13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

I grew 'Black Knight' Buddleia from seed via winter sowing back in 2009 and the next year planted out dozens of seedlings that have since grown to maturity. I have them in multiple garden beds, planted in both full and part sun. They're healthy and appear to be bothered by few pests. Flowering is abundant and the butterflies & other pollinators are on them constantly once they bloom.

So far none of mine have topped 10 ft. tall which may be related more to sun exposure and soil type than anything else.

Butterfly bush should be pruned back to 10" in spring each year (March where I am) since it blooms on new wood. Other than that it's completely maintenance-free.

You don't post your location or zone so be advised Buddleia is listed as invasive in some states due to its prolific reseeding.

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. Sorry for not listing more info....I am in PA....zone 6.

Keith

Someone in my area had a hive maliciously destroyed by a neighbor -- I believe the neighbor either poisoned the hive or set it on fire, I don't remember the details, it was last year or the year before. That is sad to destroy a hive like that, not to mention the destruction of property angle. I'm not sure if the homeowner (beekeeper) took the person to court - like I said, I'm sketchy on the details. I think it comes down to ignorance -- people think bees are aggressive and don't want them around. I'd never have a hive in suburbia for that reason - the neighbors would be in an uproar. Give me an acre or two of land, though, and I'd defintely take up beekeeping as a hobby.

I walk right up to my neighbors 2 hives and the bees fly around me. I guess they have not been africanized yet. One can rehabilitate them if they do. I think that is hysterical. Rehabilitated bees.

its a recent transplant ...

and from what i see... its the oldest leaves on the plant...

that were sacrificed during transplant shock..

simply remove them ...

after transplant... always focus on the new growth.. if that is growing with vigor.. then it means it settled in.. and going about its business ... yours look fat and happy in this regard ....

never fear.. to remove older leaves ... and when you do.. you should study the plant.. to learn.. how to ID the oldest leaves ... its how they are attached to the base of the plant .. in most cases

now.. if the new growth looked like that... then you would have a problem ... eh??

ken

Ken...u r extremely helpful! Thats the kind if help i look for on this forum. Thank u so much for sharing your knowledge with me.

mmmm, ranunculus are tricksy to grow, being sensitive to temperature and daylength. Many fail because the corms/tubers/claws are sold in spring when it is far too late for them to flower and bloom - they may leaf up but will only produce vegetative and root growth. To succeed with these, they need to be planted in late summer/autumn (like anemone coronaria or the De Caen hybrids), kept dryish all winter and started into growth (by watering) just after Xmas in a cool greenhouse. They will start to leaf up in January and should start to bloom early April. As soon as day length increases, they go back into vegetative growth.
So, Woody, I would probably not bother with these unless you find some in bloom around Easter when you can keep them and continue the growth cycle for next year.
They are as easy (?) from seed as from tubers....but planting times are the same - they can be forced into growth in around 20weeks.

My daughter was in France this past spring and she found bouquets of ranunculus for sale and loved them. I wanted to try to grow them for her, but it doesn't sound feasible. I'm in zone 6 and they won't winter over for me if they're only hardy to zone 8. If they need to be started in the late summer and grown over the winter, no green house here and not really wanting another winter project.

Okay, well, she's going to have to keep buying bunches of them when she can find them, then. Thank you all for settling that one for me. :-)

This post was edited by prairiemoon2 on Tue, Jun 24, 14 at 10:58

Having a field of them may simply mean they are reseeding annuals. I grow Papaver rhoeas, annuals, because they reseed so thoroughly and last so long, and then you just pull them. None of the fuss that you get with the perennial kind of ugly, dying foliage after the short bloom. But I certainly don't let all of them go to seed, that would be a solid field.

My guess, is that the seeds of many, may have died, in the garage, over winter, from repeatedly freezing & thawing, along with high humidity, & along the lines that Ken mentioned above, with mice. Had they been sown in autumn, they would have likely germinated, or if it were too late & too cold, been protected from the cover of snow & germinated as early as they could, in springtime.
Also, someone mentioned dormancy & that happens if sown, after the flowers of the same, are already in bloom, in your area, after is too warm, continuously...
Once June starts, some say it is already the start of summer weather & do not go according to the date of the solstice... & if your temps were just a bit too high enough, they may well haye actually germinated, but died to either heat exposure, or due to inadequate constant moisture at time of germination, if they were viable. But whatever didn't survive, through all that, the remainder may just might sprout when it's, cool enough in autumn.
Cool enough spring/fall temperatures & nearly constant adequate moisture after sowing, are probably the two most important factors, when you are certain, the seeds are good, other than fairly well draining soil & adequate sun exposure.

I second the idea of roses... they look great with catmint, love the sun, and should bloom all season if you pick the right one(s). I have several kinds of roses and also the common Kockouts, which bloom continuously until fall and need no spraying. The rose forum would be a great place to go for advice or suggestions. Also, check out local garden centers so you could actually see roses in bloom now that grow in your area.

Awesome! Thanks!!

I like that you have basically a clean slate. Personally I would tuck a few low growing evergreens in the bottom here and there. Different height and colors. Or creeping junipers etc. nothing that needs a lot of maintenance.

You could also get an appointment with your local extension service to look at your property and have them assess what you have. Then get recommendations for native plants that deer and rabbits leave alone. Intermix those with some of the plants or shrubs you're drooling over.

If you are trying to cover a big area for cheap(er) some nurseries offer plugs of perennials. Yes, you start small, but you also only have to dig small holes. In three years no one will be able to tell the difference to a gallon size plant.

For shrubs to tuck into the back of the tree line, see if your town or county offers a spring bareroot sale of trees and shrubs. Check with your local master gardener chapter when or if they have an annual plant sale.

And of course you can grow your own cuttings, seeds. Still venturing into that myself, and I have only an acre to cover but I need shrubby stuff to screen the neighbors. YouTube has a wealth of videos on how to.

Looking forward to a picture two years from now :)
Good luck, Megan

IME planting garden plants in unimproved woodland soil may be a frustrating exercise. Your yard has a long edge, so planning the whole thing out now, but then executing it over several years in stages will end up giving you the most finished and cohesive look. I would think about design goals as Kevin suggested. Do you want to create a gentle transition between the woods and the yard? Do you want a bazzilion flowers? Do you want fall color or winter interest? Are you looking to reduce the "new" look of your yard? Or . . . ? If you put a single row or even a double row of perennials along the base of those tall trees, they will just disappear because of the height difference and it won't look too different. There are books on woodland design that you can peruse in a bookstore and may be able to borrow from the library, but in general, the edge of a woodland naturally goes from the tall tree layer to small trees and shrubs to perennials and lower growing plants.

When I started in a similar situation, I started with planning and setting up a beds during my first year or two. I tested my soil, watched where the sun and shade are at different times of the year, checked out sources for organic matter to make the soil better for growing plants, and found inexpensive sources for plants. In my succeeding years I planted native plants (mostly rooted cuttings and seedlings) suited to the area in unimproved soil area and more finished beds were planted with garden plants. I ended up planting my woodland edge with large clumps of plants rather than straight beds. That gave me "windows" into the woods, but still allows the woods to step down more gradually than simply tall trees to grass. I planted largely for spring flowers and fall color.

Possible sources for inexpensive or free plants:
- Consider buying a shrub or two each year that can be used to start more from cuttings (this won't work with all plants, but there are some like willows or dogwood shrubs that root easily from cuttings)
- Buy small starts of plants from your local conservation service, usually a state or county agency. For instance, in spring I can get from the NH state nursery seed-grown first-year or second-year woody plants for two or three dollars apiece. When planted in a prepared bed, they grow well.
- You might be able to collect cuttings or small seedlings from shrubs in the surrounding woods that are local natives and so will grow well, and start your own. I don't want you give you specific plant names since our growing conditions are too different, but take the time to learn what grows well where you are without being invasive, and then plan where you want shrubs, small trees and perennials.
- Are there plant exchanges in your area that might be a good sources for plants? (Around here new gardeners need not bring plants and may just take plants.)

Possible sources of free or inexpensive materials to improve and add organic matter to your soil:
- city compost
- tree trimming services for woodchips
- horse farm for manure

Is there a nature center or university or arboretum that has displays of ornamental native plants in a woodland edge setting, or are there talks or courses you could attend? Are there garden clubs in your area where you can hear other local gardeners' experience? That will help you figure out what critters other than deer might be problems for your plants, and what plants will grow happily in the soil and sun/shade conditions you have.

I realize that it may appear that I am raining on your parade, but having gardened on two properties that included open areas carved out of woodlands, I am hoping to prevent you from making some of my mistakes.(Also, since you mentioned ticks, get in the habit of checking yourself, and if you have them, your pets and kids, every time you come into the house from the yard and every evening before bed.)

TexasRanger10 - daylily foliage may be ugly where you are, which makes me sad for you, but here in the northeast it's an elegant fountain of green throughout the growing season. I can't think of any perennial in my garden that has ugly foliage once it finishes blooming.

Okay, I confess--I don't grow Scabiosa and I stopped growing oriental poppies because they DID have wretched looking foliage once the blooms faded.

Don't be sad-- plenty of people love the heck out of them & there's no shortage of them around the city, the foliage looks exactly like all the online photos I've ever seen. Its not a big deal because I really don't think about it too much.

This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Mon, Jun 23, 14 at 22:41

Oh heavens, I didn't do the patio rebuild/stonework - it *was* professionally done. I did the basic bed design and planting, but not the hardscaping other than the stepping stones DH put in.

I'll try to post pics later of the whole patio.

This post was edited by mxk3 on Mon, Jun 23, 14 at 15:49

I commend you on your use of Berginia. I love it but it always seem like an awkward plant that I don't know where to put. Yours is nice. :)

Hi hpny. Here's another look at my balloon flowers now that they are popped. My flowers are at least a year old and in a small space. How tall does these flower grow?

Lovely, Glen!

Stir_fryi, my experience is the same as rouge's. I posted earlier that I moved my three year old 'Sentimental Blue' to my new house last year and they have survived. There is some risk in moving them but if they are going to get crowded out anyway, might as well take the chance. And as SunnyBorders points out, a younger plant is likely easier to transplant.

I don't always deadhead mine... I find this cultivar's habit and clean foliage attractive even when not in bloom.

Thanks for the comments and advice. I do want more JL. Do I let reseed in the bed and grow there?

Let them reseed and then move them to where you want when they are still small. I would still deadhead the majority of the flowers though.

I purchased this bellflower over 4 years ago and it is very invasive but I used it to my advantage. I have areas around my property where it hard to plant or grow anything (too many roots). I placed some of these bellflowers there and they completely covered the area. I still keep a close eye on them.

aachenelf, I'm a sucker for most of the Campanulas, the only one that gets away on me is C. poscharskyana. I have it wandering through a low rock wall, when finished blooming I rip it out down to it's roots. I also have 'Sarastro' but it sure doesn't look like your beauty this year, I had to move it and it's sulking. The others I have are rotundifolia and glomerata, don't have a problem with either one. The primulifolia in the picture was supposed to be thyrsoides, I got the seed from the U.K. obviously a mixup, I got a replacement from them but waited to long to plant the seed, it didn't germinate :(, still looking for seed for thyrsoides.

SunnyBorders, 'Brantwood' is a stunner, another to put on my list.

Annette