13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

C. 'Golden Gain' is a threadleaf type with overall larger flowers (1 1/2") than the other threadleaf coreopsis that I have grown (Zagreb, Heaven's Gate, and Moonbeam.) It's a bit taller as well, growing to about 1 1/2' - 2' in my garden. The flowers are a relatively bright yellow color without orange and are held above the foliage. The petals are a bit narrower than on Mercury Rising.

Any of the Big Bang coreopsis have nice big flowers and unique color options. I also discovered the Jethro Tull this past season--talk about a pretty one! They should survive the winter in Houston just fine, but be aware of the moisture level. I would still mulch to retain moisture and if you go a month without it, I would give them some water. I'm also thinking you will want to cut them back in late December or early January to allow for dormancy before they spring back to life in March/April. I LOVE these wildflowers! Hope this helps.
Here is a link that might be useful: Coreopsis varieties you might want to look at

i LIVE IN A MOBILE PARK I HAVE LILAC BUSH, SOME KNOCKOUT ROSES, SOME OTHER PERINNALS i PLAN TO DIG THEM UP AND TAKE THEM. The only problem is I might have to olant them in containers. Will they survive winter in these containers. I also ordered some others for my garden, and I cant't plant them, can I put them in pots, till later.



The blue ones, no. Far too fussy for my taste. Tried 'em from seed...no joy there. Already started plants are hard to find and tend to be much more monocarpic than I'd like for the effort and the expense. I've done Meconopsis paniculata for its great foliage and didn't mind if it didn't bloom much. But in general, not long lived plants at all. Even Butchart's Garden grows them as annual bedding plants, starting and planting out a new crop each year.
Except for Meconopsis cambrica, which was a flipping weed in my old garden. And maybe the least appealing species of the genus.

yep - there are 22 different umbels in our woods and surrounding meadows (I think there are 33 listed natives in the UK)....so I am adding to what is obviously a successful plant family....although there are some outrageously toxic ones nearby, such as water dropwort and hemlock (oenanthe and conium).

Each time someone posts about a Scutellaria, I look it up and it isn't hardy here. There appear to be 3 native Scutellaria here, but none particularly ornamental. Does anyone know of any nice-looking Scutellaria that grow in colder zones? Although I am in a wetter area than TX, I do have areas of well-drained soil, enough so that I've usually been able to overwinter Agastache rupestris.

I think there are several possibilities, after perusing that list From the LBJ wildflower center that I put in my entry above. Lots of times things are hardier than their natural range. Tx Ranger grows many Texan wildflowers that I have sent her. She grows things that are native in the the rio grande valley. Gardening is all about finding those limits and pushing them. If you tap on the plant symbol it will take you to the gov. plant Data base for the map of its range. Also if you scroll down and it will have some people that sell it maybe. Sometimes the nursery might be north of the natural range showing that the plant has more hardiness than what is needed in its range.. Many of these , I have NO experience with. I am just reading the info and thinking about what I know about your conditions (as a Texan that went to school in NY state)â¦not much but some. Enough to be dangerous. LOL.
Scutteleria incana
Scutellaria ovata ssp. bracatea ( I have this one, lots . It like a part shade situation)
Scutellaria ovata rugosa (looks really nice but might be chancy)
Scutellaria resinosa ( high Countery Gardens sells this one and has some others that are hardy in Colorado)
Scutellaria serrata ( is sold at a place up by the finger lakes)
High Country Garden carries S. resinosa 'Smoky Hills' (of Kansas)and it is rated at Z 4-8. I got a Dark violet hybrid scutellaria from them but it is still thinking if it likes my place. I might need to move it out into more sunlight. I did take some cuttings off of it that are being very slow about growing. These plants like the cuttings to be taken before budding so I might have been a little late. They are alive. HCG is sold out of most everything right now, So , one would have to wait for the next crop, next year.


catkin you just might be too wet, I just remembered you are coastal Pacific? Is it foggy and damp there? If so it probably wouldn't do well. Its a dry land plant but not a desert plant necessarily. I grow the Plains Penstemon (ambiguus). I've got it in full sun on a slope growing in sandy soil.
That looks just like the cotton candy I remember, a big blob of tongue-lickin sweetness. I stole these photos off google -- woops! Me bad. And yes, when they are making them, that spun sugar does glisten with an ephemeral glow in the sunlight like the grass except really its more like delicate cobwebs.
And I'll have you know....I took tap and ballet lessons under Jackie Troop with all the other awkward and skinny girls in grade school.



You probably got the weather Ken and I had yesterday - rain/sleet/snow and WIND, the wind was HOWLING all night and into this morning. Finally died down early this afternoon. It's actually pleasant out there now, on the crisp side and a bit breezy but bright and sunny as can be with the sky a clear blue. I finally got two rugosa roses in the ground today that were sitting in pots all season, I've been meaning to get to it and if I wait the weather may turn nasty again (being November and all...).


This year I cut off all the foliage immediately after flowering. The seed is ripe before you know it and it seeds everywhere. Sometimes I can appreciate that but Corydalis solida is in a border with little bulbs and Hacquetia and it has a tendency to smother those plants.


From what I know, all asters need full sun (more than 8 hours) to light shade, or dappled shade. Partial shade is usually defined as 4 hours, so I would go a bit above that if the spot is totally shaded at any time of the day. Filtered light (like through tree leaves or if overwintering them indoors) should be fine for them, even if it is the majority of the day. I hope this helps.
Here is a link that might be useful: Aster Growing Info

Hi grandma,
thanks for your answer.
It is wandering shade from a building nearby, with sunlight from noon on and lots of light in the morning.
So I think I give it a try, I have seen them growing in the city center under similar conditions, shaded by a tall office block in the morning.
bye, Lin

Blood meal seems to work here, sprinkled on the surface of the loose soil, but it has to be reapplied periodically until the ground starts freezing.
Voles/meadow mice (and now a chipmunk or two) are bigger menaces than a few squirrels. They mine spring bulbs out from below.
Think it's worth watching what's coming into local Home Depots during the gardening season (e.g. they'll suddenly have a lot of a newly available garden phlox), but they may not look after stock they have on hand.

At Terra today.
All bulbs now half price.
I drop by periodically.
Interesting to see what's left.
Latter includes lots of the species tulip Tulipa praestans 'Unicum', which has striking creamy-white edges to it's leaves. Picture below: May 1, 2014.
Giant Dutch crocuses: all the blue-purple ones are gone, but not white 'Jeanne d'Arc' and there's also lots of orange-yellow Crocus flavus. Find both of these really stand out in shade or at the back of beds in spring.





Nice!
i also winter sow plants. i'll have to get some of the aster seeds. i never thought to winter sow them, so this would be a first. wish me luck!