13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

I've had mine growing in a shady rock garden for over 10 years at least. I also had a variegated one for over 5 years, but it finally bit the dust. The variegated one was really nice, but not nearly so vigorous as the standard variety. Like most plants, it will bloom better with more sun. Great, low-care perennial.

Okay, I'm envious, lol. Nice looking plant Doug...
CMK

Ditto what wantonamara said. Next, don't panic. Lavender needs full sun but requires dry to average soil (see link). Planted in healthy soil on a steep slope they should have sufficiently adequate drainage to thrive with minimal help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Botanical Garden - 'Hidcote' Lavender

and never expect all of many to survive ... expect some ratio of failure ...

could you favor us with a pic of the whole .. i have never seen nor heard of the netting ... sounds interesting ..

BTW .... dig up one of them.. AND FIND OUT HOW WET OR DRY THE SOIL IS .... and adjust watering accordingly ...

if you are just guessing with your watering.. obviously.. you are frustrated because you lack info ... but coming to us for info ... gets you no where.. but more guesses... so all you are left with.. is digging some holes and finding out .. and mind you .. dealing with a hill ...and how water moves across and thru it.. can be divergent in differing spots ... and that may be why.. those struggling.. are not all in one place.. leading you to dig more holes ...

you might want to dig out all those struggling.. and set up a nursery bed with some break in the blistering sun ...... and see if you cant rescue them.. by fall ... then.. you have a whole bunch of holes all set for observation ...

i SUSPECT ... you have been incredible successful ... perhaps even better than many of us might do ... but are a perfectionist at heart.. and its driving you a bit crazy ... that yoru success is not 100% ... heck.. most gardeners ... dealing with the vagaries of mother nature.. would probably be thrilled.. with a 90% success rate and would just replant the holes in fall [NOT NOW] ... and if that is the case.. the problem is in your head... LOL ...

BTW.. in fall ... you can harvest some of the plants on any edge.. and put them into the bare spots... to make the 'look' equal ... and then add replacements at the edge..

or even better.. DIVERSIFY your planting ...

good luck

pic of the whole.. please

ken

My mother is a huge proponent of natural medicine. She uses Turmeric in gel-capsules for her arthritis and swears by it...
CMK

Turmeric is a powerful anti inflammatory, and inflamation is the base cause of many illnesses--from heart disease to arthritis to colon cancer.

I checked and both winky red/white and canadensis have leafminer damage but the winky one is drying out and the other one seems fine. Makes me wish I had only purchased canadensis. Good to know.

The soil does drain well. I have many small barlows double plants. Do they have problems taking our heat too?

Thanks everyone!

This URL shows the range of A canadensis.

Here is a link that might be useful: A. canadensis range

It is sure interesting to read about what people lost. This past winter was certainly brutal. Really the only thing that didn't come back for me is my oldest and largest butterfly bush. For years this kept coming back with new growth every spring on the old woody stems and was a really vigorous grower. This year there was a bit of growth at the bottom but I could see it wasn't developing well and now noticed today that the whole main stem is rotting. Time to replace it, but I want to find the biggest one that I can since this one ran about 6-7 feet high when in full bloom.

Keith

The exact same thing happened to me, Keith. I had a piece of green growth, a small piece, on the bottom of a 6 year old Royal Red Butterfly Bush. When I didn't see it growing any higher, as the rest of my butterfly bushes did, I checked on it and the greenery was gone. Now, I need to find a replacement as well. An old friend bought the Royal Red for me at a local gardening flea market so I don't know if any of the local gradening centers will have one. I'll no doubt end up with another variety.

Linda

Annette - I think that's it! At least, it sounds familiar.

Now, does anyone have both Pink Double Delight and Butterfly Kisses? Just wondering how similar they are.

I think the main difference between the two is height. Butterfly kisses is short, only getting to about a foot tall.

Nothin' for me this year.....because bloody great builder's boots and scaffolding stands ended up right in the middle of mine. They had not a single bloom (just many tiny aborted budlets....damn!). Gritting my teeth at the miserable garden devastation (new roof - not my choice), I have to avert my eyes from the entire bed. Thankfully, I did remove a few of the plants before the chaos but the paeonies were enormo-size. Next year, they should recover.....or the year after.
Good for you - free plants are always a bonus.....but good free plants are the tops.

Lol mxk3. The light pink is my favorite also.

The other 2 were the same...dark pink.

Sorry to hear camp. Those who do not garden are totally clueless!

I've had people just stomp thru my beds! Of course I'm always quick to correct their clumsiness (to put it nicely). My daughters friends saw a new side of me after running/cutting thru my beds. They haven't been near them since ;)

Another pic of the light pink peony.....

A lovely start you have there. There is still crabgrass in there that will be easy to pull if you can get it now. The two plants in front and one to the right side of the center plant. Sort of the second row.

It would be a weird plant for a wildflower mix, but they kinda look like dahlia seedlings.

prairiemoon2,
No support at all - it seems very sturdy and robust on its own. It gets full sun and probably lots of water - I have a high water table in my yard.

Many Baptisias are from the south of the US and don't have hugely long periods of cold stratification periods but usually a wet summer and short periods of cold. so maybe cold/warm periods in winter are what they like, and sprouting immediately in the summer rains.. They don't much like my hugely alkaline soil. The B. leucophaea grows wild in the Lost Pines area 40 miles east of Austin. I drool for them. I never see Baptisias in gardens around here. I tried both with an established plant and seed. I neither cold stratified but I might have scared them. Getting them germinated was easy but establishing them was not. I might have been a bit too harsh on them.

I always just assumed this was one of those plants that can tolerate some warmth and maybe a little drying out, but really prefers the cool damp life. If you want to check out Ian young's bulb log, he usually has a few posts on them since they seed all over his garden. Try looking through June for the blooms scattered throughout the garden.
He gardens in Aberdeen and also has things like blue poppies selfsowing, so if you've ever needed to pull up excess Himalayan blue poppies then this might be the plant for you!

Here is a link that might be useful: Bulb log

There are an awful lot of terrestrial orchids that can be grown in ordinary potting mix - maybe with a bit of extra peat or sand or perlite depending on their needs. I grow a few which aren't hardy here, but they do go outside in the summer protected from the squirrels by a wire cage. For winter when they go dormant, they simply get stuck in a cool spot in my house. The only one with a bit of a special need is the Hab. rhodecheila which likes small pebbles added to the potting mix. The small rhizomes like to attach themselves to these. It's really odd to see the rhizomes wrapped around these stones.

Kevin

My Postman's Pride pulled through, although I didn't get it moved in 2013 due to a family emergency.
I moved it in May and it's growing very well.
It wasn't big enough to divide, but I'd like to take a cutting or two. Is it too late?

Thanks!
Lennie in Grand Rapids, MI

It looks much better growing in a sunny spot. Not too late to take cuttings. I often root cuttings into the fall from broken off stems. Doesn't take long for rooting, a week or so.

I moved my black lace sambucus to a part shade area this spring. Too soon to know how it will look at the end of the season but is growing well and looks good so far. It also has to cope with the neighbors wide reaching maple roots.

I think the darker leafed Sambucus cultivars will typically "green out" the more shade they are put in. 'Sutherland Gold' is very toothy (not as "lacey" as BL) and does part shade well.

A little lacey Birch? I am growing increasingly fond of Betula pendula 'Trost's Dwarf'. Mine is in full sun, but I've read it can take some shade. Wonderful golden fall color too. Reminds me a bit of certain JM's. I'm training mine to be more tree-like than shrubby, as it is most commonly grown. Will reach around 4 (or more) feet tall.
CMK

I am doing them myself this week - nothing easier. roots quickly, resists rotting off, piece. Do lots and have a nepeta hedge (I am doing this to replace my gnarly lavender). Might mix with salvias for the full-on aromatic experience....and the bees.

My problem with the Nepeta Walkers low is that my cats love to nip off the bud tips carefully and judiciously. I have it growing beautifully at they garden that I take care of, but at my house, never a bloom and always a focus of careful nibbling. They make sure it grows Large.

This was my "harvest moon" echinacea which only lasted 3 years. It was a gorgeous custard yellow.

Given the preponderance of yellow daisy types, it is an absolute mystery why we, as a cohort of gardeners, have persisted in throwing away money on these ridiculously unreliable plants year on year. Here in the UK, sense has finally prevailed - few nursery people bother with any of them and they are now as rare as hens teeth (given their propensity to die, hardly surprising).
Try heleniums, anthemis, heliopsis, rudbeckias, coreopsis.....anything, in fact rather than these hybrid echies........or stick with the ultra-reliable pinks and White Swan