I don't tend to get sick of a plant, but do like perennials that are well behaved, as well as hardy and reliable. I've stopped using a number of perennials for several reasons and am now very cautious about using some others.

Seeders: I used to use Knautia macedonica, but found it could be a terrible seeder. Am very cautious in using perennials like malva moschata and Lychnis coronaria for the same season.

Runners: Perennials like Kalimeris incisa got too much for me.

Diseases/pests: Don't use Lilium any more (asiatic/oriental lilies, toadlilies and fritillaria). So happy to see no lily beetle damage.

Inconvenient: Difficulty with roses within mixed perennial beds; they rip your arms when you work in the bed, so don't use them any more in such a location.

I certainly agree that the use of perennials should be commensurate with the available time, knowledge, energy level, physical health/endurance and bank account of the gardener.

Re garden phlox: there some perennials I'd always go out of my way to use, e.g. garden phlox.

Picture below: in our garden (August 5, 2013). Only criticism from me is perhaps too much 'Peppermint Twist' (pinwheel, with reversions back to 'Candy Floss'). Find that it's quite a vigorous spreader. As always, will just reduce it/rein it in in for next year.

Think that in mixed perennial gardening if you have too much of one useful perennial, you don't have enough of another.

This post was edited by SunnyBorders on Sat, Sep 7, 13 at 11:37

Same here with the Knautia!!! It took a few years for the plants to settle to show how much they can rampantly seed around. And with the tap roots you really have to work to get them out- no casually giving a yank to them!

Campanula persicifolia for the same reason. I've just made sure to keep vigilant about cutting back both of those. Both add too much to the spring garden to get rid of them entirely.

Roses- too much trouble for me. I'm not getting rid of any ((tho I got my eyeball on YOU Windermere!!)), but I surely am not getting any more!

Echinacea- they seem to dwindle away after a few years. Short lived plants irk me! LOL. I'll go so far to say that I don't grow short lived plants on purpose anymore. Biennials either for the most part.

That is it for now, though I'm sure I will think of others after I post this! ;-)
CMK

My list is a bit fluid, too.
1. Shasta daisy I used to like only 'Alaska'. But when I found two deeply clearanced 'Banana Cream's at Lowes, they got a try. They had a generous two years in the front yard, but bored me to tears. All the Shasta daisies are now gone.
2. Hardy geraniums At our other house, I loved these. 15 minutes SW, and now all they do is mildew. If they still produced a ton of flowers I would probably deal; but five flowers a season, maybe, and covered in mildew--sadly out of the garden.
3. Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister' They used to do great for years. Now they have good foliage, but few/no flowers. I don't know if the nurseries have propagated poor stock or what, but I am not the only person experiencing this over the past five or so years, so it isn't cultural.
4. Impatiens Downey mildew has reached CA.
5. Gailardia Fanfare Great plant getting a leave of absence. They bloom like crazy almost all year (deadheading time needed seems to equal a chunk of my life), brightly colored (it is really hard to partner these sometimes, and since they don't have an off-season they are always in play) and are as tough as nails (not going to vacate that way!). lol This one probably won't stick.
6. Echium wildpretii They are an attention-getter for sure. The problem is the flowers are more pink then red--and I am not a fan of pink. I'm trying the white, fall flowering E. simplex to see if I like that one better.
7. Asclepias curassavica It reseads everywhere, is always covered with aphids and the caterpillars chew them until only the ugly stems remain. (jk)
8. Salvia discolor I'm on the fence about. Anyone else growing this plant? It gets so overshadowed in the garden its subtle beauty is lost. And the sticky is icky. I'd really like to hear second opinions on this one.

What a great thread. I'm so enjoying reading other gardeners comments about plants they decided to no longer keep and exactly why. I learn new things from Gardenweb every day.

Lavender-I have a 7 year old plant that has gotten huge over the years and takes over a large area of a mixed bed. It is from a trade and did not come with a name, so I don't know exactly which variety it is. The bottom is very woody, as I understand it this is how they grow in the wild. And it always grows so big, it falls over on to the driveway. I do love the fragrance, and the bees seem to love it too. I have thought of digging up this plant this fall, and replanting with a new one in the spring -virtually turning it into an annual. Not sure exactly what I'm going to do, but I may dig it out this fall and then decide if I'm replacing it with another one.

While I LOVE my May Night Salvia, the smell is driving me crazy. I have problems with neighborhood cats using my flower beds as a toilet as it is, and the May Night does not help matters any. Dead heading it and working around it is starting to really bother me.

I have a Dubonnet Butterfly bush and is on the corner of a mixed bed and it is HUGE. Must be 10 feet tall and nearly as wide. It shades the bed next to it and again, falls onto the driveway. I may remove it and replant with a smaller variety. Cutting it back severely in the spring has not stopped it from gaining too much height and width. My next door neighbor has a white one and it never gets that tall or wide, so I may consider replacing it with a white one.

Crocosmia - Lucifer was here when moved in. Too tall and it spread like crazy. I received Emily Mackenzie in a trade last fall, and planted a few-just a FEW. While I love the color and the height, it has already spread way too far into the mixed bed. Not sure if I'm going to just remove a lot of it and keep a few of if I'm taking it all out.

Tall Garden Phlox-I may dig out most of my plants and replace with new ones in the spring. Mine have reseeded themselves, causing new colors in areas where I wanted just the original plant. And every year now, I get some powdery mildew. Maybe I just need to replace mine every few years to keep them healthy and the original plant completely the original color and variety. I do dead head but maybe not soon enough. And I do clean up the dead foliage before winter too.

Linda

Linlily, agree with your comment on learning about the hands-on experience of fellow gardeners e.g., for me above, christinmk on Knautia.

The garden I went to with runaway seeding of Knautia had more sandy soil than I'm used to and was not well watered by the owner.

I too love May Night ('Mainacht'), plus several other such Salvia cultivars. Such a useful perennial here. Deadheading produces blooms all summer. Don't like the smell of it either, but find it better than that of some Shastra daisies (which I still use). Pooping cats; pity we can't trap their owners!

I just periodically replace lavenders 'Muntead' and 'Hidcote Blue'.

'Lucifer' isn't such a vigorous spreader in our garden and 'Emily MacKenzie', on several occasions, has not survived the winter. Butterfly bush is killed to ground level in winter, here, and apparently consequently typically doesn't survive more than four or five years.

Re phlox, one of my favourite garden perennials, I have some tall old No Name phlox that seldom seed (or at least get a chance to), bloom a long time and are not too mildew prone (though I monitor and cut them back, re mildew, as needed). They're ones I bought at the local horticultural society spring sale (= presumably selected by hands-on gardeners over a period of time). They provide the height and robustness that I haven't seen yet in some of the newer phlox. I do divide them as needed.

1.) Roses - the thorns. The Blackspot. The rose rosette disease. There will never be another rosé in my yard once I remove the ones I have left!

2.) Salvia - I will keep 'Black and Blue.' The others are banned from my garden. They just don't bloom long enough. Agastache is replacing them. It blooms all summer constantly.

3.) Amsonia hubrichtii. This thing is ugly. I can't wait to rip it out. It looks like a weed and never gets the color it's supposed to.

4.) 'Rozanne' cranesbill - this plant is a mess. It rambles all over and makes the flower bed look like a cyclone hit it. It just looks messy!

5.) Joe Pye Weed - I just think it's ugly. It really does look like a weed.

Rozanne, Echinaceamaniac, it's a real problem.

On the one hand, it's hardy and flowers prolifically, for a long time, but as you say it's a real flopper. I remember reading once that it is much better than 'Johnson's Blue'. From experience, however, it is easier to stake 'Johnson's Blue' than 'Rozanne'.

Marymax, IâÂÂm giving serious thought to replacing some perennials with more shrubs to reduce the work. I canâÂÂt see doing without perennials all together, so I know there is one 15x15 bed that I will keep dedicated to that, but everything else is up for evaluation.

I am tired of some plants that are too useful to let go of, Hardy Geraniums, Heuchera and Lamium are three.

I have eliminatedâ¦.

Dianthus, I used to really enjoy starting from seed and collecting seed, but IâÂÂve moved away from any seed collecting. I used Dianthus as an edger in the sun, but it doesnâÂÂt look good to me unless I am constantly deadheading it.

Nepetas, if I think of something to replace those with, they may be out. They are long blooming, which is why I have them, but they flop in my conditions and cutting them back doesnâÂÂt produce much of a rebloom for me.

Perennial Rudbeckia spread so fast, it overran everything else in the bed.

Shasta Daisy, I was surprised they had a short bloom period for me and cutting back did not produce much of a rebloom and didnâÂÂt look good the rest of the season.

Peonies, disappointed me every year, with such a short bloom period to start with and if it rained while they were in bloom, I could get 4 days of bloom and thatâÂÂs it. I would have them if I had space to let them sit without noticing them.

Lavender. Love lavender and would love to collect the blooms for sachets etc, but I have loamy clay and I think it prefers more sandy soil. I don't have room for enough of it anyway.

I also now have my eye on Perovskia, due to flopping, but I may try to replace that with a different variety.

HavenâÂÂt given up on Roses yet. :-)

I look forward to the winter break too, like ninamarie.

Phlox paniculata! When we lived in Chicago, I grew showstoppers and had a huge clump of David's in a bed near the street that actually slowed traffic.

Fast forward to our move to Kansas, and no matter how well I amend the soil or how much I baby them, I end up with crispy stems with sickly blooms at the tips. I don't know why our next door neighbor has nice ones -- and she can't explain it either because we use all the same amendments! So I had to give up on them.

I thought I had given up on phlox. I dug every last one out this past spring because of years of poor performance. I thought it was just one of those things - I can't grow phlox. Then....

I dug some out of my parents garden this past spring just to save them before the house gets sold. They were magnificent this summer with none of the usual issues. Now I have to rethink my "I can't grow phlox" notion.

Rats!

I hate when I prove myself wrong.

Kevin

Oh yes, Monarda. It's been years since I've grown it and even though I was tempted to try it again, after reading all the issues from growers on the forum, it's still on my banned list.

I just added Monarda two summers ago and I was hoping it was going to work out so I could attract hummingbirds. I bought 'Raspberry Wine' which I thought was supposed to be a variety that performed well. I'm still on the fence. Didn't seem as healthy or vigorous as I need it to be. I'm giving it one more year.

I also have 'David' Phlox which I don't find fragrant, which was disappointing and I have 'Nora Leigh' which reverted to plain foliage. I keep thinking I should keep them, but really I don't have other plants that compliment them and I'm thinking of replacing them too.

This information of what works and what doesn't and what you keep in your gardens etc. is so very helpful. Thanks to all that responded. It is so nice to hear from folks who know their stuff. I will read and reread. I don't know half of the plants you even mentioned. Sigh... But now I can go on line and learn about them. Thanks again!

After years of gardening, my list is simply too long to post.

A problem with at least some Monarda is that it moves around too much.

Below 'Gardenview Scarlet' (July 6, 2012).

Pulled out too much last year, so going to have to wait for more till next year.

Never had 'Nora Leigh' revert.

This post was edited by SunnyBorders on Sat, Sep 7, 13 at 16:13

Sunny Borders, that Monarda looks healthy! I was expecting 'Raspberry Wine' to travel but 2nd year, looks like the same footprint as last year.

How long have you grown 'Nora Leigh' without it reverting? I seem to remember mine reverted after a particularly difficult winter with little snow cover.

More than ten years, PM.

I wonder if it could be location/growing conditions?

Still, I'm already noticing reversions on several of the variegate 'Shockwave' I bought last year.

Maybe the stock then?

Interesting thread, especially because where someone lives affects the plants that become "pests" or else languish and look awful.

I never can grow Gaillardia or Crocosmia---- even though I love them, every single one died in my yard.

Russia Sage and Oenothera Siskyou run amok in the garden ---- I'm constantly ripping these out. I actually like the look of them, but my soil is too rich and the Russian Sage flops over. I've tried to isolate them --- it's an ongoing battle.

I gave up on Monarda and all varieties of Shasta Daisy because they were even more out of control. My yard is just too small to contain them.

Japanese Iris --- love them! But I had to pull out about five varieties and give them away --- they became so huge and blocked our view of the river. Kept just one favorite plant and moved it to the side yard where it does well and its size is no issue.

I take photos of my gardens each year. It's amazing how much they've changed with time----

Due to my tastes changing?
Or is it the fact that I'm getting older and no longer willing to fight?

Molie

Western Agastaches. They just don't live long here. Scrophularia macrantha for the same reason.

My 'Gardenview Scarlet' Monarda has spread like crazy. I wonder if cultivars vary with regards to rampant running or if it has to do with lean vs. rich soil? I've read that they are nutrient hogs and tend to spread a lot when looking for more "food". Perhaps they do this when soil is particularly on the lean side and less when naturally rich or frequently enriched??
CMK

SBorders, I really donâÂÂt understand the hybridizing process, so your guess is as good as mine. IâÂÂm glad you have one that doesnâÂÂt revert! I do love that âÂÂShockwaveâ too.

Mollie, I have a small yard too. IâÂÂve been very careful not to attempt anything that travels because I just donâÂÂt have the energy to keep dealing with them. I didnâÂÂt know that about Japanese Iris and they are so pretty, too.

What would we do without cameras, because you are right, I would not notice how amazing the changes are as well without them. I know for me, it has been performance that has made so many changes in my garden. I have a lot of dryness and not everything tolerates that, but I kept trying them anyway. And maturity that also makes big changes. I do have one all perennial bed that is definitely just my tastes changing and it is so different from one year to the next.

CMK, I have clay soil and I keep that bed moderately watered, so I was expecting the Monarda to travel, but it didnâÂÂt, so IâÂÂm not sure, I wonder if I just got a dud.

I will always try to find a spot for phlox!
Nora Leigh will revert if the crown is damaged and the plant resprouts from the roots. If you grow it from root cuttings you'll also get a plain green, you need to do stem cuttings to get the variegation.
Shasta daisies- bloom season is too short around here and I never get rebloom even with deadheading.
Monarda- I might have to throw in the towel. I've got them in the wettest most fertile spot of my yard and they still mildew and wilt whenever we get a couple dry weeks.
Coneflowers- I never thought anything was wrong with pinkish purple color... So I'll pass on all the new colors.... Even though they do look nice before fading.

Also
Siberian iris- the dead leaves hang on like steel ribbons even after new growth starts and the bloom season is too short. Still ranks as one of the prettiest flowers though :(
Hardy cactus- I'm at the verge of giving up. I can't take the spiny irritation that always haunts me after weeding.... And every single grass in the garden grows better when it's under the poky guard of a cacti.

Thanks kato, I think that must be what happened to my Nora Leigh. I remember the winter before it reverted, no snow cover, with a week of very low temps.

Someone I like gave me a hardy cactus and I couldnâÂÂt keep it alive and I still feel guilty about it. I think my soil is too heavy. I never thought about weeding around it. Ouch. (g)

Joe Pye Weed is way too weedy looking for me. Roses? Never again. I hate the thorns and the Japanese Beetles destroy them each year. I hate the way the daylilies look this time of year but since I have hundreds of varieties - I have to put up with them. I have to wonder why I used to be so in-awe of them? (spent a ton at the auction and did lots of hybridizing - then mowed a good portion of the beds down.)

Shasta Daisys are fine with me even though they bloom for such a short while --- they look great with the delphs and the baptisia. Those are two perennials I would never be without.

Have new dwarf asters this year and think I'm going to love these --- nice 12" mounds and blooms right now in a bed with the phlox that haven't stopped blooming.

Thank you Cato for division information on 'Nora Leigh'.

CMK, my view with running 'Gardenview Scarlet' in our garden is that it's always moving towards the front of the perennial bed; notably to more sun.

Our one Monarda 'Fireball' is not such a runner.

I have tried Monarda 4 times, in different locations. None worked! Nuts!

I learned on the Russian Sage to prune it way back and it doesn't get nearly as floppy. However the self-seeding is an issue.

Novae-Angliae bloom nicely the first year, the they become duds.

Oenothera siskiyou is outa control. I cannot get rid of it. That's the one I would like to put in my neighbor's yard (he's such a dork).

There are more, I am sure, but those are the ones that come quickly to my old mind.

Jim

Different experience with New England asters here.

I divide them and upgrade the soil approximately every four years.

Below (Oct 7, 2012):

Jim, I always start the season pruning my Russian Sage back to maybe 6 inches, and that hasnâÂÂt made any difference for me. Do you mean pruning it back a second time?

SBorders, that is a great photo of your asters! IâÂÂm trying to figure out if that is a first floor window that they are topping out at? How tall are they? Beautiful display! And what do you do to upgrade the soil?

Japanese anemone- it blooms only a short time and spreads a lot. Not worth the space although the flowers are lovely.

Japanese iris. Also too short a bloom period.

Hybrid roses. Hate that blackspot. I'm sticking with rugosa roses that smell heavenly and grow like steel.

Helenium. Just doesn't want to winter over here.

Hollyhocks. Too much rust and the deer eat them where I want to grow them (outside my fenced-in garden). But I love them.

Polemonium. Doesn't want to winter over here, either.

PM, that garden faces due south and slopes up to the front of the house. I love the sunny open arrangement.

It is the ground floor and I'd say the aster reaches about six foot. A robust No Name, purchased about 15 years ago, I've been able to spread it between several gardens.

Currently I'm using mushroom compost; I'm assuming it's weed free without any chemical treatment.

SB, I only have a couple of asters and I always prune mine back mid season to keep them short. I haven't seen them used in a 6ft size, that's really quite different for me. That slope in the front with those 6ft asters must give you some privacy and a lot of compliments from the neighbors. Nice.

Dug up plume poppies, yucca, and all my lilies (the beetle poop did it), Russian sage--it even managed to move across a sidewalk-- and persicaria polymorpha. I have a large per. garden on our septic mound so deep roots are verboten. The worst one to dig up was the persicaria. Jury is out on bee balm but the hummers love it, so I'll keep it. It jumped out into the woods this year! Helianthus and heliopsis are both thugs in my garden. The former makes enormous plants unless I cut back severely and the later reseeds all over the place. I get ruthless when I see them moving around. Blue lobelia is currently the bane of my existence. It even wants to grow in my lawn!

-SB, my GVS Monarda is in full sun and still it wishes to spread to dominate the world, lol. That is an impressive stand of Asters! But isn't mushroom compost fairly void of nutrients?? I was always under the impression it was, but perhaps I am mistaken...
CMK

Correction, PM: saw my first 'Nora Leigh' stem reversion yesterday, on one of the three 'Nora Leigh' in our garden; one of about a dozen stems on that plant.

Guess we should be looking at this in statistical terms.
Then again maybe we shouldn't waste the time!

Thanks, CMK.

This post was edited by SunnyBorders on Mon, Sep 9, 13 at 11:57

Oh, too bad, SBorders! Maybe as kato suggested, if you take stem cuttings from the tips of the variegated stems, you could end up with a better plant that wouldn't revert? Might be worth a try. Mine reverted all at once so I didn't have the chance to try that.

Time to divide ours.

Thanks PM.
Will follow the advice.

I have removed the following for rampant self-seeding in my garden:
Lobelia siphilitica, great blue lobelia
Joe Pye weed, which has quite tenacious roots that make it difficult to remove
Angelica

Removed due to insect or disease issues:
Later blooming roses due to Japanese beetles and rose chafers
Lilies (Asiatic and Oriental) and Fritillaria due to red lily beetles, though I will add them again if the controlling insects spread here

Removed due to overly enthusiastically spreading roots:
Evening primrose
Beebalm
Mint
Periwinkle

PM and all, my Nora L started reverting several years ago and this year had only one variegated stem. I have numerous friends in NE (Sue, Deanne, Monique) who grow Norah with no reversion.I would dig the thing out but it is very robust so I live with the green foliage.
The Monarda issue: I have planted it I think three or four times in the last 20 years, and have never ever had a flower. Not one.I give up.

Kathy in Napa

Hi Kathy! Nice to see you here. :-) IâÂÂm sorry to hear your Nora Leigh reverted too. So yours reverted a little at a time like SBorders. ItâÂÂs interesting that you know three people who grow it w/o a problem. I still have mine, but IâÂÂm getting ready to rearrange again and my only two phlox paniculata are going to have to find new homes. IâÂÂm beginning to wonder if many variegated plants are either less robust or they eventually revert.

Surprised Monarda didnâÂÂt flower for you at all, but we all have something that grows for everyone else, but wonâÂÂt grow for us. Too bad, you have hummingbirds too, right?

Babs, IâÂÂve also removed Joe Pye Weed once and I see IâÂÂm going to have to dig it out again. I couldnâÂÂt keep Lobelia siphilitica more than two seasons.

Interesting: different growing conditions, different experiences with plants.

Wanted to speak up for Lobelia siphilitica. It's true that it can be quite a seeder. Personally have found this especially so around sprinkler systems.

At the same time, around here, it's life expectancy (including that of it's progeny) is far greater than that of fancier perennial lobelias. Find the latter are a big waste of money.

I don't find it difficult to "weed" in our garden soil; it's a bit easier to remove unwanted seedlings early than later.

Below: lobelia siphilitica (working with annuals and other perennials) in one of the gardens I installed and maintained (August 20, 2011).

More.
That garden has the space for it.

SBorder, your Lobelia s., did you start it from seed? I like the pale blue with all those saturated colors behind it. What is growing behind it? Phlox paniculata, annual geraniums?

PM2, I purchased a couple of plants and then just let them seed. Cheap!

I'm quite hostile against rabid seeders, but which perennials are so seems often influenced by local growing conditions.

Small area; combination of annuals and perennials.
You're right about the plant identifications.

Sorry CMK, I missed your important comment on mushroom compost.

I had switched from seaweed compost, because it smelled and not really looked into mushroom compost, though the place I bought it has input from the local horticultural society.

Just read a detailed summary, "Plant Nutrients and Fresh Mushroom Compost"(Fidanza and Meyer, Penn State) of research they carried out. OK, funding included the Mushroom Industry. They make "fresh mushroom" compost sound very good and their research looks quite thorough.

Wikipedia raised several points. I'm not concerned at present about the Nitrogen content, but will follow up on the possible presence of fungicides.

I hate being sold compost which has lots of weed seeds in it. We do not have enough space to generate compost ourselves (e.g. internal heat weed-seed-killing-ability of a typical compost heap).

Anything with plain green leaves that blooms for less than 3-4 months, and most plants that don't make nectar for butterflies and/or hummingbirds.

The bullies to be gone by 2014 list in my garden here in Kansas:

At least 95% of my coneflowers (A.K.A. the purple forrest)
All misbehaving aggressively re-seeding Rudebeckias 5ft tall, people!
The Beebalm in full sun that has hogishly spread in diameter and was over 4ft tall this year.
The small patch of Goldenrod that is indicating a capability of total takeover.
THE SCARLET SAGE - massive dark green plants with barely noticeable red flowers. What was I thinking???

The removal is massive. The bed of the truck is overflowing ready for a trip to the city compost pile.

Some Little Bluestem that is leaning in all directions, I don't care how blue the leaves are.

Anything that looks over-bred and gelded to form fit into a conventional type of garden which needs regular watering. Specifically, the new small mounded bedding types of Lantana will not to be seen here next year, I hate them. There are a couple other perennials I won't risk naming here because I have noticed they are commonly popular.

Any Vinca Major that dares or even thinks about crossing the property line is doomed to die. This plant is on my top 10 list of ugly plants. Ditto on the big greedy green tall variety of Lirope that wants to take over the world like a road hog and Privet. This is the trio preferred by lazy and unimaginative people everywhere as a way to "landscape without thought or effort". Privet loves to seed on my property and has been listed as an Exotic Invasive Species in some areas. I agree. All three of these can be outlawed in my opinion.

All types of Agastache which simply refuse to thrive here. I am done trying it forever.

Sumner, 5ft tall? Sounds like it would make a good privacy fence against an ugly yard next door. You must have some really good dirt.

This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Fri, Sep 13, 13 at 17:46

Greatplains, my dirt must be too good. I am growing natives that will survive our hot dry summers and everything I put into the ground seems to get 2 to 3x's as tall as it is supposed to. 3 years ago I removed all my water guzzling lawn and have replace it all with natives. It's been a wild ride with this 3 year experiment. It's coming around but you can certainly tell that the natives in my yard are spoiled brats getting too much of everything they need.

BTW I think I have an Ivy that could possibly beat up your Vinca but I know that the tall Lirope is the devil that can sneak up from below and way, way over yonder!

sumner, I think I will have to pass on that ivy. Its already growing right in there amongst the other solid green border of green loveliness and its high on my top 10 list of hated plants. Green on green with green under green. The contrast is just amazing! And, he doesn't have to do a lick of work at all to keep it all going and going and growing strong by just letting nature take its course.

You just need some good invasive volunteer hackberry forest tree roots lining that side where your rudebeckias are. That'll whittle them down to scale. My stuff stays real short, the stuff that will grow at all, thanks to Mr. Green.

This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Fri, Sep 13, 13 at 18:24

echinaceamaniac, Before you throw in the towel on Salvias for having short bloom times, have you tried any of the Salvia greggii bush types? I don't grow the low bedding types but I have lots of these as they will take varying amounts of shade and are not picky about soil and are very drought hardy. With extra water they will bloom throughout summer with very heavy blooming in both spring and fall. They go great with Russian Sage.

Another salvia with an unbelievably long period of bloom is Salvia penstemenoides which is also called 'Big Red Texas Sage'. Its a native once thought extinct in the wild until rediscovered a few years back growing in a small area. Seed is commercially available and germinates easily. This salvia attracts more hummingbirds and hawkmoths than any other plant in my entire garden and blooms heavily on tall stems, each tall stem having endless deep reddish/purple flowers for weeks and weeks. It makes my courtyard very active and it smells good too, sort of like an antique cabinet. The leaves are very interesting and pretty too. Unlike any other salvia I have ever grown.

Here is a photo of one growing in the wild from the Ladybird Johnson Wildlife Center website.

This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Sat, Sep 14, 13 at 1:42