Geum 'Mai Tai'

Avens Rosaceae

A particularly delicious Geum, and one whose flowers seem to have been mixed by a rather optimistic bartender. ‘Mai Tai’ produces branching, reddish stems topped from late spring into summer with ruffled, semi-double flowers opening in warm apricot-orange, flushed with pink, before gradually fading to softer peach. The succession of colours on a single plant gives it considerably more interest than a simple description of “apricot” might suggest. 

‘Mai Tai’ is part of the Cocktails Series, a group of geums selected by Dutch breeder Cees van der Woude. It is protected under Plant Breeders’ Rights and was introduced commercially as one of the series’ distinctive cocktail-inspired colours. It forms a compact, clump-forming perennial, making a particularly useful front-of-border plant, while the long flowering season and nectar-rich flowers make it popular with bees. 

Give it a sunny position and fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. It is happiest where it does not dry out during summer, although it is considerably more tolerant of ordinary garden conditions than its somewhat exotic appearance might suggest. Regular deadheading encourages further flowering.

Height: 40–45 cm
Spread: 40–45 cm
Flowering: May–July
Hardiness: H7, below –20°C
Growing conditions: Moist but well-drained, fertile soil in full sun or light partial shade.
Breeder: Cees van der Woude, Netherlands; part of the Cocktails Series.
PBR: Yes.