13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

What great points of view from everyone! Thanks for your replies.

Eric: HA!

I've never grown wormwood so I don't know how it behaves, I know its invasive in some parts. What I meant was the other artemisia's I have experience with which spread underground pull out easily, its not like something you can't get rid of if you decide to either, they are very easy to dig out completely.

This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Wed, Oct 22, 14 at 23:33

Thank you, All!

I have Ghizou Group--had it long ago, I remember the name 'Humpty Dumpty' being associated with it. That plant died out and I just planted a new one this Summer--fingers crossed! It's awesome!

I'll be researching all your suggestions and taking into consideration your personal experiences with certain plants.

char, we may be headed for a late Nov art museum trip to TX (Dallas/Ft Worth, Austin, Houston,+ a coast spot if whooping cranes have arrived.) When we visited over Xmas years ago, Tx was grey and bleak; no tree leaves left on, no green grass. Might it be better in Nov , do you think?
thx, mindy

Mindy, I wish I had better news, but according to the Farmers Almanac, your trip may be dotted with rain and cool weather. They say your best bet is Nov 24-26 for sunny and nice. Not much of a window. October is the month to visit for nice weather. At least you will be indoors for your museum visits.
A visit to Port Aransas or Matagorda might provide views of the whooping crane, but bring a warm jacket and umbrella. Who knows maybe the weather will be great when you are here. I hope so.

A lot of the Dahlias could do with deadheading - that would help. Then the soggy dying flowers wouldn't be weighing down the stems. Cut back to a junction rather than just removing the spent bloom. Otherwise you'll end up with empty stems poking up.

I agree with ken about the heavy green shrubs on the end because of how narrow the space is. I imagine those shrubs will take up the width and then some, eventually creating a visually heavy green block that needs trimming or else it will be larger than the space. What is the mature size of the shrubs?

In a space that narrow, either plant a perennials/annuals bed or do a shrub border with more plants that are compact in habit or which compliment each other with foliage textures so they will blend rather than contrast in such a jarring way. As is, you are mixing plants that clash in habit, texture and colors with no theme making it look as if you haphazardly purchased " one of each" plants based only on liking them individually in the store without considering the way they would grow together or the final result. That usually results in a messy look even when they aren't flopping. Repeats to form groupings would be better than planting one of each type.

I thought I'd replace with a lowes Kobalt shovel. Well it's pretty dull and I went back to my craftsman . Didn't realize there would be such a difference! :)

==>>> ummmm ... sharpen the new shovel ...???

ever gardener should own a file ... or a grinding wheel ... maybe a cheap vice ...

my shovels.. and other garden tools.. get sharpened.. when the lawnmower blades get sharpened ... at a min.. first thing in spring ...

i bet a good hardware store would do it for a buck or two ...

it makes sense.. they ship them dull ... rather than a crate of battle axes.. lol ... [dear???... why is the shovel in the bedroom closet???]

ken

crikey ... almost forgot ... OP ... original poster ... do one bed at a time ... if you cant handle it all at once ... say the east part ... and next summer.. work on the north part .... and use the east as a nursery ... and then in fall.. move the plants out into the north ... while also starting the west bed ...

your plan MIGHT be one way you get discouraged ... if you HOPE to do the whole plan.. in one season ... a garden plan.. should be a 5 or 10 year plan ... presuming you are NOT doing this.. checkbook style... but if you can.. go for it.. i cant review the facts.. as i already hit review ... so i dont know if this has been addressed ,,...

to rephrase... perfect a nursery bed right now ... buy plants and insert in spring, planting almost farmer style [one foot on square, or some such] .. rather than design ... start second bed .... by fall ... move plants from nursery .. and start applying the design .... etc ... rarely is it recommended.. to move plants in july and august.. what i call the heat of summer.. depending on where you are ...

and never forget.. you arent a gardener.. a green thumb .... until you have killed every type of plant.. 3 times ... its all part of the learning curve ...

ken, again

Ken's last point:

Totally agree that the key component of successful gardening (as recognized by yourself/other people) is learning through experience.

Nobody knows your precise growing conditions but you working in them. So advice should be given for you to test.

Thank you, Kirimarie, for the detailed info--I'll be adding these to my list!

my best rebloomer is pink Valerian.

A confusing range of heights are given on-line for Phlox paniculata 'Laura'. As said, a contributory factor may be P. paniculata 'Little Laura'.

Here, balloon flower can be quite long lived compared with many perennials. As you say, it doesn't favour being moved, though I've certainly had to move them (usually successfully). If your one was only planted this or last year, I wouldn't hesitate to move it if needed.

Obviously, informed perennial gardeners don't all have the same growing conditions, tastes in plants, styles of gardening, time available, etc..

That said, I've always cut herbaceous perennials down to ground level by the end of fall. For me, I'd say maintaining close perennial plantings puts a premium on garden hygiene. The point about difficulty in identifying individual (summer and fall) plants in spring is well taken.

Certainly do agree re avoiding winter heaving. More generally, the biggest thing here when planting, is not leaving the plant encased in the peat-perlite mixture they're typically grown in (viz. differential rates of freezing).

My feeling is that next year your Laura will grow taller. With few exceptions, the first season in the ground does not give a good idea of what the plant will actually look like once established. Generally, commercial tags that are in the pots at the nursery are supposed to give you an idea of height and width in the 3rd season of growth.

As to the Balloon Flower, I highly recommend waiting until spring. Right now it is in the process of going dormant. Any root damage it sustains in the move will not have time to heal before the ground freezes, and the result will be a stressed plant. Moving it when it first appears in the spring, when it is ramping up for a growing season and is full of vim & vigor gives you the best chance for survival.

Great advice. I will say it is most likely a Helianthus decapetalus. Does not look like Lemon Queen but could be a different var. Hate to see a question go unanswered.

Good advice, Ken. Will do. Thanks to Peren as well. They look like Helianthus decapetalus, yet not quite

I had a compact Nandina growing by a wall of the house for about 5 years until it finally succumbed to a cold winter.

Since it was not a particularly hardy variety, I suspect that another choice sited in a protected location would last even longer.

Have a number of different gentians.

Have had a number of plants of Gentiana dahurica (mostly 'Nikita') and one G. septemfida var. lagodechiana for close to ten years now. This matches the reputation of these particular gentians as easy-to-grow.

All of the gentians are located at front of sunny borders where they get watered regularly, but where there's also good drainage.

I don't grow plants from seed, but apparently, gentians (when planted out) are initially quite slow growing.

Thanks Rouge, although it's not a fall colour picture I was hoping someone might know which one this euphorbia might be as it doesn't have the red tinged needles. I just pulled this little bed apart and relocated my bush clover there, underplanted with 'Phuopsis stylosa' and some english bluebells. The ajuga and euphorbia are being moved to a narrow strip down our gravel driveway where they can duke it out :).

Annette

Just charming, annette. must look for that ppl tower Ajuga.
mindy

So I was going to leave them in their containers but I was curious how much they had grown so I checked and found one of the containers was completely empty, only dirt. The other had bulbs in them. What could have happened to them? Did they maybe rot to nothing? This is very strange to me, especially because they other planter was fine.

mice?
Many creatures think lily bulbs are a delectable feast.

If you have egg, I've got a half a ten pound bag of superK on mine. In the shed. And I read whatever I find written by Linda Chalker.

I swear as recently as a few years ago a really competent nurseryman said to put a handfull of super-K in the planting hole. Myths don't dissipate as quickly as they they multiply.
We all just want to take care of our plants. I concur with ken about profit motivation of agri-business, but at the local level we all just want our plants to thrive.
I'll continue to be part of the problem if I feel compelled to use up that 5 pounds of algae food.

What can I do with it? Put it on my cereal?

marie

Some of my past soil test results have shown a need for phosphate on my lawn and around a tree. And it is expensive. So don't get rid of it. Save it for when you might need it.

Shake out as much soil from the sod as is reasonably possible. Throw remaining sod on the compost pile or use it to sod/level/raise other areas of the garden.

For new beds I lay down recycled corrugated cardboard over the garden bed soil and overlap the edges. The cardboard smothers weeds and doesn't break down as fast as layers of newspaper. Use a box cutter to shape the cardboard to your needs. Cover cardboard with bark mulch.

Thanks , I read a lot about that today. I was just hoping to be lazy, roll out a roll of plastic , and deal with it in the spring! Probably too cold for that .

I thought for sure Red Velvet and Karen North would not need staking.... oh well, I'll probably get them anyway and you can say I told you so when I complain.
Glad to hear the good comments about the bloom color of Scheherazade. It gets such great reviews, but the bloom pictures don't always thrill me, so it's on the 'must have list' again.
Better get off to the lily garden website! ;)
I like the idea of a tree lily, plants that I can walk next to are so important in a garden of ankle-biters.

Isaphan-I know this is an old thread but I really appreciate your feedback on sturdiness & heights of your orienpets. Even though we're in different climates, it still helps me with placement on a few I was wavering on, thanks!