13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Oh, neat linkie, Rouge. How about that s.mandschuriensis? I can see that my NOID is a dead ringer for s.stolonifera . if it was not cruelly confined to a pot, it might well be more of a spreader - I will set it free in the woods.
I have always enjoyed the name - saxifrage, aka rock-breaker. Given the delicacy of mossy saxifrage or the silvery Kabischas, I find the rough tough name amusing.

I had Saxifraga fortunei var. rubrifolia in my previous garden. It doesn't like dry shade. Soil should be humus rich, not too dry and wel draining. Ideal woodland conditions that gardening books always talk about but that you seldom have ... My previous garden wasn't infested with snails so I can't tell you about that. Vine weevils, however, do like Saxifraga fortunei.

this site says e spring or fall, so here i go...!

Here is a link that might be useful: j. holly fern info

This fern did survive fall division, but was clearly traumatized by it. Every other site i found this yr- says to divide in e. Spring, so I will follow them (and George's) advice next spring.
mindy

Nice, thanks for the update. Is either fragrant?

They are somewhat fragrant, but not to the extent that lilies can be.

Funny, certainly true of some perennials, but there are plenty with short flowering seasons that have other features -- foliage, seedheads -- that extend their interest for a greater part of the year.

At this point I'm interested in very little that isn't native to the tallgrass prairie region where I live, but this is the forum I come to most often. Like Campanula, I'm not going to read anything about hostas, but I find that I've learned a lot about perennial gardening in general even when the specific plants discussed aren't ones I'm going to use (i.e. when to do cleanup, whether to plant in fall, etc.).

I suppose I also have the advantage that, living in the middle of the country, my zone and the ones on either side cover a huge area. I might be more inclined to seek out a regional forum if I lived farther north or south.

I suppose I should be considered a perennial weed on the forum, I often feel that way among all the fancy plants I see but a perennial is a perennial is a.....

Same here woodstea except I am more shortgrass prairie oriented, however there are a lot of native perennials involved with either situation. Maybe you are a weed too but I like that I can meet a few people every now and then with similar interests and goals.

Flowers are rather lower down on my list of interest when I am choosing plants, I am more inclined to choose plants with foliage color or texture based on how they look out of bloom because my space is limited & it gives interest in all seasons, including winter which is always a factor. If I had an acreage it would be different. I also tend to choose plants that have a long bloom time, a second bloom time or those that will bloom opportunistically with rain but which still look good out of bloom which includes several along with lots of grasses which always look good. As a result, I have some short lived perennials, annuals and biennials among the long lived perennials that I let naturalize here which keeps them going year after year. Evergreen or 'Eversilver' often makes a plant desirable to me, no matter the bloom.

Our regional forum is devoted mostly to vegetables. Thats all fine and well but I don't find much to read or post about.

I also picked up a nice looking BoBo today. The others I had seen earlier at various places did not look as nice.

Thanks for the fall photo rouge. The blooms on mine are only partially open.
Looking forward to seeing it in full bloom and changing to fall colors.

GreenHavenGarden any chance you could post an updated picture of your mass planting of BOBOs now it is the Fall?

Dunno, Flora - I have grown these and they are always over 3feet tall......although I defer to your superior ID skills.

It's in pot (ie probably not optimally nourished) and it's fallen over (ie could be a couple of feet tall) and there's no scale in the picture and the height can vary. I'm pretty sure that's what it is. But if someone can suggest something else feel free.

Here is a link that might be useful: Corn Cockle

I have a clump of glads that were here when we moved in 7 years ago. It's next to the house, so does probably get some winter protection. It has returned every year, and it produces seeds and some of them planted them selves in another part of the bed. That small clump blooms and has returned for several years. It might be fun to try your seeds just to see what you get. I know that the seeds that "planted themselves" did not take very long to produce blooming size bulbs. The flowers in the new clump are exactly like the other ones in color and size.

Linda

Ah, yes, now I see. I too cannot bear to 'waste' seed so yep, go right ahead and wintersow in a free-draining mix. Keep us informed - I have never sown gladioli from seed and will be interested in the process.

I can tell you that they don't care for Oklahoma weather.

I had an orange variety (common) years ago that populated a 4 x 4' area in one season! At first, I thought *How pretty!* Dug them out for about 3 years and finally eradicated them or they would have just kept invading. White fleshy roots from you know where. YMMV!

If you have a cool indoor area, potted 'Black and Blue' will overwinter. I've kept a pot in my root cellar and others in my little used and unheated (except by solar gain) front foyer. I just have to periodically check moisture levels so that they don't totally dry out. They also survived but didn't look good in the 60-65 degree kitchen by a bright window.

I use three approaches to overwintering perennials in pots.

1. Place in unheated but insulated garage.
2. Dig a hole in a holding area or the empty vegetable garden and plant to top of pot. Mulch well after ground freezes.
3. Take to cool dark room in basement for winter. Once a month water lightly to keep roots hydrated. This is for tender perennials or those where spring blossoms have already set or where a plant blooms on both new and old wood.

Agree with others, the best idea is to plant them before the ground freezes.

It looks almost like what I have, labeled as 'Eva Cullum', but even Google images of this cultivar vary so greatly, it is almost unbelievable. Which leads me to think, many may just be seedlings of it...But, it could be as suggested above, the cv. 'Franz Schubert' which I do seem to recall, had a certain beautiful glow to it, later on in the day.
Many of my self seeded plants are either pure white, or appear similar to a named variety of the color of mutation of 'David'.
If you can locate a proper 'Blue Paradise' you might really like that one too.

Thanks everyone! It really does look more like a Franz Schubert. It really is hard to tell by the pictures online.

Thanks for that, David! Seems to have sold out before I could get it but I'm patient. :~)

I am having a massive infatuation with the pale and silvery d.argyreum, the gorgeously deep red of d.reynoldsii and also d.dracomontanum (smaller coral red bells at around 2feet). Out of the puklcherrimum varieties, Merlin and Blackbird are richly coloured and there is a very vigorous clone, Blue Bell.

I love these - easy (if a little slow) from seed.

We have used Milorganite extensively on our garden beds this year to try and deter the deer and rabbits.

This week we put out mouse traps to see what we could catch....voles have been in the traps.
So sorry to say it doesnt chase away the voles.

Be aware that Kaput is a very dangerous product if you have pets.

The voles and mice are very tricky to catch setting off the traps without being caught. May try the Tootsie Roll on the trap, there is a video on You Tube for this.

We may also try the bucket method, also on You Tube.

After loosing so many plants to voles over the past two years we are on a vole mission!

Thanks for adding your experience with Milorganite and voles, Trudy. At least I know now that it isn't worth trying. I'll invest in some additional castor oil and ShakeAway instead of Milorganite, and probably add some traps in the worst areas.

Thanks also to everyone who made suggestions on what has worked for them.

Thanks for the extra info leslie and Brenda. Certainly glad I spent only a buck on it instead of earlier this summer when I saw it at lowes for $12. Oh well, at least I may get to enjoy it for a couple years...maybe. ;-)
Thanks much
CMK

I know this is a old thread but just purchased 2 Lobelia's for my water garden. They are doing great.

Anything I can do help them survive the Chicago winter?