvenate them.
• Reduced flowering without deadheading — Leaving spent blooms slows reflowering. Remove faded flowers regularly to prolong the season.
• Drought stress — Dry soil scorches leaves and cuts short the bloom. Keep soil moist and mulch in summer.
• Powdery mildew — Can develop on stressed or crowded plants. Maintain even moisture and good airflow and clear affected foliage.

Propagation

Divide clumps in spring or autumn, ideally every few years to keep them vigorous. Seed-raised plants vary and may not match the parent, so divide to keep the cultivar true. Propagation is the cheapest, most satisfying way to expand a collection — and it doubles as insurance against losing a mature plant to an accident. Take a backup cutting once the parent is established and healthy.

Toxicity to pets

Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' is mildly toxic to pets. Geum is not individually listed on the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants database, so its pet status is unconfirmed; treat with caution and verify with a vet. As an ornamental perennial, ingestion may cause mild gastrointestinal upset, so discourage pets from chewing it. If you keep cats, dogs, or curious children in the house, weigh placement carefully — a high shelf or a hanging planter is enough for casual safety. For severe ingestion incidents, call your local vet and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (in the US, 888-426-4435).

Pet-safety status is sourced from the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List, which catalogues the most-asked-about plants for cats, dogs, and horses.

Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' deep-dive guides

Every aspect of geum 'mrs bradshaw' care, each with its own calibrated guide:

• Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' watering schedule
• Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' light requirements
• Best soil mix for geum 'mrs bradshaw'
• Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' fertilizing guide
• When to repot geum 'mrs bradshaw'
• How to propagate geum 'mrs bradshaw'
• Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' growth rate & size
• Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' cold hardiness
• Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' temperature & humidity
• Is geum 'mrs bradshaw' toxic to cats & dogs?
• Is geum 'mrs bradshaw' toxic to cats?
• Is geum 'mrs bradshaw' toxic to dogs?
• Getting geum 'mrs bradshaw' to bloom

Featured in these plant shortlists

Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' qualifies for 3 curated Growli shortlists — each one filtered objectively from our structured plant-care library, so the selection is consistent and checkable:

• Best flowering houseplants — Indoor plants grown for their blooms — selected from the flowering species in Growli’s plant-care library.
• Best houseplants for full sun — Houseplants that want direct sun — the species for a hot south or west-facing windowsill where shade-lovers scorch.
• Best houseplants for a cool room — Houseplants that tolerate cool conditions down to about 10°C — for an unheated spare room, hallway, porch or a home kept cool.
• Browse all 29 plant shortlists — pet-safe, low-light, drought-tolerant and more

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Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw' is also commonly called Mrs Bradshaw avens or scarlet avens.

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