13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
I do find the selection at van englen great! I am going to try out several smaller daffodils this year as the foliage of some if my bulbs is just now dying down. I am hoping to find varieties that have less noticeable dying leaves through the summer.
Last fall was my first with costco bulbs and all went well. Those bags just find a way into my cart...I try to be sure I actually count the total number of bulbs I am buying as a reality check! Last spring I tried some spring bulbs but they were dried up in the bag. Costco has always been good about returns though. Not sure how they'd deal with the wrong fall bulbs though...hmm.
When I have had wrong items from van engelen, they have sent replacements, resulting in now hundreds of odd ball daffodils in my woods. I kind of wish now I had just received a refund.
So this is the second time Ive posted something on the forums and not been notified that I had a response. And here there have been LOTS of responses! I waited for a few days and then I forgot all about it. Eek. My apologies everyone for posting a question and then not checking back in!! And thank you all for your input. I'll be trying one of the top two mentioned and let you know how it goes : )
plantman, those sound like the wild camara 'ham and eggs' type, not native to the US. Those are easily hardy in zone 6, my grandmother used to grow them. You can trim the stems back at the end of summer and they will bush up and bloom into fall. The native Texas 'horrida' has orange and red flowers and they have small barbed thorns on the stems. I'm using these on a border where the dirt is bad for easy to grow ground cover in a war with vinca major. Lantana is winning.
yes, i know it gets v. big for you, but i doubt it would here.
camp, you do know that British (and PNW) gardeners garden in Paradise, yes? Things grow quite differently here on Earth for us z.5 New Engand gardeners... (btw, the chionochloa is o.k. but it's those stipa seed heads that have me lusting......)
Nope, not I. I don't go through phases like that, because I am already enjoying a riot of colors like those from spring through fall. :-)
I have red, yellow, blue, orange, fuschia and everything in between from late January-early February on. Some gardeners might say gaudy, but nobody who passes by has said to me that my garden is ugly yet.
It's been years since I had mums in my garden. I plant thickly and let them duke it out for space. Those that could not survive, I don't replace. And since mums could not fight its way, I went for asters instead.
I still have Rudbeckia hirta, R. triloba, R. Glodsturm, Geranium 'Rozanne', Phlox paniculata, Hydrangea 'Annabelle, Hydrangea quercifolia, Hydrangea paniculata, Morning Glory 'President Tylor', Clematis 'Bette Corning', Echinacea purpurea, Lychnis calcedonica, Clematis 'Huldine', Lilium speciosum, Pelargonium, Feverfew, Roses and Hosta plantaginea in bloom.
Ornamental grass is beginning to bloom and Sedum 'Autumn Joy''s color is deepening. Most of the hosta big and small are still looking grand.
I still have asters, sweet autumn clematis, fall corcus and Colchicum to look forward to. They will contrast nicely with autumn leaves.
How about the gorgeously tiny but detailed acaena buchananii? My previous experience with acaenas had been the prickly New Zealand microphylla...which has lovely foliage but annoying (to my mind) reddish burrs.......whereas the buchananii has survived total seasonal neglect in a shallow pot with odd jovibarbas and comes through the winter magnificently. The glaucous foliage veers towards turquoise while keeping a filigree delicacy I have rarely encountered in a foliage plant.
How about the gorgeously tiny but detailed acaena buchananii? My previous experience with acaenas had been the prickly New Zealand microphylla...which has lovely foliage but annoying (to my mind) reddish burrs.......whereas the buchananii has survived total seasonal neglect in a shallow pot with odd jovibarbas and comes through the winter magnificently. The glaucous foliage veers towards turquoise while keeping a filigree delicacy I have rarely encountered in a foliage plant.
Even better (with paler flowers) acaena magellanica.....I love these alpine evergreens.
Thanks for the responses! I will sow some now and if they are too small by the time my current container plants die out, I will purchase some. The pansies I purchased last fall bloomed through winter and spring so sown plants should have plenty of time if they decide to grow.
I think it's best to use the 'baggy method' .Moisten a coffee filter & place seeds & all in the baggy, seed side up. They take about 8-10 days at about 70 degrees , with exposure to indirect sunlight near a window. Once rootlet is about 1/4 inch long, transplant using a toothpick into seed trays & avoid allowing the fragile seedlings to become too dry, don't yet expose to direct mid-day sun while tiny & avoid exposure to high temperatures. Use dilute fertilizer, to help speed up growth. I have read that seeds older than 9 months, generally won't germinate, or if so, quite poorly. I've bought from 2bseeds.com , with great results & they offer one of my favorites, the old fashioned ruffled & penciled, ''Super Chalon' variety.
According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, P. 'Laura' grows 3-4 ft. tall. See link below for more detailed plant/growing information. My tall phlox all took 3-4 years to get established. Most were planted in 2011; they were splendid this year.
Here is a link that might be useful: Phlox paniculata 'Laura'
Perhaps there's some confusion between 'Laura' and 'Little Laura', latter is said to be 18 to 24 inches tall.
Have used both for a good few years. They are very hardy and long-lived here.
The other thing is that factors related to location in the garden may affect garden phlox height attained in any one year (soil fertility, sun, etc.).
Taking time to reach their potential height and (later) requiring division are both potential factors.
I am loving this thread! Such pretty photos!
And I am ever so envious of those of you who have so many of those that I'd like to acquire. But I can't find them anywhere for sale. Forest Farm doesn't have any I want, Digging Dog is out of two that I do want, Bluestone has become ridiculously expensive and only has one listed I want anyway......
Hopefully there will be more sources next spring
Eric, I've known people that plant achimenes, and got good increase (and flowers), but don't the leaves often look ratty (seems I remember that...but was when I was a kid). I've only grown them in pots...I think I'm thinking of water spotting dmg.
And umm Gloxinia? It looks more like a nemanthus or some such (stemmed)? Or is it one of those new sinningia species they started saying are perennial in the south ?
Achimenes foliage holds up pretty well here. "Purple King" may be a tougher border plant than other varieties.
And yes, it's Gloxinia "Evita" (I've also seen it listed as Seemania "Evita").
Next year I might try growing one or both of these up against the house wall, mulch well for winter and see if they return in spring.