13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

I've had mine a couple years with nary a seedling in sight. Never heard of it seeding rampantly, though Centranthus (red valerian) is known to be more enthusiastic.

I adore my Valeriana. Clouds of creamy flowers that smell like a musky vanilla mix. Heavenly!
CMK

It self sows, but is not invasive.

If they are going to be in the bags for awhile I cut slits along the bottom sides for drainage.

==>> slit them.. AFTER the move... lol ...

ken

I really plan to nestle them into mother earth for the winter within a couple of weeks. I do try to not perpetuate cruelty to the vegetable kingdom :)

You can snip the thorns off. I would for a potted plant. Winding it around some kind of trellis would also help keep it manageable.

A simple search on thornless bougainvilleas brings up cultivars. Not all hybrids are thornless.

Here is a link that might be useful: an example

boothbay,
I don't know where you come up with this thing for your laundry room! Just fyi, we are still planting away up here in Boston. We should finish woodies and perennials this week, but I know bulb planting will take us into Nov.

Since you are so keen to bring things into your laundry room (I am joshin' you here, wink, wink!) you should get into TROPICALS. Colocasia, Canna, brugmansia, all these will be more than willing to take up space in your laundry room. ;-)

I don't know where you come up with this thing for your laundry room! Just fyi, we are still planting away up here in Boston. We should finish woodies and perennials this week, but I know bulb planting will take us into Nov. >>>

Ha,ha!! when i mention my Laundry room which is down my unheated basement, it would be for temporary storage, until I have something built in the spring with a wall and containers, where there will be their 'final resting place." BTW, I have Canna's in front of my home growing up to 8' in clusters in a 3' x 3' corner. I could imagine digging up all those 'bulbs' that keep multiplying later in NOVember. Oh yes, i live in the new york city area.

I started growing one in a large pithoi - looked fantastic sprawling to the floor...but after a few years, they do swell to alarming proportions - at least 5feet and sometimes more - might have to chop the crown into smaller bits. My son did his last year and got 5 good plants out of it...although it is always surprising just how small the crown actually is....for such an exuberant plant.

Yay and thanks for sharing! What awesome pictures!

I can't wait! I think I'll put some in the shade and in the sun and see what happens.

Ken, you devil. :~)

I was pleased to see my cut price Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca 'Citrina' rescued from the reduced shelf at my local garden centre has burst into flower. And the Chaenomeles has put out a few early flowers. Not so much the last flowers to bloom but the first.

My pink mums are in full bloom now. These were actually 3 small scraggly plants I put in the soil in spring... now they kind of fused into one big plant:

I've winter-sown Heuchera twice - several years ago I sowed 'Firefly' and this year 'Ruby Bells' (seeds were from Swallowtail). I love the deep red flowers on Heuchera.

The Firefly germinated abundantly and I planted out 8-9 plants which are hanging on okay. In general the Heuchera seems to do best in highly cultivated beds, such as around the foundation of the house, and sorta hang on in the more naturalized beds where they have more competition from weeds and less watering.

Got zero germination with Ruby Bells, but I had mixed success with the spring sowing this year. I will try prob. try them again.

The pack of seeds I have are mixed so it will be interesting what they will look like if any decide to grow. We had plenty of rain this season for the most part. I only watered flower beds probably 4 times. My issue with heuchera is location. They seem to only like one certain flower bed and now most live there instead of with the hosta where I thought they looked so nice together but they wanted more light and drier soil.

AND our own lady bugs don't bite. The Asian variety do and it hurts. We have our house on the market right now and I have to vacuum the garage, basement and guest house where they are somehow able to get in right before people show up so they are flying all over my prospective buyers.

What specific plants do you plant to attract native species?

I personally didn't do the research yet as I wasn't ready to purchase but I read some interesting points about ladybird harvesting.

Sounds like green lacewings are a better route to go or simply plant to attract native populations.

I wish there was a shortlist of top performing perennials and shrubs to plant for "good" native insect populations.

I found this crazy looking ladybird yesterday. It was double the size of the typical and had a deep metallic burgundy color. By the time I got back with phone it was gone.

The larger a garden , the more tools to loose.

Yes, but finding them next season is like a bonus harvest....although there is a perennial debate (in my mind) between carbon or blue steel (best edge in the world) or stainless (survives a damp English winter).....plastic - ugly but immortal....or wood (hmmm), although have been conscientiously oiling mine all season.

very hot summer so with cooler weather roses are back in bloom-nice orange

Hi David

Very pretty rose. Can I know name of the rose?

mums root very easily ....

root some pieces .. grow them as well as you can ... and when and if they get ugly ... root new pieces.. and throw out the uglies ...

you ought to be able to have as many plants as you wish.. come spring planting time ...

i would bet my shiny nickle.. it will be a struggle.. to keep large plants going all winter.. indoors ....

no idea how your hydro system changes all that ... and i dont know if i would give up the veg.. for some mums... lol .. and i dont like vegs...

no one ever learned anything .. without trying something new .... dont you think????

it would be nice to know where you are... to comment on whether your presumption that they wont winter over outside is proper ....

go for it

ken

I'm in denver. I have extra space in my room so not giving any vegetable space up. I use a couple 1000W high pressure sodium lights.

i bought one ... it was a prized plant ..

the next year.. i had 100 ... it was no longer prized ... lol ..

the third year.. i started round upping them all ...

10 years later.. i am still RUing late germinating seed ..

i hate this plant with the passion of a million burning suns.. lol

ken

ps: i am pretty sure.. mine was an aggressive reseeding ANNUAL ... not a perennial ... maybe i am confused about mine compared to this one ... but i still hate mine ...

LOL- Ken, I had mine for 9 years. It reseeded, but not too aggressively. It also came back from the root. I will say that I kept it in an area with horrible soil, which perhaps helped keep it in check.

I used it 30 years ago and was glad for it. I find it boring now but there is a place for it, just not every place.

One of my fav plants- the variegated. HD had them at $4 this fall and we got maybe 40, using them in shady spots for edging /brightening pathways and neatening bed edges. 'Workhorse' is the operative word here. 2 Yrs ago, we noticed a slated- for- demo building with outside planters filled with a lot of dead plants and a number of living variegated liriope. They had survived a year or more in hot hot sun w/ no watering or any care. Tough little buggers. Unlike carex -yellow or variegated equivalents- which seem to be very needy of moisture. Know not of deer, but a wise nurserywoman told me her trick of collecting discarded cut hair from hair salon floors- and putting wads around her hostas, which i can imagine working w/ liriope or other plants....
best,
mindy

Nice plant choices, and I like the combination.

Very nice, Jasmine. Especially like the echinacea and platycodyn combo.