13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
I decided to remove my Hydrangea "Bombshell" from the barrel and plant the "Laurel: in its place. But before i do, I would like some suggestions on how to fill that half barrel to a weight that would make it easier to move, if and when necessary. Now, the Hydrangea was filled with potting soil, covered with small stones and then mulched. I'm halfway emptying it now. I was thinking at least a quarter fill of small pellets of foam and the rest of dirt.
Could you consider using castors or some other mobile platform to sit the pot on? One of the reasons for using a larger pot is to have a deeper rooting space and moisture reservoir. Filling too ,much space with inert but light material can defeat the purpose of going for a bigger pot. You ,might find mixing perlite or vermiculite throughout the potting mix, creates a less dense (and therefore lighter mix) while maintaining consistency throughout....which is always better for roots....and having sufficient drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.
There are also various pros and cons regarding the material of the pot itself (I prefer terracotta over plastic but there arguments for both, while timber planters, lined and treated ticks all the boxes. Maybe ask over on container gardening.....where they employ all sorts of cunning ruses such as wicking, special mixes, capillary tubes and so forth.
I haven't grown that particular cultivar, but have had great luck with Amber Waves and Southern Comfort. As long as you are in zones 4 through 9, they will grow as a perennial. They prefer moist soil and can grow in full sun to partial shade, though my experience is they prefer less, rather than more sun. If you are asking about care, for this first season, I would mulch well to retain moisture. They have fairly shallow roots, so are susceptible to winter kill in harsh conditions, such as dry, freezing wind. Snow is actually a good thing; it will act to protect the roots and will provide long-term moisture as the snow next to the plant melts. If you have a really dry fall or winter, you'll want to water the plant once a month or so, as the weather allows. In the spring, be patient. They aren't one of the first to emerge. I hope this helps.
Here is a link that might be useful: Heuchera Plant Care
I live in an area in California that is often above 100 degrees Fahrenheit which is 37.7 to you. I have seen Echium Pride of Madera and Echium Tower of Jewels succeed in my town, though I have not tried it myself. The garden that had the Maderia was uniformly filtered light due to a number of old Oak trees. The Jewels was in an area that only got morning sun. It is on my list of plants to try but I can never think where I could put one as they get so large. If either of you get one I would love to hear about it.
I was researching a problem for a friend last week. She purchased a Red Maple a few years ago, and it has struggled with chlorosis since being planted. Turns out that Red Maples struggle with uptaking Magnesium in alkaline soils like we have here near Chicago (Mine is in the 7.2 range). I passed along to her my Hort professor's suggestion, which I will also share with you--the most cost effective, natural, and longest-lasting way to manage this situation is to use an acidifying mulch. For example, a mulch of pine needles, which would break down slowly and help temper the high alkalinity over time. It is far easier to moderate acidity in soils than to moderate alkalinity, as sulpher is very transient and leaves the soil fairly quickly. If your plants aren't showing any signs of stress that could be related to the alkalinity, I wouldn't recommend spending the extra money Hollytone.
Hi Ellessbee, welcome to the Hudson Valley! I wouldn't be at all sure your soil is alkaline -- I would send a soil sample to the Cornell Cooperative Extension for a proper analysis. I believe it's free. They also may have info regarding local garden events or clubs. You might also try the Hudson Valley Garden Association. But another good thing to do is to go around your local neighborhood and when you see a nice garden, try to talk to the gardener about what they've had good luck with. Most gardeners love to share! I am actually not very close to you, so I'm not sure my local info would be helpful, unless you want to drive up to New Paltz... In which case I'd be glad to give some local advice. :)
Tree--Yay! But I may be wrong!
I've been trying to ID a similar plant in my garden since Spring. I was under the impression I'd left the nursery without the tag.
I read a post by EricOH which helped me out. Thought I had a Heliantuhs salicifolius 'First Light'--which someone said should be named *Last Light* because it blooms so late. BUT.....
I was on the outside of the fence on the bank weeding today and noticed a tag sticking out of the back of the planting hole (obscured behind the plant from inside the fence). The only time I'm out there is a couple of times a year to weed so I didn't notice it as the foliage is thick at the base.
My plant is Helianthus angustifolius 'Gold Lace'!
So...which is yours? LOL!
Glad to help you get closer!
LOL!! I guess you don't go by "campanula" for nothing!!
Very nice listing, but IME, few of these species are very often found at retail nurseries in this country. Birch Hybrid and the clips/Carpatian, yes, but most of the others would require a souce that specializes in alpines or the genus itself. Otherwise, it is the Serbo-Croatian gang listed above and the usual....glomerata, persicfolia, punctata and a bunch of overly aggressive thugs. I think you just must have a much wider range of choices for this plant in the UK.
Sorry so late getting back--lots of outdoor activities going on around here!
Thanks for the suggestions everyone! They will all be added to my *Look Up* lists (Winter garden therapy).
Yes, there are so many plants that I read about but aren't available in the US.
I like the sounds of the Camps that travel but that can be pulled out easily--just why I posted this--unlike the takesimanas--which have a habit I'm trying to avoid!
I have the heath asters getting ready for their show here. I am interested by this plant. I like the floppiness. I wonder if their toughness is connected to where this variety was found and what it was hybridized with. My heath aster is a spreader. I don't mind that since I have a large garden. I found myself with fingerer hovering over the ADD TO CART button earlier this spring.
I also like those brown walls that look like rammed dirt, but I doubt they are since I would imagine that an unprotected rammed earth would end up as a pile of mud in Switzerland .
Mnwsgal - I seldom deadhead my Arabellas, and they bloom all summer, but I don't mind the look of the seedheads. I'll have to take a look at them now, but I think they look like most other clematis seeds. For what it's worth, mine tend to stay pretty close to each other, not scramble all over the garden. I think mine would be pretty easy to deadhead. YMMV
Be warned , That they might be puny. I went by a favorite nursery in Austin and they had 1 gallon plants of Pink Flamingo at Muhley $2 less , no shipping. I was a little miffed , you might say. So I made my peace with my miffedness by buying more. They said it was flying out of there very quickly.
I just transplanted 6 of my Rozanne's about 2 weeks ago. I hope they make it through the Winter. They are sprouting new leaves from the base. I did not cut them back. I used Mycorrhiza fungi on the roots to speed root growth and keep watered three times a week. I hope yours made it. They are the loveliest flowers and make such a great ground cover.
Love toadlilies but no luck growing them. I like the spotting as well as the late season bloom.
Red hot poker? A truly "meh" plant from my point of view -- though I freely admit that mass planting pic was lovely. I think part of it is the "clump of grass" look. (Don't like daylilies either partly for that reason.)
Part of a plant's appeal, or lack there of, is dependent upon the general environment, for me. For example, I despise yucca and opuntia when I see them in landscapes around here. To me, they simply do not "fit in" in a water rich area of meadows, woods/forests, etc. (And the fact that removing an unwanted yucca is a %$^&%$. Quite convinced that if there should ever be a nuclear war, the yucca will be right there along side the cockroaches as the inheritors of the Earth.) Now in an arid region like areas of Texas, Arizona, California, et cetera I like them quite a bit. Not only do they make perfect sense from a water standpoint, they have a "look" perfectly in keeping with that setting. (And TR, the photo of your Opuntia in full bloom is gorgeous.)
Barberry is one of those plants for which I have never seen the appeal. Maybe if there is a zombie apocalypse I'll change my mind .....
Paul, I know what your saying. Atmospheric light plays a part as well. In summer the sun is so intense and the landscape is so dry around here that appropriate plants look better than, say--- tropical plants which I guess do look a bit better if a person is wearing sunglasses to knock off some of the intensity and bring out the gaudy colors and over sized leaves etc that clash with the rest of the landscape. Its like seeing a gaudy bar room thats usually lit dimly for atmosphere all exposed in the harsh daylight with open shades.
I absolutely hate seeing tropical looking plants in Oklahoma. It just doesn't work and looks stupid. Even worse is to add in a few specimens around non-descript shrubs or grasses because you feel for the novelty and just had to have one. You know, like just plunk in hardy palm right in the midst of your shrubbery. Nice. Or like up the street with the palms planted behind a row of dusty miller. That one makes me nauseated to look at. I'm probably prejudiced since tropical, big leaves, big gaudy flowers etc aren't my cup-o-tea anyhow but I still say its not a good fit visually down here in Okie-ville.
(Unless maybe its a botanical garden situation visually cut off from the rest of the world to visit as a curiosity)
I love some of the willow branch art I've seen, you can make all kinds of living art or designer living fences.
I also like these insect hotels.
I really don't know what I would do if I didn't have a current plant obsession. I mean, I would probably get to fuming and obsessing about the people who get on my nerves or bug the heck out of me, the latest slight, either real or imagined, makes no difference, to my person or some other negative circular thinking pattern like that. Or, it would be some song that I can't get out of my head or the worst -- the fear of aging, nursing homes or not being able to pay my bills when I reach that really decrepit state and other cheerful stuff like that, the late night horror type "what if" sort of things. Plant obsessions fill in these nasty voids that would be filled by things along these lines, no doubt.
I have had several serious phases
Obviously there was the Cactus Phase.
The SW native shrub phase
Native Grass phase #1
Native forbs phase
Native Grass phase #2
Replace that stuff I got rid of, I now want if back phase
Lantana phase
Prairie phase resulting in Native Grass phase # 3, the one I am currently in.
Still I WANT THAT BLUE EPHEDRA BAD.
Campanula , the tazmanian devil of the plant world or would you rather be a whirling dervish.. LOL My sister grows angelicas in Alaska. Beware, They take over when your back is turned.. She was off sailing the Med researching fishing cultures of the Medeterenian and when she returned home, her garden was an alaskan jungle when it broke dormancy. She had some serious hacking to do, this first summer home in three years. She would always get home after the first snow and leave in February so she never saw ground..