13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

I can't have this wonderful plant because I do not have enough sun and my soil is to fertile. I have heard it likes lean soil>>no amendments and no fertilizer.

Thanks, Digging, I may try aluminum sulfate, then.

Shadey, this guy has had no amendments since before I planted him in 2007, and he has bloomed rather well in previous years, though I can't seem to find a photo. The first few years it was beautiful at the same time my poppies were profuse - which actually is why I moved it from the left side of the window behind the peonies you can't see, to the right side. Then the poppies were eaten one devastating winter. Alas, the life of a garden!

Apparently Neem Oil was never officially registered as a pesticide in Canada.

Someone at the local garden centre suggested I ask owners of organic farms for some neem oil. However, you can find it as a skincare product.

There are links in the link below to two online suppliers in Canada. One company has a minimum order amount and the other sells it in large quantities.

Here is a link that might be useful: Neem Oil in Canada

I have a number of agastache cultivars but over the years have found Agastache foeniculum 'Golden Jubilee' to be the heaviest self-seeder/repeat performer. It has returned reliably in my part sun sandy loam since 2008 or thereabouts.

Penstemon digitalis 'Mystica' has been the best-performing beardtongue in my various garden beds, in both full and part sun. I grew more than a half dozen other penstemon cultivars from seed via winter sowing but none have thrived to the same extent as 'Mystica.'

I have both Penstemon and Agastache growing in the same part sun garden bed. The soil is slightly acidic sandy loam. I can't guarantee they'd perform the same way in your garden but have enjoyed them in my own.

The link below takes you to a list of Agastache cultivars at the Missouri Botanical Garden website where you can access more specific information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Botanical Garden

I have found excellent drainage to be the most important factors for both agastache and penstemon.

I have grown both Acapulco Orange and Rose. They are both very floriforous. Here's a picture of Orange from last year:

-Susan, that stinks yours died too. Did you mulch yours? Open or sheltered site?

Mine was planted in a semi-micro-climate (at least a zone higher), no mulch. Not sure that would have made a difference or not.

It makes me curious about the other hardy alstros out there. Maybe I will give a different cultivar a try another time- Lazy S'S seem to have several...
CMK

Here is a link that might be useful: alstros at Lazy S'S

Christin, you be the guinea pig, OK? LOL!
Mine was fairly sheltered, no mulch and I didn't see any vole activity in that area either.

ah well, I find deep and careful watering (2gallons per square metre, watered in slowly) to be more effective to get that all-important moisture to the roots....but mostly, try to clear away as much vegetation around the phlox as they definitely respond to good air ventilation. Failing that, bite the bullet and buy a systemic fungicide (dunno the proprietary names in US - we have dithane or systhane) - but just get a fungicide, not all in one pesticide/ fungicide like Bayer 3-in-1.

I hope you figure out what to use....please report back, if you do.

This post was edited by carolinaflowerlover on Wed, Jul 2, 14 at 11:15

A bag??? I put trimmings in a 32 gal rolling trash can....to transfer them into the 90 gal green waste recycle bin. And we even have a second 90 gal bin for the heavy weeks once or twice/month during the more active growing season (March-November).

...and our yard is Maybe if I borrowed one of wooyoak's bags... lol

We have a couple of those bags, only they are green in colour. I think we got them at Canadian Tire when they had a clearance sale at the store.

I have had two of these plants for 2 years and have seen no seedlings in either year.

The base soil is clay but I have added lots of organic materials.

I am never quite sure of variegation but I am pleased with the many flowers on this plant.

It has definitely gotten bigger. Very pretty plant. Some of the plants I planted last year have tripled in size. What will they look like next year? Kind of scary lol

Catkin, thanks for taking the time to post this. I'll give it a try with lemon and cedarwood since you had luck with those two and I happen to have them both at home. Appreciate it!

Ryse, I remember reading something like that before about the SSS... But I agree, being covered in sweat AND oil doesn't sound appealing.

catkin - True about the eggs hatching so quickly, but if you dump out the water on a daily basis and replace it, the eggs and larva croak on the ground. They never develop into adults.

Also water hyacinth are not going to filter out bacteria and pathogens from bird poop. Birds poop in the water and disease can be spread from bird to bird this way. It is rare, but it does happen.

A few years ago, about 1/2 of the Greenfinch population in Britain was wiped out by a disease and dirty birdfeeders and birdbaths were thought to be a one of the main causes.

For me, emptying the water daily is simply a routine I've accustomed myself to and it gives me a bit of piece of mind knowing I'm at least trying to protect the birds that visit my garden.

Kevin

Thanks for the link, fig. I might have to resort to buying it online.

Floral it just may be who knows. There were signs of an old bed that it looks to have originated from.

I just know anytime I see yarrow I cringe.

well I think he brought it BACK from Japan. for Asiatica.

I've seen it used in very small water gardens (think large flower pots) where it can be controlled and it looks very healthy/attractive in that situation. We call it *Hot Tuna*!

I eradicated it in my flower border years ago--didn't seem to be that difficult--just dug till it didn't come back, but it wasn't given the chance to spread more than three or four feet.

We had crazy weather here last night and DH and I were watching the weather app on Roku. It showed a UV map which made me think of this thread. The sunlight is so much more intense in the southern zones! It literally made a clear picture as to why some of us can get away with pushing the sun/shade boundaries and others cannot.

I also have the opposite problem...

It gets hot and arid here in summer. Full sun is practically synonymous with dry. If a plant is one that requires good or even moisture it can't go in full sun...it turns to toaster strudel otherwise, lol.

Not all coral-bells are created equal. I've noticed that the greens and purples (in my local at least) seem to tolerate sun better than those that are gold. The orange/bronze types seem to vary a lot...
CMK

All my compost and mulch is home made on the property. It is natural color and not intended to be used for its looks. My compost is all made from the normal garden waste, containing generous amounts of green material, and taking several months to complete the compost. This requires numerous turnings and adding moisture, through 3 descending covered piles. Mulch is made from chipped slag from trees used for firewood. It is much more woody and is piled in the open, subject to both rain and sunshine. It is usually about 3 years old before being used and is partially broken down. Used as mulch it is good for about 2 years, before more is needed to be added. Saves both weeding and soil moisture. Al

Mulch is just something that covers the soil surface, not a specific product. Compost can be used for this purpose just as well as shredded bark or pine straw or whatever else is popular in your area. IMO, it is far better looking than any dyed product and offers a much greater nutrient source than does most other common mulching materials.

Compost is my mulch of choice. I like the texture, I like the color, I like its water retention characteristics and I like the fact that if you mulch regularly with compost you may never need to use prepared fertilizers again :-))

In the US, municipal compost made from recycled yard waste is pretty darn safe. Persistent herbicides are no longer available for household use and commercial applications of these products are extremely limited and with very narrow restrictions on how the treated material can be composted and reused. In many areas, municipal compost goes through a testing or certification process as well. Personally, I would rather use compost from large commercial operation before a homemade pile - it offers a much greater range of ingredients and therefore a broader nutrient distribution and because of the scale of the operation, achieves much higher temperatures resulting in far fewer concerns about lingering pathogens, weed seeds or chemical contamination.

Oh, I see. That makes sense then. The plants I have all seem to be doing well so far. I got some in the ground, the others are in pots still soon to be in the ground sometime this week. We'll be a little cooler this week so it'll be a good time to plant.

Karen

Maybe my free plant came to make up for the poor state of the one plant that came almost dead. Despite one plant dying, I am happy with my order, given how nice everything else looks and the low prices.

Achillea *The Pearl*. Looks nothing like most Achilleas but is IMO, lovely! Spreads a bit in my border but not a lot.

My all time fave is Verbena bonariensis. The lacy blue/purple flowers move in the slightest breeze. It reseeds freely for me, but easily removed if it comes up where I don't want it. Bees, butterlies and goldfinches love it. I'm in Atlanta area and mine has been blooming for 6 weeks, still going strong.

Have a large clump just in front of my vitex, which is just starting to bloom. I cut the vitex way back and thought I'd lost it, but it's going to be wonderful. Hooray! It's another favorite.