13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
I dug mine out, this was many years ago when I was extending the size of the beds back when I still had a lawn and a more conventional landscape. I dug out the main parts, shook out & sorted through the dirt carefully and tossed the roots/plants, then I spent the next two years digging out any that popped up from roots I'd missed but it wasn't that bad really. I don't think you can dig it out in one session or get completely rid of it in a single year. Actually, I've had worse-- namely some type of campanula that was here when we bought the house and pink Mexican Primrose, both have lots of small brittle roots and any left in the ground will sprout.
The stuff smells so bad I couldn't stand it especially when weed eating around the beds but it also got ratty looking in summer, it was coming up mostly green and invading the lawn. The smell was a big reason I wanted it gone. I had 4 fairly large areas of it.
I started this thread 4 years ago, and here's what happened since. The houttuniya plus bishop's weed that migrated from another spot have definitely won. The Italian musk strawberries look like they're going to make it in early spring, but then the other two monster plants start coming up like gangbusters. The area in question is a triangular space surrounded on all three sides by a low stone wall ( on two sides the wall goes up about a foot or so, on the third side the wall goes down about two feet. It's a very hilly neighborhood, both north-south and east-west). So I can't even hire a backhoe - which is probably the only way I could get rid of the damn thing. I give up.
On nurseries (not big box) in general, they mostly carry plants that will thrive in their planting zones. I noticed a beautiful pine on my last visit to our local private nursery, and asked about it. The owner sold their previous house to us, and she assured me that that tree would NOT grow on my property. I asked her why they even carry it and she responded that people up in our local mountain resort often come down to purchase plants, and it will thrive up there. So native to the East will not work here in the hot dry West. I do admit to zone envy, but sometimes all the work and effort trying to grow something that has different requirements just isn't worth it.
Rouge - no, I haven't just misplaced it :-) I planted it across from the small path off the patio leading to the north alley so it would be easy to see and make a nice show from the patio. Conditions seemed good for it there too. I waited anxiously for it to reappear this spring, but no sign of it...:-(
I didn't mean to confuse anyone. What I was hoping to find I have found here......somebody that would help me via email and phone with a design.
Thanks again for everybody's input and I'll post pictures and details once the bed is completed for this growing season.
And before I forget...the width of the planting bed will be 14'...not 30'. I don't know what I was thinking when I said 30'.
babs.....you put so much time into your post I will address your questions where I can:
For instance do you like Daisy shaped flowers or tall spires like ironweed or roses or big fluffy heads like Annabelle hydrangea or all of the above?
All of the above. It will be a butterfly (bflys) garden and I'm not concerned about flower shape. The correct placement for their size is important.
Are you someone who only is interested in flowers, or are you wanting a garden that looks good when little is blooming?
Varied, season long blooming is important for bflys. 75% perennial and 25% shrubs is my thought at this time.
Do you want winter interest since your winter must be long, or do you not see this garden from the house? Do you like foliage with colors other than green?
Winter interest = yes. Garden is on mainly the side of the house. About 1/3 will be viewed from house. Other colors? = yes.
Have you done a web search for photos of Piet Oudolf's gardens and is that what you mean by a meadow? How do you feel about grasses?
PO meadow = yes. The bed will be a bit more "formal" than a meadow (if this makes sense) . LOVE grasses! Especially miscanthus (sp?) for winter effect.
We don't know the growing conditions other than zone (moisture, soil texture and pH, sun conditions),
soil texture = 4-8" of topsoil over "beach sand" subsurface. VERY well drained. Full sun. PH = 5.9 (tested early summer) but are liming to bring it up.
With a garden that large, mulch will be your friend while plants fill in. I usually put down cardboard or several layers of newspapers and then cover with mulch. I find this easier to do before planting, and then when it's time to plant I pull the mulch aside, cut the cardboard, and put in the plants.
I love the cardboard/paper idea! The site as it sits today is all lawn grass. I was going to mark out the exact area and then use grass killer to kill the grass. Wait the proper amount of time before recommended replanting then put 4" of mulch down. Then plant
FYI - if you recall I said "think of the shape of a boomerang" when you envision the bed. This season I'm going to work on the LH leg of the boomerang. This will be 80' L x 14' W.
Have you though about access to the garden for maintenance? I imagine you will need paths of some type in the garden so you can remove weeds or invasives, cut back dead stems and foliage in the fall or early spring, etc.
Yes there will be paths
Is there water available if you have dry spell? New planting will need watering until plants are established.
Water is really the least of my worries! :) We have a well with a constant pressure pump. We have a "pump and dump" geothermal heating and cooling system and in summer when the AC is on, the geo water can be (almost always is) diverted to the outside to be used for watering the lawn and existing beds.
Hope this all helps.
here is an example.. of such:
crocus early spring
tulips later spring
roses june july,
sedums in august ...
and then the fall flowering plants ..
a real good gardener ... plans out.. the progression of flowering.. so there is always something new blooming ... as compared to focusing on a monoculture... that peaks and fades.. all within a week or two ...
ken
Rouge, is that a current picture? My Tuff Stuff petered out long ago. But I noticed all new growth and some buds further back in the stems from the original flowers, so yesterday I snipped all the old flowers off. Curious to see if I get a second bloom this year.
There is an Aroid forum here on GW/Houzz that has had numerous discussions about amorphophallus with a number of very enthusiastic growers. You might want to post on there to to see what those guys have to say and if they can ID.......usually only if they bloom, I think. I'm not sure how distinctive the plants are otherwise.
For some strange reason (as if I couldn't guess - lol!!) this plant seems to be strongly appealing to males :-)
Thank you for yall's replies i will post this on the Aroids forum.
yeah this isn't one of the big box stores they are a rather small store but they do normally have great info on their plants. I just want to make sure i know everything about this plant before i go and spend 45 dollars on it! I've been wanting one of these plants to add to my Carrion flower collection despite the offensive scent they produce.
How much annual rain do you get? The reason I ask is we got heavy rain this spring/early summer and I lost three plants. They form a large taproot and I noticed they were rotted. Two other plants look pretty bad but are coming back. I've had a few growing for years, thought they were indestructible but obviously too wet is not good for them. You might try growing one in a raised spot or a place that drains very well.
They are not at all invasive but I remove the fluttermill seedpods when I'm cleaning in fall, otherwise I'd probably have several more plants. I do get volunteers as a few early pods break open but I remove most of them, the pods stay intact for a long period so its easy to just gather them up and avoid seeding.
I have a typical green leaf Missouri Primrose (Ozark Sundrops) and another Missouri Primrose with blue leaves and lighter creamy yellow flowers. They shut down here when it gets hot but pick back up in fall. The flowers only stay open on cloudy days when it gets hot but all day in early spring.
The silver leaf kind
Silver leaf kind when it gets too hot to bloom. I love the leaf color.
The Native green leaf kind which has deeper yellow flowers shot at night.
Sorry the pic is a little washed-out - never take a photo in the middle of the day. :)
I have seen mite damage in my Echinacea this year and it's so sad. I purchased 3 plants from nurseries and was so excited. I had a bit of money to buy some plants this year and in other years I just couldn't afford it and now I'm just sick at the damage.
I've also noticed that the past two years I had Cheyenne Spirit, two quite large plants, and they didn't come back this spring. I'm not the best at marking my plants and I've noticed that I'm also missing Harvest Moon which bloomed in abundance last year. I still have Secret Affair and Catarina. Secret Affair refuses to "grow up" or spread out. It has stayed the same size for 4 years. I clear out anything that tries to crowd it so it can enlarge, but to no avail.
I also purchased a Double Decker, but it's looking like a regular Echinacea purpurea. There's nothing double about it although there are two full blooms. I purchased it when I was out of town. If the nursery was close I'd take it back, but it doesn't even seem worth the trouble to write or call. I hope they didn't do it on purpose.
Heidi
Sorry to hear about the mite damage, Heidi.
I'm quite confused about the matter. I still have about a dozen Echinacea, having lost many fancy cultivars to coneflower mite up to two years ago. This year, I haven't seen any trace of the mite in our garden or at least I don't think so.
Re 'Double Decker' losing/missing its upper deck: we've had the 'Double Decker' below for years (picture: July 26, 2015). It's been losing it's double deck over that time.
sandyslopes - This is a 15 year old picture but it shows what gardening in a bug shirt and hat looks like! (I now have one with a hood with face protection.) I think I'm the neighbourhood eccentric :-)
Rouge - this was our first attempt ever at reseeding - I wasn't expecting too much success but it seems to have worked well.. I did a lot of reading on various US university Extension web sites. Some of them noted that a common cause of reseeding failing is not mowing soon enough - mow when it gets above 2", so we did that.
Wow! So that's what you meant. You really are covered head to toe. It looks like you're protected from mosquitoes (West Nile Virus here) and ticks while wearing that.
I was right that you are a dedicated gardener to put all that on before going out. The next time I'm feeling like it's too much effort to put on sunscreen and bug spray, I'll think of you in that outfit and get myself into the gardens.
That is absolutely Gorgeous! I would definitely buy that if offered!!!
I'd buy it, too. Gorgeous!