Return to the Perennials Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Baptisia
| | |
Posted by
rosesstink z4 NY (
My Page) on
Sun, May 20, 12 at 14:52
| It has briefly crossed my mind to stake the beast but I didn't seriously consider it until I read the smart aleck boasting (JK) on another thread and saw that many people do stake them. Even though it gets huge (I measured 6 foot in diameter last year.) I don't think of it as floppy. Just big. It doesn't open up even after storms. Just looks like a shrub. I have had to move some plants out of its way but I'm okay with that. So, do you stake baptisia? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| I use a peony hoop around the base of mine, because I have it growing in part sun not full sun and it does flop if I don't. I assume that growing it in full sun might make that unnecessary? Mine actually flowers just fine in that location and the hoop keeps it neat and upright all season. It doesn't get sun until 11am and then the sun is off it by 3:30pm. So that's not a lot of sun. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| I never stake mine. They don't need it. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| Yes they do. It's called strong wind. Kevin |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| I stake all 5 of mine--full-sun as well as part sun. Peony rings work just fine. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| I never stake them. It's called terrible sandy soil. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| Have never staked mine and my soil is rather heavy ammended clay. I do cut them back after flowering. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| They have never flopped here and we have very strong storms. They are in a good sunny spot. If your plants are flopping, you are probably not giving them the light they need. They aren't like Peonies that flop in the slightest breeze. I grow the standard Baptisia australis as well as selections Solar Flare, Carolina Moonlight, Wayne's World, Twilight Prairie Blues, and Purple Smoke. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| Different people have different experiences with the same plant given different soils/weather/climate/etc. In general, I've found that Baptisia in less sun and/or richer soil will "stretch out" more and Baptisia in leaner soil with more sun will be grow more upright. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| How wide at the base do these get? Mines are coming up for their second year. They were pretty tiny and didn't even stand up straight for the first year. I purchased another note to filled in the spot but then notice that it said it may grow up 4 feet wide. Now I got to find a place to put the new one. Paul |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| Mine have not needed staking thus far, even when they are leaning a bit towards the sun (full sun being almost non-existent on this lot). I would have some big and beautiful clumps of Twilight Prairie Blues, except the voles ate about 90% of the clumps during the winter of 2010/11. That was a shock, but they are recovering. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| Mine is in full sun and rather sandy, poor soil. It certainly is happy there. Do those of you who don't stake have "upright" plants - meaning you can see the base of the plant when it gets full size? Mine isn't like that. The plant spreads out but in a nice mound. Paul - mine is about five years old and the base clump is about fifteen inches in diameter now. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| Can you prune baptisia? I have a small garden with two baptisias which I planted a couple years ago. They were kind of a modest size then... now they're huge and shading a large part the garden. Baptisia probably wasn't a good choice in the first place but they look so happy, I hate to dig them up. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| I am experimenting with Russian Sage under mine. After the blooms make seed pods, I cut them off and put them in a vase. The Russian Sage starts growing and blooms after the Baptisias. This way I have blooms in that spot constantly all Spring and Summer. It has really surprised me that the Russian Sage is doing so well after being shaded by the Baptisias. Don't cut them to the ground, but only about half the size they were after they bloomed. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| Hmm. It's such a beautiful plant even when not in bloom that I never considered cutting it back. Decisions, Decisions. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| I have the blue baptisia, white, & screaming yellow. A couple of years the blue baptisia needed staking. This year it is nice & upright. The yellow flopped completely flat on the ground after a storm. I have it staked up-I was on that earlier thread you mentioned. I did trim up my blue & the white baptisias to keep from shading a couple of plants I have almost underneath it, but they weren't flopping over. Mostly I cut off seed pods, they just are so heavy. I hope the yellow baptisia improves with time. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| I just cut off all of the bloomed stems as low as possible. Many of the main blooms stems don't have leaves on them anyway, so they can get quite heavy with the seedpods. This seems to keep my large plant in a "bush" form. We even have periodic wind storms and it holds up just fine. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| Oh that's interesting. I've never had a lot of seed pods on mine so maybe that makes a difference. |
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| Here is a photo from 2009 of the Baptisia in afternoon sun only with a peony ring around the bottom and not high enough up to keep it from flopping somewhat. Just to let you know what you get with the peony ring.... 
|
RE: Baptisia
| | |
| We've had wind in the range of 20-40 mph for 3 continuous days and evenings now. It's been horrible! Today I noticed all my Heuchera which were blooming are tipped completely on their sides - foliage and everything. Had I not staked the Baptisia, I can only imagine what I would be facing. Kevin |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in.
If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Perennials Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
