13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Fascination is one of the taller herbaceous clematis (but not as tall as Rooguchi, which has a similar flower)....and as such, is better as a scrambler between taller perennials such as phlox, ornamental grasses, gauras, penstemons etc. It will thread itself through the stems...or will obligingly fall over a wall, a stump, a bank or an ugly shrub. They do not conform to formal gardening- they seem to fit in a wilder setting - I think because of their size and vague unruliness . They add a dimension to those small shrubs which had their moment way back in May/June but are now just sitting greenly boring (I am thinking of philadelphus, deutzias, small lilacs, exochorda, spiriaes (sp?) forsythia, winter jasmine - well those 4-6feet tall clems are just the ticket. They are also seen on obelisks, tuteurs and such, constructed from rustic pea sticks through to ornate wrought iron. They are a bit hopeless as edgers. I have Pangbourne Pink, Alionushka, a couple of unidentified (nondescript blue) ones and love them growing through hogweed and campions in our woodland (they laugh at shade unless it is deep gloom). They will also twine amongst roses for a more romantic cottage-y look. I intend to allow for fraternising between integrifolias and C. recta, ternata and fargesii and have vague ideas of growing a deep blue hendersonii up amongst a purple leaved elder and the dark angelica sylvestris ' Vicar's Meade' (or Ebony)
These clems are easy and floriferous in a modestly charming style, I hope you will enjoy them
Bushy Blue Bell looks much like yours but more blue. It is growing in my mixed border through a cross hatched tall peony hoop. This keeps the plant upright about 3 ft high. It gives it more of a bush appearance and is near a front corner of the border so that I can deadhead it as I don't like the dried seed heads. BBB is my longest blooming clematis, from late spring/late fall.
Put Petite Falcon on a very short obelisk which is working now but may need to be replaced when the clematis is older (2nd year in ground).
OMG, whaas, that had me laughing out loud!!
Planting time aside, I've had great luck with a sedum groundcover in very poor, very shallow, very rocky, very dry soil in a very hot area (full blazing sun along the asphalt street). Because I need something low to keep the sightline coming out of my driveway clear, I haven't tried anything taller there, but I would assume other, taller sedums would work as well.
Dee
Nah, I disagree with most of the above. I do my fall planting in earnest in late August and with the unusually cool & rainy summer we've had this year, I've been transplanting and planting all summer and pretty much letting nature do the work of watering in this year, its a good year for planting.
Any kind of succulent or cactus can be planted and just walked away from, meaning totally ignored which is usually the best thing since most deaths come from too much molly-coddling and over watering. Treat them like forgotten children and they will reward you. So I totally disagree there's no plant that can be planted in August. I just moved a well established cactus here smack in the middle of the day in the hot sun and it won't mind a bit & I'm going to dig up some hesperaloe's tomorrow and move them once the roots callous.
Wow, you've just described a perfect spot for certain plants. First to come to mind is the one I just mentioned, hesperaloe or 'pink yucca', however, its not a yucca, its in the lily family. I looked it up, it will take zone 5 if dry. These look great in a grouping. Stick them in the ground and forget them, they will do fine. I've seen many plantings where they mix them with drifts of grasses and the texture is to die for. Its used along roads here due to its low maintenance, looks and low water needs. Looks stunning. True yucca is another easy plant but choose carefully, there are nice well behaved pretty ones and others that are bullies and become something you regret. Yucca rostrata s a good one if it will grow in zone 5 and your winter is on the dry side or the drainage is very good.
Little Bluestem grass. In a spot like that you should be able to grow the highly enviable stiff light blue vertical specimens because they love torture like that and they tend to flop in good soil with too much moisture or shade. Water in the plants for the first week, then they will do fine on their own. I've been moving them around all summer, I just finished planting some more and they are unflapped. Santa Rosa will be restocked coming up with all the really nice types when their fall sales begin. They are very popular so they ran out early this year of every type. Many other ornamental grasses would also work (but bluestem is so gorgeous I have to push it). Native grasses would do the best, imported ones such as the over used Miscanthus grasses are often water suckers that would need supplemental watering when dry in that kind of sun and there's all that horrible spring trimming of sharp leaves with those plus that dying in the center down the road when they must be dug up and divided which is not fun to do. Natives are much easier.
Russian Sage is a plant that would definitely do well there. Water it in when planting and keep it moist for a couple weeks and it should do fine for you with little or no follow up. Too much water makes them flop. Once September gets here, you should be fine.
Crepe Myrtle would be easy in the heat but it might not do zone 5, you could check, they will take the dry and heat with ease and bloom over a long period. Rose of Sharon is another workhorse that seems to take any amount of sun and drought and bloom without problems. Any native plant that is a sun lover in your area will also prove to be a good choice. You might want to google to see whats native in your parts, these plants will be OK on their own since they are adjusted to your conditions and soil type without human intervention.
Woops, I nearly forgot. Artemisia is a great choice for that kind of spot. They would do fine. I just planted three Prowis Castle to add to a silver garden I'm working on and they adjusted right in, no problem, no sulks. Valerie finnis is a great one. I just moved some to fill in a spot.
This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Thu, Aug 7, 14 at 23:37
Well done boday.
My many "Astrantia" understandably did almost nothing last year, their first year in our garden. But this year they performed superbly.
I planted (too) many of these masterworts after seeing the wonderful pictures from GW member scottyboipdx.
UPDATE:
One year later and I still am in love with this plant. They are long blooming and can take shade; in fact they can't take full sun (unless they have lots of moisture). Up close the individual flowers are very special. Here is one of ours from this year.
Maybe I am wrong. Based on this posting from the University of Alabama at Huntsville - this is not a Chinese Parasol. Is there more than one variety?
Here is a link that might be useful: University of Huntsville at Ala Chinese Parasol
"Hameln" fountain grass reseeds rather heavily for me. Chasmanthium (aka wild oats) is horrible in terms of reseeding - don't even think about it if you don't want to deal with that (I love the plant form, so I put up with it).
No, Gold Bar doesn't ring a bell. I looked up the grass I have in the catalog from the local nursery, and it is Porcupine grass, not Zebra grass. They look the same to me (green with yellow bars) but the Porcupine grass is between 3-4' tall, while the Zebra grass is at least 7', if not a bit taller, and the blades of the Porcupine grass arch whereas the Zebra grass is stiffly upright.
Here are some pics as a comparison. They are older pics, but the grasses were mature at the time (and are still there):
Porcupine grass: Note the Endless Summer hydrangea to the left and the air conditioning unit next to the grass/behind the hydrangea as points of comparison (I put the grass here originally to hide the AC unit)
Another shot of the Porcupine grass. Different year, the BB bush wasn't in the bed during this particular year but you can seen a Caryopteris right next to it as a height comparison.
Zebra grass: These were put here to screen our patio from passerby on the street, as we don't have fences in our neighborhood. Because it is so tall and dense, it does the intended job beautifully.
View from the patio side. As a height comparison, the rugosa rose next to the grass is a mature Wildberry Breeze.
I don't know why I have never tried the blue oat grass, I really need to give that one a try since the blue fescue I have right now dies out, or grows lopsided, or plain old dies if it gets a little competition or doesn't get divided frequently.
I see the difference between the porcupine and zebra. They seem to fit in perfectly where they are and nice pictures! I wonder if they're not switched though, seems the porcupine grass would be the spikier upright one.... God bar is a porcupine type, just shorter at 3-4 feet.
I shovel pruned my fountain grass (pennesitum) last spring due to reseeding. I think the real dwarf ones don't seed as much (like little bunny) but the bigger ones are awful even though I love the look. 'Moudry' is one I would never plant again.
One pennesitum that is sterile is "Karley Rose". Real nice, around three feet, but a little floppy when wet. Mine made it through last winter just fine (-10low) which surprised me since it's less hardy than the other ones.
Works great for me. I used it on roses for years successfully, doesn't wash off in rain but you do have to watch for those growth spurts and make sure new foliage and buds are protected. Remembering to respray the day after deer have visited doesn't help.
I didn't bring roses with me but have much heavier deer pressure in this new location. Still good results with the Bobbex. Our deer aren't particularly starving with little to no winter snow cover, but they are here every day year round and right now the fawns are learning their tastes and will sample just about anything. They will leave the plants alone that I've sprayed, I wouldn't be without it.
The scent to our noses dissipates in a couple of hours - don't spray into the wind though ;).
In zone 6 mine always come back, but this last winter was the test and they did come back. It took mine several years to get big so I think keeping them is better than buying new. Have you tried chopping them down and covering with a deep pile of straw?
I noticed the strangest thing. Around 4th of July they made their annual appearance, right around the time they usually do. I made a note for myself to start eliminating them (the soapy water method), but never got around to it - too busy with other things. So I'm moseying around outside the other day, and NO BEETLES! They are normally all over one rugosa rose in particular, it's like home base for them, but they were all gone. They weren't on any other plants, either.
No clue what went on there, but I have never seen that happen, they're usually orgying it up well into August, sometimes even a bit later.
Wonder if it's a sign it will be another harsh winter - ?. Or maybe I just had a lot of hungry birds hanging around the yard this year :0)
I haven't seen a single one this year. I did get rid of my only rose which was the only plant they munched for me, so maybe that's part of the reason. The squirrels this year haven't been doing any damage either, so all in all, I have no complaints.
(We do need rain which is hard to believe after the drenching this spring, so I guess I can complain about that.)
Kevin
It will grow into an area. multiplying at the base, stoloniferously.. It is slow where I am but things are rough here. It might be different in Englandâ¦Ogrose, is in Dallas and they have clay based soils that are richer.. I would give it shade with some sun, more sun than shade in England. That is a guess made in reaction to your temporate temperatures.. It will be plenty hardy there. Mine has not bloomed yet this year. Strange. The red is blooming in town , but they have not formed seed yet. I have had my eye on clumps to gather some seed for you. They should grow easily. They are very tolerant and flexible plants, growing across different soil types and rain changes. They grow from Central Texas across east Texas, Louisiana and into Florida but I think they are less the further east one goes. They are happier with a bit more water and a deeper soil than I have. They grew fast and bug when I lived in town on clay.
Hi, my goal here is to share pictures. The red turkscap is at a local historical house where my Master Gardener group does volunteer work. Please take advice from others who actually grow it in their yards and know more about its culture.
Planted some years ago by the Master Gardener group the turkscap is a HUGE mass beloved by hummingbirds and admired by tourists.
Pictures taken Aug 5, 2014 at Kent House (1796), Alexandria, Louisiana, z8b, heat zone 9, central Louisiana. As ogrose notes above: morning sun, afternoon shade. This location also has many shadows and is near 2 fig trees. As wantonamara notes turkscap is a native plant in Louisiana.
NOT MY HOUSE!
Another picture, Folsom Native Plant Society, near Covington, Louisiana
House furnished with beautiful period antiques, outbuildings with extensive displays of various molds and farming tools:
Visit Kent House (1796) and learn about life in a French Creole family in the early 1800âÂÂs
This post was edited by river_crossroads on Wed, Aug 6, 14 at 13:46
Forgot that I also shovel pruned many of my evergreen shrubs. We had a terrible winter when it came to evergreens. So many around town are dead. Between the harsh winter and deer, I've just decided to tell myself that winter interest is overrated. Sad to see them go, but sadder to look forward to them in the winter only to have them buried under snow, eaten by deer, or dead come spring.
Oh no, not the hallowed evergreen shrubs, bummer!
This evening I dispatched with 2 Johnson's Blue geraniums that look floppy, straggly and all-around lame by August. Buh-bye! Also pulled out yet another overcrowded daylily clump and the millionth blue saliva that established itself without my premission. Crazy how much I am pulling out and I'm probably not even halfway done. Phew!
Thanks pitimpinai. I will look into triloba. My space is very limited, and not "officially" full sun, though most of the full-sun plants I have do reasonably well. My most fortunate find a couple of years ago was Rudbeckia fulgida var. speciosa Viette's Little Suzy, which grows 12-16" high. Perfect size for my little space and which allows me a little more variety that the full-size Rudibeckia's take up. I'm slowly phasing out my few big ones for this little beauty.
Rudbeckia triloba is a denizen of the moist shady areas...they like sun, but usually don't grow in more than half sun.
I also heartily recommend it as a workhorse...though you must readjust your mind..the flowers are small, but many.
In great native habitat, triloba sometimes reaches 6 1/2 feet, but more avg is 2 1/2 or so.
My sister had this happen to her. Her husband is a bird biologist and they hid some animal tracking devices in the plants (azealeas.) They found that the culprit was a neighbor who lived just a few blocks away. They confronted the neighbor. I don't remember much more detail. I think it would be a good idea to contact the police as another reader suggested.
Very sorry to hear so many people reporting thefts of plants. I read a story in the paper this week about someone thinking someone was tampering with their chickens in their backyard and they ended up calling the police. The police installed cameras, I believe and they did catch the person based on the video and it was a neighbor. So I would start by calling the police. They should have it on record, there may be others in the neighborhood that are having the same problem.
I think you can get a game camera for under $100. I'd want a real camera vs. fake, to have evidence of who was stealing plants so they could be prosecuted.
'Knock on Wood', I've never had anything stolen even from the front garden and I garden in the front all the time. I even have a tomato planted and not even a tomato has been missing. I've lived here 20+ years, and I do appreciate feeling some trust for my neighbors.