13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Proudgma, your irridescent insect looks like a beneficial Longlegged Fly to me.

Earwigs can do a lot of damage and you normally see a lot more of them at night with a flashlight. If you don't see slugs, I'd suspect earwigs could be doing that damage. I have not seen them bother my hydrangeas before. They prefer basil and echinaceas usually.

The seedlings also survive winter here in cold snowy MN without any winter mulch. I don't have too many yet but can see the day coming so have been less careful weeding around them and not caring if a seedling gets weeded out.

Edited to add:
Also have been culling my stands of echinacea for the largest and best colored and/or fragrant flowers. Was surprised today to see a lone plant far way from the others with a large very nicely shaped white flower in a partly shaded area. A keeper for sure.

This post was edited by mnwsgal on Tue, Jul 29, 14 at 0:30

thanks for the offer Karin. . . but it's lookin like I'm going to have enough in my future.

The black eyes really make that one. Absolutely gorgeous. And I LOVE your mutant!

Today, I removed this section of plant and indeed it's a mutation and not a seedling, so that's kinda cool. I potted and will tend it before setting out when it becomes established.

bellarosa, the mother plant is a self sown seedling and a nice surprise, as I hadn't grown any white delphiniums prior.

rouge, I'll drop you an email sometime soon.

1 per cell.

I start most of my perennial seeds via wintersowing. Here in zone 5, that means they are still very tiny by the time the hot summer weather arrives. I pot them up and wait until Sept to plant them in their permanent location. This has always worked out well for me.

phlower, We are very much into the idea of putting a tall evergreen opposite the JM, rather than right up against the house. It might provide some added security between the houses as well. Thinking about possibly a Skyrocket Juniper?

We have one heuchera (palace purple I believe) that I moved last year from immediately behind one of the front fence posts where it got very little (almost none) direct sun exposure. It went over to the east side of the front yard, where it seems to be doing much better - even got a bloom from it this year. It is pretty now that it's doing well, and I have thought about adding some more coral bells in that general area, since the one by itself seems out of place.

Our tentative plan now is to take out both of the yews, and plant some type of tall evergreen further out from the house. I want to try clematis (jackmanii, maybe?) on a trellis to the left of the door to add some kind of vertical interest and color closer to the facade of the house. I have dreams of finding a suitable climbing rose to companion with the clematis, but that might be a bit much without some kind of more expansive structure there to support it. Along the foundation, we'll probably plant some combination of ferns, hostas, heucheras, and hopefully another smaller shrub with some ornamental interest if we can figure out a way to fit everything without overcrowding.

Always interesting to hear others views.

Although I'm sure you already know to do this, I'll say it anyway just in case you haven't .... investigate the recommendations given you. Not that any of us would try to steer you wrong, but your actual situation may differ from ours.
For example, how moist or dry is your bf's yard?
If you choose moisture loving plants but are unable to water with regularity, for example, the plants will do poorly or die and lead to a very unhappy experience for the two of you.

How much upkeep are the two of you willing to commit to?
If you choose a plant(s) that grow "vigorously", will regular trimming be unrealistic?

With regards to deadheading -- how much time can be devoted to doing so? Some flowering plants require rather frequent deadheading to get the most out of their blooming season or even to keep them from looking like crap.

I agree with nhbabs -- I like the fence (and for the same reasons).

"... but the boyfriend isn't all that keen on hostas"

Well hosta aren't for everyone. (But then no plant is.) However, it might make a difference if he saw more of what is available out there. That in turn might require taking him somewhere other than a BBS or a walk around the "hood".

My folks were never much into hosta ... until the fateful day 3 yrs ago when we went to a rather spectacular hosta nursery. I was up visiting for the week and my dad -- knowing that I enjoy perusing plants (I'm the only gardener in the family) -- happened to see an article in the newspaper about a hosta nursery in a nearby town. So we decided to pop over and have a looksee. The nursery, which was also part of the woman's yard was in a woods. It was a muggy, warm day and the mosquitos were out in force. We hadn't been out of the car more than a couple minutes when my mom said that we wouldn't be staying long and I couldn't fault her (did I mention the mosquitos were REALLY bad?). The owner of the nursery came out with a can of OFF! in hand ... bless her! She then showed us around the grounds which she and her hubby had beautifully landscaped. Needless to say, hosta played a huge role in their landscaping. While many of the run-of-the-mill mass produced hosta were present, there were many, many more that you would never find at a BBS nor most nurseries that cater to a wider array of plants. 1.5 HOURS later (so much for a short visit ... and that had nothing to do with me) we finally left along with several hosta that my folks decided to buy. Since then they've returned to that nursery a couple of times and have added a few more hosta each time. So a change of heart for your bf could happen. heh

"Our tentative plan now is to take out both of the yews, and plant some type of tall evergreen further out from the house."

Personally, I'd advise against that.

1) I can see why the former owners put the yews there. As has been mentioned, yews can take a pretty hard pruning and reliably fill out again and they make a nice backdrop for the plants in front of them.

2) That front yard is not that big. Even the more upright growing evergreens like arborvitae (Thuja) will, I believe, get far too big for that space -- not only blocking your windows but also overwhelming that space and muscling out the other plants therein. Do not be fooled by their diminutive nature at the BBS or nursery.

If you decide to plant an upright evergreen, might I suggest you do so on the other side of the walkway ... providing a counterbalance to the maple?

Always a bit leery when I hear that someone has planted a catmint. Buggers can become rampant spreaders showing up in all sorts of places you never intended. I've heard that Nepeta Walker's Low is seed sterile, so hopefully you won't have any problems. I'd still recommend keeping an eye on it, but some plants make me rather paranoid that way. heh.

Is 'Summer Green' a brand new cultivar? Is so, by next spring it might be more available.

I grow 'Summer Sun' and it's a great performer. My only real complaint is it does seed around a bit so come spring, I have seedlings to remove but that's not that big a tragedy.

a2zmom ... yes, I believe that 'Summer Green' is brand new to the market. I agree about the seeding of these plants, I have liberal numbers of them that have self sown around the place.

Rats. I forgot I already used them to hold up Rudbeckia. Oh, well, good idea for next year.

I use cross hatched peony hoops for some of my perennials and overlap the hoops if the plant gets wider than one hoop. The hoops get covered with foliage so are not seen after the plants grow. I've found that the cross hatched hoops keep the stems from getting bunched together allowing slight space between stems and give good support.

There are many varieties of platycodyn in my beds from very short to three feet tall. None have been staked or hooped. Most of the taller ones stand up straight with only one or two stems flopping. They don't detract from the stand. They blend in with the other stems adding additional blooms lower.
I try to find ways to allow floppers to enhance the group naturally.

I also agree that the first year's growth does not always tell you what their mature height will be. Which is why one group is blooming behind some short liatris but need to be moved because they have stayed about six inches high.

Another technique is to prune earlier for a tiered effect.

This post was edited by mnwsgal on Tue, Jul 29, 14 at 1:08

My garden is very 'weed friendly' but this is one I would pull. Its seeds cling to clothes and shoes and have to be picked off one by one.... Maybe just leave one or two for experimental reasons ;)

Good idea :-) i worry to much i think i have 5 out and about i will pull if i dont like the flowers and snip the heads before they seed if i do like them!

mmmm, I am doing stuff which doers not need vernalisation - rhemannia, foxgloves, hesperis, some delphs. As a last ditch rule of thumb, I try and replicate nature - so seeds which are being shed now get sown, often in situ if I have a lot - aquliegia, martagons, campanulas and meconopsis at present, making little footscrapes in the soil and ensuring the seeds get pressed down well to make a firm connection. If they are going to germinate, they will, and if not now, then after a stratifying winter, they come up in spring. I sow seed willy-nilly, ,most times of the year because I like doing it and don't mind too much if it goes pear-shaped.....and I do try to hang onto my pots for at least a couple of seasons - clems are really slow and then there is hypogeal germination, where there is nothing to see for a season for germination has occured under the surface.
But yep, hedge your bets - sow some now and some autumn to overwinter, and maybe some in spring - there are a number of good databases on the interweb.

There are some perennials that need cold stratification (i.e., winter temperatures) in order for seeds to germinate. If you know the botanical name of the plant, you can look in the Tom Clothier database (see link below) for seed starting information.

Obviously, many plants self-sow--I have Virginia knotweed, Penstemon/beardtongue, black-eyed Susans and others that have self-sowed in my garden beds.

A large percentage of the perennials in my many garden beds were grown from seed via the winter sowing method (see GardenWeb forum of the same name). It's simple, natural and gives you a chance to get your hands in dirt right through the frigid months. As an added bonus, it produces incredibly healthy, hardy plants.

Will this work? Will it only work with certain perennials?

There's a lot of conflicting information available online about seed starting but the Clothier database is the experts' (and my own) Go To source for seed germination information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tom Clothier Database

Our season begins in May. I read that the common nematodes for sale are not effective against AGB. The nematode that is suppose to work is not for sale because of production difficulties. Sorry but I didn't save the links. I would love to find some kind of IPM for this pest too.

I feel your pain, this is one of only two bugs which I will actually use spray for. I found spraying once in the evening will kill off enough of the nighttime visitors to reduce their numbers to the 'can deal with it' level.
I don't understand how one tiny beetle can eat so much.... But then again I don't have lily beetles, I hear they're even worse.

if Admin is following

FWIW I have emailed ADMIN the link to this thread. (But I did that for last year's similar thread and none of the similar or the same suggestions were implemented).

This post was edited by rouge21 on Sun, Jul 27, 14 at 17:04

Another forum I use has a "thanks" button--you can mark a particular post with a thanks indicating you found it helpful without having to respond further. In addition, the poster's name has a small bit of text indicating how many "thanks" they have gotten. It seems to work well.

Dunno....I use it all summer with no problem. They all move along to my neighbors' gardens. (j/k)

I have heard but never tested these ideas:

1. string a single clear monofilament --fishing line-- about 3 feet off the ground, around the garden. Deer are apparently freaked out by this 'invisible wall', and won't cross it.
   2) surround the garden with a 3 foot wide ring of plain plastic trellis, laid flat on the ground. Deer at least won't cross it, not wanting to chance tangling their hooves in this hazard.

Keep us posted if you try these!

--Rr

Liquid Fence-the ONLY thing (and I've tried them all) that works

I have ES growing in 2 different places: one is on the Notrh-East side of the house and another one is on the West-facing side.
And they are so different that almost feels like 2 different varieties.
This is how ES from West side looks like (it is smaller, leaves are somewhat paler, but blooms reliably every year):

And this is my ES from the Notrh-East side. In fact , these are 3 hydrangeas planted in a row. They are much taller, with dark-green leaves and have fewer flowers between three of them than the one growing on the West side. Also, their flowers are mostly hidden in the foliage. These ones get more attention than their sister: they get fertilized with liquid 20-20-20 at least once a month, while the one above gets a handful of granular fertilizer in spring and thatâÂÂs it:

This post was edited by green_go on Sat, Jul 26, 14 at 22:24

Thanks for your post 'green go'. I always like reading posts detailing one's experience with the same plant in two different locations on one's property.

UPDATE:

I got the ok from my partner to remove the ES in question as long as I kept the nearby but equally unproductive "Blushing Bride" hydrangea.

I will replace ES with the lace cap "Tuff Stuff".