13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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.
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.
Pam - I'm sure there must be some less expensive places down there - any avid gardeners in your neighbourhood who could tell you where they are? That's how I heard about Northland years ago. How much space do you have there? Niagara is an attractive area to consider moving to - but I worry about water quality given the relatively high use of agricultural chemicals on fruit trees and grape vines. Are you on a well? If so, did you test for water quality? I'd do that before buying any property there. I really like the little town of Jordan. If we ever considered Niagara as a place to live, that's probably where I'd start looking.
Woody, I drool whenever I go to Jordan. Jordan Station is where you can see the salmon jumping around. It's a gorgeous area. We're way down in Fort Erie just across from Buffalo. I had the water tested (for drinking) and it passed with flying colours..
Yes I'll certainly try and make the effort to look at the local greenhouses. I know they're also suppliers for a lot of S. Ont nurseries so it only makes sense. I should be doing nothing but drinking wine, eating peaches and growing vast amounts of flowers...
i would also just stick them right back in ...
every time i dug them up myself by mistake.. if i put them right back in ... they were there in spring ...
if i dried them out.. and put them in a potato sacks in the garage... i found them years later ... lol.. too many times ..
frankly... they are planted in fall.. because they are sold in fall ... you probably could NOT find one now to buy.. if your life depended on it ... of course.. they sell them in fall.. because that is a better planting time.. but its not that imperative... IMHO ...
if you consider it from the producer side... they wanted to dig them while there was still dried greenery on them.. so they would know where to dig ... and they just dried them.. and stored them for fall sale with tulips and all the other bulbs... and.. its much easier to transport dried bulbs ... in big volumes... i am sure we have all found a rotted onion in a sack ... perhaps that onion didnt dry properly ... for storage in a big warehouse ...
either way.. i dont think its that big a deal ...
ken
Coral Reef acts the same as Cecily's Raspberry Wine here. Bees still visit the spent flowers after the petals fall, so usually don't deadhead, and doesn't seem to slow down blooming. Consider it optional & the spent heads are still decorative. Finches love the seeds & I love watching their swaying sideways antics, so no seedlings in the several years it's been here. Looks like yours is sending up new buds, Sparky. Remember the variety? Totally agree with LOTS of water even in this muggy climate, to sidestep mildew & stimulate growth & flowering.
get rid of the crabgrass .. MIs july harvest.. lol .. i am in adrian ...
i am hoping there is not landscape fabric under the mulch ... which might mean a watering issue
snip off flowers.. and see what happens ...
sometime new plants.. dont quite perform to standard... but there is always next year ... as it looks happy enough ....
straight down pic are tough ... how tall is it??? are the new green shoots significantly outgrowing the old part of the plant... that might indicate its finally getting ESTABLISHED ... as you know.. we had a very extended cold spring in MI .. i have plants that were 4 to 6 weeks late .... and perhaps.. on some level.. yours is also behind the normal curve ...
it otherwise looks happy.. just keep it properly watered in july/august ...
ken
They're listed as annuals at the Missouri Botanical Garden website (see link). I've grown them from seed for several years; sometimes they show up again for a year or two but most times they don't. Mine were all grown from commercial seed via winter sowing.
Here is a link that might be useful: Lupine
I always let some of the lupins set seed and let it drop to the ground. That ensures that there are always seedlings to replace any that die. Mind you, you never know what color the seedlings will be and they gradually revert to paler shades of blue and pink....
Well imagine my surprise!!
I'm not a yellow lover and just recently put in a few yellows...for a pop of color here and there.
Evidently last year I thought I needed more lol. And from what I've read I will have LOTS more as I planted 4.
Thank you all and especially you David for the pic....I'm no longer in denial ;0)
Common terms for Phlox paniculata include summer phlox, garden phlox and tall phlox.
One major recent and current trend in summer phlox breeding has been/is selection for shorter cultivars; namely, "tall phlox" have become, are becoming, shorter.
Personally, I don't see how summer phlox can be used to full effect in mixed perennial beds by just including the recent and current shorter "tall phlox".
For instance, the Flame series phlox are almost all in the height range of 12 to 18 inches. The The Jan Verschoor phlox (including members of the Cocktail series) I mentioned above are almost all 18 to 24 inches tall. The First Edition Collection (series), mentioned above, are all 18 to 22 inches tall.
To me, using numbers of only these shorter "tall phlox" sounds like bedding annuals. Garden phlox can make an enormous contribution to mixed perennial beds in summer. A mixed perennial bed, when it reaches summer, needs "tall phlox" of varying heights. In addition, many other perennials, in summer, have reached a height which restricts the use of shorter "tall phlox" to the front of mixed perennial beds.
You can read the Chicago Botanic Garden's results of its phlox field trials on line. Someone may have the link handy or try something like c...b...g...phlox trials
It won't have the latest releases but it addresses the all important issue of mildew resistence.
Personally, I don't see the charm of the new shorter phlox.
But I think I am peculiar; I am the only one I know of who doesn't like phlox David. I think it is a big clumpy white blob. All muscle, no charm.
"Bright Eyes" is an excellent phlox. No mildew, long lived, cheerful. Miss Lingard . Franz Shubert .
idabean/Marie
Mmm, I consider 'beautiful' to have utility and vigor. A plant, any plant, which is well grown and appropriate (as this is), always looks beautiful to me... right plant, right place is a gardening truism, yet it took me years to break a habit of growing totally random (unsuitable) plants
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).