13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

I was meaning to document this anyhow so I just went out to take the picture. My entire Zanthoxylum simulans looks like this. It will pull through though, they are already gone.

Well I see a straggler now, but about 5 days ago there must have been well over 200 in this 9' tree. They were coating the branches. I have one of the old style zapper racquets (without the stupid safety screen) and it was fun to go out and swat at them, but it doesn't really make much of a difference. It's more useful to protect myself from flies.

Beautiful garden pics! Love the lupines. I've never had luck growing those. after seeing your pics, i'll have to given them another try.

Thanks for the advice, Karin! I did plant a few Caryopteris 'Snow Fairy' in that size range but i think they die back to the ground in my zone. I also love dwarf conifers and will work on incorporating more of those. Agreed that a thread of these modest sized shrubs would be a great resource.

Woodyoak, I love the idea of using clematis and shrubs together!

Wow, you are quite the connoisseur Rouge. That's an impressive specimen and it looks gloriously healthy and vigorous. Nicely done!

I have to confess I'm with Campanulaa on this one. Streaky flowers look sick to me, despite this one being a very well grown specimen. Maybe this type of patterning just doesn't look good under our pale, watery skies. Gaudy colours and patterns which look good in intense sun often look tacky here imo. Like those lovely textiles you bring back from abroad that just look kitschy when you get them home.

I've never seen this on oxalis. Very cool. I'll have to check mine tomorrow.

You are very welcome Cecilia ;-)
CMK

I love astilbe. In my first home where there was black loamy soil and lots of shade, they thrived and multiplied like gangbusters. Here, with some well loved and amended clay soil, they are persnickety at best. They will crisp up on the dead of summer and perk up in the fall with new growth. Making it through the winter is anybody's guess; even with tons of leaf cover in winter.

I have multiple astilbes growing in part sun on the north & east sides of my garden. All are floriferous and healthy-looking. They seem to like my slightly acidic sandy loam. I've never fertilized them since they've never needed help.

Perhaps all yours need is sufficient time to get established. After just being planted a month, I wouldn't expect many perennials to "put on a show" their first year. Mine are lovely this year thanks to plenty of rain but they've been in the ground 7+ years. I'd guess your plants need a few seasons to establish healthy root systems before they begin to perform up to their potential.

Thanks mxk3 and karin! I totally agree, seeing the little one frolic in my yard always puts a smile on my face.

I was out back earlier this week and he/she was running laps across my and my neighbors back yard -- did the circuit around 7 times while I stood there watching not 20 feet away. Getting used to his legs, I reckon.

Of course, momma was in the next yard over supervising the entire operation. Such a sight to see!

Glad to know my coneflower will be none the worse for wear. It's my first time growing them (I'm a newbie gardener) so I didn't quite know what to expect!

He/she also sampled one of heuchies and a herbaceous potentilla, but only a few nibbles. Hard to be mad!

Try sprinkling Milorganite around your plants. Its a great fertilizer and the deer here don't like one bit. I have a huge bed of hostas and after using Milorganite, they haven't touched it. Cute? Well only on TV :)

For me both Brilliancy and Allwoods are all taller than dahlia's six inches. Firewitch is that height, but seeds of D. gratianopolous (which I think is what Firewitch is) are probably available like the others. Having a latin name of a kind you want is good thing. The cultivar name like Firewitch or Bath's pink or Tiny Rubies is good too. I think Arctic Fire is D. deltoides, which, looking it up, is also short. So those kinds of seeds would also be good to look for.

Thank you for the quick responses. I plant in scree plus some homemade potting mix. The severe weather caused the problem here in Maryland I suspect. I will look into all suggestions.

One more....thanks!

Sorry Lilsprout, I certainly can not.

I only have ongoing experience with a few named New England aster cultivars, though I have used "fall asters", latter with a New York aster or sometimes part New York ancestry.

Speculation re the last picture: on the basis of brown disc florets and the (small) number of ray florets, it's a New York hybrid.

I'm also assuming that there are more short New York aster cultivars available than New England ones, the latter plant typically being taller.

However,'Purple Dome' is a New England cultivar. it's thick stem fits, as does it's yellow flat central disc (disc florets). I've not checked it's leaves, which to be typically New England, should be hairy (not smooth).