13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
The issue is not that people do not understand your question. It's that calling R. hirta a perennial is troublesome in itself. Since R. hirta is not a perennial, even though the tag says otherwise, no matter what you do, mulch or no mulch, it is not going to live very long, especially in Canada.
What determines a plant's longivity? Genetics? Climate? Growing conditions? Who knows?
Try R. 'Goldsturm' or R. fulgida. They are perennials if you want long lived Rudbeckia. R. hirta is not going to live long. Period.
I checked the Tom Clothier database and found R. hirta listed as a perennial. Assuming that was accurate (at some point) & a reliable resource, I grew several varieties from seed in 2010, planted them out and enjoyed them. I still get the occasional volunteer but they were definitely short-lived.
Swallowtail Garden Seeds website lists R. hirta on their Annuals page. Whatever they are, annual or perennial, I welcome their generous self-seeding habit & bright faces whenever and wherever they show up in my garden.
Yes, I mulch heavily over recycled corrugated cardboard. I offer no supplemental
water--they get whatever Mother Nature dishes out. Soil is slightly acid, sandy loam. I don't fertilize anything.
I know this is a very late reply, but maybe it will help for next year! I have a couple of ideas. If those are petunias, you must deadhead them-that is, pinch off the flowers when they start to wilt/fade. If you don't, the plant will go to seed rather than keep blooming. I tend to water my pots every morning until the water runs out the bottom unless it rained during the night or if I have shaded pots. I live outside DC, so summers are hot and humid. Other conditions may require slightly less watering. You have to walk a fine line between overwatering (worse than underwatering) and letting your plants get too dry. Also, it is possible to use too much fertilizer. You will burn the roots if you do that, so maybe add the Miracle-Gro every third or fourth watering or use the miracle-gro potting soil and don't worry about the liquid form.
It looks as if you have pretty good light. Petunias like full sun-at least six hours, but I have been able to get by with about five hours of sun on our deck.
So many people do not understand the concept of restricted gifts whereby the seller can include provisions in the gift-that must be followed. Just like this case, a good lawyer should have advised them re development issues, changes to the buildings or the land, and the restrictions wording that needed to be included in the deed and sale.
But the gift probably was made a long time ago, before the
knowledge that exists now.
The property was donated in 1971 to be used as an art gallery and public garden. As the house (built in the 1920s) has aged, the cost of keeping the internal environment suitable for art works has increased substantially. What to do about that, and the cost of it, is the core of the problem.
eric, you mention the JB population plummeting. The result of a county hort. program ?or unknown reason? (like Macbeth, we never say the word around here.)
Much to my surprise, there was a very-close-to-blue variety in our local nursery 2 yrs ago. I bought 3 and put them all in diff spots. They all seem very happy, but the happiest is the one that gets the most sun. I have it next to one of our MANY golden conifers, and a zebra grass. YAY! I do have a question about it, as many of you are experts w/ them and i certainly am not. Mine is pretty tall (5-6') and i was wondering-- can i keep it cut down a bit, and will that cause heavier flowering? Anyone tried this? Mine is narrow and tall and i would like it lower and bushier-like the one in the linked video. when should i do this and/or prune it ? thx for the inspiration, all of you! I am amazed and perplexed that with a plant that has such a rep for being a JB magnet, i see NO damage on any of your plants!? (Btw, there were almost no JB here the last 2 yrs.)
uh oh i think i just realized that i am not posting about a red plant. sorry. If rudbeckia Cherry Brandy is hardy for you, that would make an interesting partner for your wonderful red ROS, because of its 3 colors, all in the same family. and maybe Gaillardia? My Bluebird was blooming the last 2 months , along w/ daylilies. you might consider some true red d.l. like Chicago Apache or, better yet, a yellow and red bi-color d.l. (I often go to Oakes DL to look through their photos.) Also- Crocosmia Lucifer.
How about some contrast, w/ blue foliage (Blue Shadow fothergilla) or ppl foliage (berberis or cotinus or sambucus [there's a new narrow vertical one at Broken Arrow called Black Tower! ])
Here is a link that might be useful: blue bird rose of sharon
p.s. you mention mulching many times as a problem. would you let yourself see what a few beds look like w/ NO mulch, and a few w/ mulch just along the front of them? (I am assuming here that the mulch blends in w/ your dirt color.)
to repeat another poster: are there beds by entrances or spaces that you rarely use or see? those are the ones that are expendable of course. how long have you lived in your new place?
are you near some urban center? so often non-profit organizations look for plant donations for their properties. here in boston there is even a group of garden designers who gather donated plants to install for free for some of them. maybe you could enlist a local older scout troop or wrestling team to dig or divide some grasses and perennials for you to donate.....
BBP, many have already offered suggestions. I have one more to add. Does your city or county do green recycling? In my county, they pick up green waste and make compost and mulch. They sell this for very little. We got 10 cu yds. Total cost, including delivery was under $200, most of that the cost of the truck and delivery.
The mulch isn't fancy but we don't need fancy, just something that worked. If you lay down cardboard in areas needing mulch, topped with a few inches of mulch it would last 2 years, perhaps more if you have a few layers of cardboard.
Cheryl
Sorry! I had a really busy week! I got my mums from tons of places (food city-walmart-lows-the nursery) I know they are spaced super close together and I will space them out next spring. The size of them is probably about the size of a medium dinner plate. They are now racked with buds btw...did I miss any questions?
You think yours are close together, come check out mine! I planted probably 10 different mums together in a circle. I thought I'd left enough space in between them and now I've learned to space them alot more next time. They grew huge! I had no idea.
Yours look great!
You can also bundle up the seed heads and tie them under a bird feeder. Goldfinches love them.
Now that is an excellent idea! I'm always torn between my urge to tidy up and wanting to leave the seed heads there for the birds. Now I can do both!
Hi all, newbie poster here (so I should probably stay out of this, but won't). I just wanted to chime in with my support for GW and the Perennials forum specifically. In my limited time here, I've really come to value this site so much as an authoritative informational resource. It seems that half of my garden related Google searches land me in a GW thread of some kind. This is so much more than just some internet forum! The reason is due to all of you knowledgeable, smart, experienced (and very polite!) gardeners willing to participate out of the goodness of your hearts. I hope that all of those who have contributions to make will continue to do so.
Here in NH we've had quite a mild summer. I was so hopeful for some wonderful phlox, echinacea, lush hosta, etc, etc......but......although the weather more than cooperated, the woodchucks did not! Bad, BAD woodchucks! LOL! They systematically made their way around the garden mowing down all sorts of goodies. Our neighbor caught one of them and he was forty pounds! Surely from the five or so years he has been enjoying the smorgasbord that is my garden.
Good thing we gardeners rebound so well from so many different surprises from weather to animals or anything else that "derails" the garden. If I had a nickel for every time I said "well, there's always next year"...........somehow we persevere and remain hopeful for that next surprise in the garden.
Here's to a glorious fall for everyone!!
Lol, it's a bouncing bet aka soapwort. Saponaria officinalis...looks like a double form, so definitely from someone's garden.
The old saying: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade...well you should make soap, I suppose.
This post was edited by dbarron on Thu, Aug 28, 14 at 18:57
awe I'm in love with this plant! Thanks for enabling! Gonna need to get one. or two. beautiful!
rouge, thought you might enjoy seeing a shot of Monique's (CT) LQ in one of her mixed borders. What a successful design, eh?!
I love LQ; once or twice over the summer,i whack it back HARD( down to 2-3' H) to keep her in line (She really covets that 'Tallest Perennial' trophy every year.) So she is really just starting to flower now. I do love my Rudbeckia Herbstsonne(w/which i ditto the whacking) , but i much prefer LQ's yellow myself.
Here is a link that might be useful: Monique's CT use of Lemon Queen