check out the link ..

flip to the WEB side for mucho info ...

do NOT expect it to be as prolific as the annual ...

it is what it is...

have fun

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

I weed out quite a few seedlings every year. It's not a problem but I imagine that left unchecked it could crowd out some more delicate plants.

Thank you both for the information. I'm particularly hoping that this plant can tolerate the hot summers we experience. It's protected from the setting west sun, so hopefully this will help. I'm all about tough perennials!

It is a very tough plant and does tolerably well with dry conditions (our summers are hot and dry, though probably nothing like yours!). It reseeds, but not in a pesky sort of way.

The flowers are large and quite lovely, though don't last terribly long. It is not a personal favorite of mine, since it looks rather scruffy after blooming and doesn't send up very much new growth even if cut back to the ground (that is my experience anyhow). Might not be a bad idea to plant it more toward the middle of the border instead of up front, where it is more noticeable in its less-than-attractive times ;-)
CMK

CMK,

Thank you for your reply.

I did already plant it...towards the back of the bed so it won't be too noticeable when it gets scraggly. Do you cut the dead flowers off to encourage more blooms?

Glad I could help you alouwomack. Yes, cutting spent flower heads did seem to help encourage a few more blooms. It isn't a great flush of new flowers, but even a few extra are a nice thing. ;-)
CMK

I can't say how it will perform for you but in my zone 4 garden it's a pretty tough perennial. As mentioned it does look rather ratty after bloom. I cut it back hard and it re-grows quite quickly and I do get a light re-bloom. I also cut it back to prevent seedlings as here it is a fairly prolific re-seeder.

I second that...I like it and it is tough. I snap off the spent booms (be careful because the seedheads look surprisingly like the buds) and this keeps it blooming heavily for a long while. Once the foliage gets ratty, which it does (it is susceptible to mildew) I cut it back hard (to fresh leaves) and this spurs a bunch of new vegetative growth (nice fresh bright green) and another round of (reduced) bloom right up to frost.

And they do seed a lot for me, but are easy to transplant or yank out.

Thank you all for your input...

I'm enjoying my new plant, but I can see how it probably won't be a show stopper...

I've been regularly clipping away the yellowish foliage and dead blooms. It seems to be happy with me so far. The hottest part of the summer hasn't hit yet though!

-Amber