13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

had it this spring-in our dry climate usually disappeared(literally) in a day or two. would then reappear in another part of the veg garden-it is startling isnt it?

They MOVE?! Geez, this has all the makings of a B horror movie, lol!

Dee

Grief, another plant it is impossible to find seeds for in the UK. Too annoying for words. I grow the related strobilanthes and am really keen to grow ruellias, not least because of their predilection for light shade. Seed sources in US?

Campanula, Talking about seeds in america, look in your email of me. I sent you an email.I have a growing envelope waiting for an address.

Strawberry Foxglove is supposedly perennial so it should hopefully be back next year.

If I were you, I'd let it set seed as this one does come true. I have a bunch of them that all came from the same plant.

No, no rebloom. Digitalis mertonensis is a short-lived perennial so count on 3, maybe 4 years of life.....but hey, they will definitely seed about so offspring will be yours aplenty.

Lin, I have admired trailing geraniums in pink and red when I travel in Switzerland. To me this is one of the signature flowers of Switzerland. I've copied the look on our contemporary balcony - but it's always hard to find the properly trailing geraniums, and I imagined it would be easy to find them in Switzerland because of how common they are. In any case, I love that look!

Posted by linaria 7 Switzerland (My Page) on Sun, Jul 13, 14 at 1:09

The pictures were taken in South China.

Thank you for your reply! I would plant some in a few different areas in the garden around other plants but am mainly interested in filling a shaded hill. A neighbors black walnut tree is at the property line. Hopefully it is not an issue with campanula plants.

The hill only has a rose of sharon, an azalea, and foxglove seedlings so far.

I'm not looking for the low growing but rather the taller varieties, something that will add height and interest without staking. Then again maybe I could mix in some low growing ones?

Lactiflora is beautiful and I love pulla. My takesimana elizabeth plants have died back mostly but some are showing tiny new growth. They should be ok.

Are campanulas generally mostly blue or am I looking at the wrong images online? I would be more interested in colors other than blue or am I asking for too much?

Growing from seed is fine with me. My first winter sowing was pretty successful and I plan on winter sowing again this year except I will limit my choices drastically.

I'm sorry it took me so long to respond. I really do appreciate your reply and the time and effort you have put into your answers and suggestions. Campanula are great plants and I'm just now finding out how many different ones exist. It's a huge selection to chose from.

mostly blue or white but the biennial C.medium have pinks and purples, while lactiflora 'Loddon Anna' is a pale lilac colour entirely appropriate for its common name of milky bellflower. C.trachelium 'Faichem Lilac' (seeds available from Chiltern seeds) along with c,latiloba Hidcote Amythyst shade into pinks (and are both great contenders for a woody hillside). New to me this year are C.collina - similar to C.rotundifolia in that it is semi-sprawling at around 1foot tall.
My tracheliums are flowering now and I really cannot overstate what fine plants these are - in those crepuscular hours of twilight, they look totally electric and have a certain wild majesty. I am also guitly of growing that notorious thug, C.rapunculoides as I love the asymetrical one sidedness, like wild foxgloves (not those hybrid fat abominations which have blooms all round the spike or worse, upward facing blooms).
There are some great double white peach-leaved bellflowers and a particularly lovely one with a faint picotee edge - C.persicifolia 'Chettle Charm', syn, 'George Chiswell'.
I have always loved bellflowers and my infatuation, even after 2 decades, shows no signs of slowing down. Wonderful plants.

Just mentioning in passing - a pale yellow/straw coloured one, C,thyrsoides - strange but curiously enticing (in a wild style)..

Did you uncurl the leaves to see what is at the center? Hybiscus attracts insects that curl the leaves and build a nest there.

The plant was having yellow leaves before I repotted it. And the leaves aren't curled tightly, they're just "cupped". No insects in there. I've even looked with my magnifying glass. Keep those suggestions coming though!

lilsprout that is a good idea except the temps will probably be another 10 degrees higher when I return and not sure how the plants would take it.

Southerngardening24, I got
3 of : Monarda didyma Balmy Purple
ÃÂ 3 of : Monarda didyma Coral Reef
ÃÂ 3 of : Monarda didyma Gardenview Scarlet
ÃÂ 3 of : Monarda didyma Jacob Cline
ÃÂ 3 of : Monarda didyma Raspberry Wine

I had a red clump in my old yard that a friend gave me, don't know the name but I loved it. I love their smell and appearance. Hopefully they will do well and I don't mind if they want to spread themselves out in my yard :-) I've gotten better at ripping out unwanted seedlings rather than being the boarder I used to be!

Amna
PS I REALLY do not need to know about any other sales , really :-)

Hmm.... Well, thank you everyone for your input! I really appreciate it. It does look, however, like there's not much I can do about it. My yard is full of large oak trees, so I don't think it's possible to get rid of the aphids completely if they are up in the trees. Kinda gross to think that they are dropping this stuff all over my yard, my cars, and even me, I guess, when I'm out there working, lol!

I'm guessing this won't hurt the plants, although I still wonder why its not on any of the other hostas. Maybe the thick blue leaves show it more than the others...

Thanks again!
Dee

one of the most active forums is the hosta forum ...

the blue glaucous coating on hosta.. is a surface wax ... and such wax can be insulted by many things ..

and stuff that might wash off a non-waxy leaf... gets caught in the wax ...and the leaf is stained for the season ... as the plant can not repair the wax ..

it is cosmetic.. it is not a hosta disease ...

ken

Not sure which is more lovely, the fungus itself or the name.... I thnk the name is worse. I've seen this before (often in bright orange) and while not the most pleasant thing to look at, I've seen worse. That name though.... ugh....

Dee

Thanks Ruth. That was my first thought when I saw it (eww looks like the dogs puked), but I knew it couldn't be as it was in the unfenced garden.

Kevin you are too funny! "Cool" was the furthest thing from my mind lol

This post was edited by lilsprout on Sat, Jul 12, 14 at 21:14

Stella, first one looks like squash or pumpkin. Second one bok choy. Fourth one watermelon. Last one cucumber.

Stella, third one, spinach that has bolted (gone to seed).

Aren't they fun to look at? I love them. I let them seed themselves in my garden, so each year I will find them in different forms at different spots. They are so cheerful I don't care if some might think they clash with their neighbors:

I usually grow about 6 different kinds but never got around to sowing my seeds this winter. Luckily I have some reseeders. LOVE them! No photos though, sorry!

Dee

What's the soil like in this bed? Is it heavier with some clay, or looser with some silt or sand? That could be a clue if it is rot or lack of nutrients. I have some plants that yellow in my loose fast draining soil if it rains a lot here. then I hit them with a dose of iron chelate and they green back up. If a plant is rotting at the roots then more fertilizer won't necessarily hurt, but the plant has no way to take it up so it could be all for naught. But it is the new growth that shows the yellowing. I would hold back on the water for this one if you can. Maybe it is closer to the head of the lawn sprinkler head and so gets more water than the others? Just an idea. My shastas are just starting.

And please, do NOT fertilize a potentially sick plant. It doesn't help and may make the situation worse. Fertilizer is not a magic cure. It really isn't.

Kevin

I plant perennials, shrubs, etc. for the express purpose of attracting and sustaining pollinators so don't concern myself with passing them while they're busy on the plants as I walk through the garden. They ignore or bump into me but I've yet to be stung. After observing them these past 8+ years, I know they just don't have time to concern themselves with anything other than the flowers. I finally stopped cutting the bloom scapes off my many hostas after seeing how busy they were on them.

Thuja 'Rheingold' might be small enough to work there.

I'd also think about adding a smaller to midsized hard prune clematis near enough to the 'Bloomerang' lilac that can crawl up into it. If you time it right it might fill one of the spaces when the lilac isn't reblooming, or you could time it to bloom with the reblooming for a mixed bouquet effect.