Return to the Perennials Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
Posted by
luckyladyslipper MA 5b-6a (
My Page) on
Sun, Aug 19, 12 at 20:01
| Or doesn't yours flop around the way mine does?
If you do stake, how do you do it? And when?
I just propped mine up - way too late in the season. I'm hoping they grow enough to camouflage the chicken wire that now sticks out like a sore thumb! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| I don't grow this plant. Never have, but they are used a lot in mass plantings around here. From my observations, it looks like they aren't a neat and tidy plant, but that's a part of their charm. It's simply their nature to do whatever they want including flopping and growing every which direction. I would suspect you have to have a garden that accommodates their behavior, because you aren't going to change it. I simply can't imagine this plant staked. Kevin |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| In a way, I do have a garden that accommodates their behavior, in the sense that I have the rustic fence and lots of space. And, I think I shouldn't have used the word "stake." I am hoping to come up with a way to make them sprawl less, not force them to look like delphiniums. |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| why ever would you do that (staking), ladyslipper. Yours look quite delightful as they are. |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| It's funny you mentioned yours growing through a rustic fence. I just noticed one around here, a few hours ago, doing the same thing. It looked perfect to me. Kevin |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| Thanks, Campanula. But I took the pic after shoving them up with chicken wire. I guess the saving grace is that the silvery-green foliage masks the silvery chicken wire! If no one comes up with other ideas, I think next year I will make a tent with chicken wire, with the top of the tent at the top of the fence and the bottom of the tent on the ground about 2 feet out. |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| Just wondering...do you cut your plant back to about 6" in the spring? After it grows another foot, it can be cut back half again. |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| ditto what mollydog says... I cut them back hard in spring once the new buds start appearing so you can see where the new growth will be. Then I cut them back at least once, and sometimes twice, once they put out the new growth and start to look a bit rangy. Some of mine are 10 years old now and quite woody at the base. If I cut them down into the woody base, they still sprout new growth, so I have no hesitation in cutting them back whenever they need it. I have been removing the short ones (Little Spire)because I find they spread a lot from the roots and were getting quite invasive! The big ones do seed somewhat but seem less prone to spreading from the roots. |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| ditto what mollydog says... I cut them back hard in spring once the new buds start appearing so you can see where the new growth will be. Then I cut them back at least once, and sometimes twice, once they put out the new growth and start to look a bit rangy. Some of mine are 10 years old now and quite woody at the base. If I cut them down into the woody base, they still sprout new growth, so I have no hesitation in cutting them back whenever they need it. I have been removing the short ones (Little Spire)because I find they spread a lot from the roots and were getting quite invasive! The big ones do seed somewhat but seem less prone to spreading from the roots. |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| I appreciate the advice from Molly and Woody. I do cut it to about 6" in the spring, but have never done it twice in a season. That sounds promising. Thanks again. |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
- Posted by simcan z5b/Toronto (My Page) on
Wed, Aug 22, 12 at 9:44
| Even with cutting back, they are a floppy plant especially if a heavy rain and/or wind hits it. Which, eventually, it will every season. But this habit is part of its charm, to a degree. I do cut back in Spring and then give it a haircut to a foot when it gets around two feet, which helps a bit. But next year I plan to sink a big black tomato cage around it at the two foot stage...I do this with other plants, such as maltese cross, and in two weeks you can't even see the cage. I do this more to keep plants from overwhelming their neighbours than to prevent the floppiness of the plant itself, if you see what I mean. |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| I have some in very dry, full sun all day, poor soil, on a hill, and those never flop. I have a large mass planting in good soil with mulch but still full sun and those do flop but are full and lush. They look really nice in winter. |
RE: Do you stake your Perovskia?
| | |
| I do not stake them. I do cut them back again if I remember but mine get too much shade and always flop. |
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.
