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| I planted this last summer as I was so impressed with it after seeing it on a residential garden tour. But in its first full summer in my garden I see that it is too tall, too large for its current location (it is now 3 feet tall and about 2 feet wide and I can imagine that it might get larger in subsequent years.). I am thinking ahead to next year wanting a *long flowering* perennial (July and August) which has distinctive orange flowers but is much more compact say...2 feet maximum in height by about 1 to 1.5 feet in width.
(I have a Geum 'Totally Tangerine' which flowered profusely in the spring (May) as expected but I was hoping to find something which does its 'stuff' from July onwards.) |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, Jul 18, 12 at 8:47
| this particular common name.. brings to mind too many plants.. are we talking about the orange one??? if so.. i am surprised you got it to bloom in one year ... that is is more than one stalk [unless you bought a large plant, of course] .. and that it is over 2 feet tall [as mine tend to splay open] ... see link if you are talking butterfly bush ... well thats another story.. [just change weed to bush at the link] ... my cute little babe.. ended up 12 feet tall .. lol .. then it died that winter ... which one are we discussing ...??? ken |
Here is a link that might be useful: link
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- Posted by mistascott 7A (My Page) on Wed, Jul 18, 12 at 10:07
| I don't think your butterfly weed will get much bigger in subsequent years since it dies to the ground each winter and the dimensions you describe match its *described* max size. You could always trim it earlier in the season to keep it in your desired size constraints (and still bloom). More work, but perhaps worth it as I think asclepias tuberosa is a one-of-a-kind and beneficial plant. |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Wed, Jul 18, 12 at 10:33
| If it is Asclepias (agreed it sounds like tuberosa - orange) just be mindful that there may be monarch butterfly eggs laid on your plant. If so, trimming it could be their demise (if they were on the removed part.) I wouldn't keep a butterfly host plant that I would want to trim during the summer. |
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| Yes it is Asclepias tuberosa. It was put in the ground, bought new from a nursery, last late July so it is now one year on in my garden. I agree it is a unique plant in lots of ways but seeing it (almost) full size I see it is too large for this section of garden relative to plants around it....an honest mistake. The picture below was taken today and the flowers are no longer as full as they once were. I will move it next spring but in the meanwhile I was just musing about a possible interesting smaller replacement having orange flowers. I would move my Totally Tangerine geum to this spot except it seems to bloom for me in May and I was looking for a flowering July and into August. |
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- Posted by mistascott 7A (My Page) on Wed, Jul 18, 12 at 11:13
| Perhaps Lychnis X haageana (2ft. high, 1 ft. wide), Lychnis X arkwrightii 'Vesuvius' (2 ft. high, 1 ft. wide, orange-red flowers) or 'Orange Dwarf (Zwerg)' (only 1 ft. high) would work. They bloom in summer. |
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- Posted by echinaceamaniac 7 (My Page) on Wed, Jul 18, 12 at 11:18
| Move it this fall. They hate being moved, but i have had good luck moving them in the fall. If you move them in the Spring, they often die and some only return the next year. |
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| You could probably find a day lily that would meet your height and color specifications. Gaillardia Oranges & Lemons is a soft orange that would be the right size; that blooms for me right through the summer. Echinacea 'Colorburst Orange' looks to be exactly the right height; however it's so new that I'm not sure it's really available yet. I grow 'Tiki Torch' which is a great orange color, but I think it's too tall for you. I grow Agastache 'Acapulco Orange' which is a blooming machine from late June right until frost, however the orange is on the coral side. Maybe someone knows if there are other agastache that's a brighter orange. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, Jul 18, 12 at 12:05
| mine are in my prairie.. which is a half acre that i do not mow ... in coarse sand.. with no water ... and no fert ... at 10 years.. they are half that height ... i am amazed.. how a little TLC makes it twice as big ... move it in fall ... i think its a tap root thing ... put it anywhere that you need a bulletproof plant .. and just water it until re-established ... ken |
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| ken wrote: mine are in my prairie.. which is a half acre that i do not mow ... I understand completely. But when you have a 'standard residential lot' like mine (read small) then one can almost give a pet name to each plant ;). |
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| I would move it in the fall when it's close to dormant. I've moved Asclepias tuberosa many times, although it usually sulks for a year or 2 it survives. Mine are growing in the xeric garden which is a very dry sandy bed in the southwest corner of my lot and growing right next to the sidewalk. They do okay and even survive transplanting out there without too much pampering (I lost a hello yellow once). Yours looks exceptionally tall - I agree with Ken that your soil is probably too rich. My biggest one only gets about 2 x 2 feet, and that's on wet years. This plant is native to dry prairies so I would move it to a spot that is lean and dry. Not sure about other orange perennials, don't grow much because it's my least favorite flower color. |
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| What a beauty! I wish I could grow it. Orange is the most rare colour among perennials for temperate zones. You do not have actually any choice to replace it with something. Orange Lychnis are very short-lived, Lychnis cognata is practically ungrowable. Lilium davidii is real orange and is growable, but perhaps the blooming time would be shorter. And it would be just as tall or taller, but perhaps less wide. |
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| Dwarf alstroemeria 'Inca Tropic' might fit the bill, although it isn't the vibrant orange of butterfly weed, more of a deep peachy orange with yellow accents in the centers. Grows to about 18 to 20 inches talls, spread is whatever you allow it to be. Should be fully hardy into zone 5 with deep mulching, zone 6b with no mulch. I've never lost one here to cold with deep mulching, although I have had them severely damaged at times under the mulch by voles. Alstro is one of my favorite perennials, because it blooms like an annual, from mid-late June through frost for me as long as I keep it watered and deadheaded. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Inca Tropic at this nursery, albeit sold out for 2012
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| Thanks a2zmom for your suggestions. That 'Colorburst' looks like an exciting new coneflower. Does anyone have it in their garden this current season? As well denninmi the Inca Tropic looks like an interesting plant. I am confident it would survive in the same location as the current BW as it is close to the foundation of our home and also it is sheltered from the wind. But as much as it pains me I think I will relocate this BW come the fall and replace it with nothing as the surrounding plants really could use the free space. |
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| I think I will relocate this BW come the fall and replace it with nothing as the surrounding plants really could use the free space. I wish I was that disciplined. If I see an inch of space, I plant something. Currently I have a bunch of plants that are being overrun and need to be moved as a result. |
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| a2zmom you selectively quoted me i.e. I said "as much as it pains me"! I so enjoy researching my plant purchases and the act of planting but as of right now, as of this day I have no more room for any additional plants. I am sad, as what in part keeps me going through the winter is mulling over any plants 'to be'. |
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