13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
This is a very large leaved one I got from asiatica before it closed. cannot find tag! I love them and they only look bad in very late winter (as with other things!). Sometimes I cut back old foliage and sometimes I just leave it to be covered with these gorgeous new leaves. the new leaves are spectacular (on all). Columbines I consider so different as to not even compare the two.
Hi all
I am a regular on kitchens. I have a plant in my garden and my neighbor asked what is it? I am pretty sure it is an epimedium. It lives in the shade in clay soil. Mine has elongated leaves and delicate light pink flowers.
I am so excited to read more about this plant.
So glad I found this post!
at worst.. in fall ... when there are cool nights ... ID individual plants ... and trim the back ... dig them out.. remove all them weeds growing thru the roots ...
renovate the bed ... replant.. and mulch heavy ...
like all of us.. you want the easy way out.. sometimes ... its all about some hard work ...
try what they suggest ... for this summer.. if you lose.. get to work ...
or just get rid of the whole ...
you didnt favor us with a pic .... so we really dont understand how bad it all is ...
MOST perennials ... 99%.. can be dug and moved ... mid summer isnt the best for all plants ... depending on your experience level ... [i could do it now.. and not care if i lost half the plants.. and that is the key ... lol ... not that i would do it better... its that i would NOT have a stroke if i failed ... anything would look better than it is now ... never fear your failures... you wont learn anything.. nor get anything done if you dont try .]
as an experiment.. you could do half the bed now ... see how well you did.. by fall ...
then do half in fall ... and see if you do better... comparing next spring ...
and you instantly become.. the new CP expert on GW ...
never forget.. failure.. and empty spot in the garden bed .... is just an opportunity for something new ... its called gardening ...
ken
Thanks everyone!
The weeds are too solidly there to just pull up and remove (but it's nice to know that with better maintenance it could be like that).
I'll likely move them and then find some way to get rid of the weeds (any opinions on round up vs a few weeks of black plastic??- I don't really like using roundup but occassionally do in small amounts)
(And it will likely be the fall anyway since there will be more space in the vegetable garden to plant it temporarily then.)
(I'll try to get a pic up at some point, it's right in some granite ledge and that makes it a little more complicated in terms of mulch not washing away).
(I'd probably have torn it out and thrown it away years ago if it didn't look so nice this time of year.)
I too was given one by a friend, and I loved it for its attraction to pollinating insects, its statuesque flowers and its scent. However, I ended up removing it since I am not great about deadheading, and it self-seeds prolifically in my garden. It took me about 5 years of vigilant removal of seedlings to be free of it, so if you don't want lots, be sure to remove spent flower heads.
LOL Dee, you bought another Deutzia!! :-) Good for you! Maybe you can plant the both of them side by side and get them both in the ground this season. Nice photo! It really is pretty! And I love that white trellis material in the background.
I guess I'm going to have to go over and check out Bluestone again. :-)
Hooray for deutzia!! I've never understood why these are so underused. Especially 'Nikko' which has been around for a long time and a smaller size. I have about 5 different deutzias and can't say enough about them. Even in quite a bit of shade they bloom.
David I know you are focusing on delphiniums and I'm sure those are nice as everyone says, but since I cannot or would even try to grow delphiniums I look at your garden from the standpoint of an artist. Again I say the composition is outstanding along with the balance of color which trumps any one single element. Sorry but I just cannot focus on just the delphiniums except as a nice vertical element. On that note, I love the grasslike element in the middle of the pond, what is that? It gives a wonderfully sophisticated contrast to the rounder flowering plants and is the first thing to catch my eye because its a kind of nice surprise which jumps out in contrast, in a very effective but subtle way.
As far as plants I'm interested in, I have to ask what is the agave-like white plant front and center in the top photo? Thats the one I'd be pointing at and asking about if I was visiting because I'd want one.
I love the touches of light yellow which add some warm tones. Although some people snub and even hate yellow for some reason I cannot fathom, I don't care for all pink and purple gardens myself so that really pulls it out for me and balances the color scheme.
Take all this from a Midwesterner who lives in a different clime & who specializes in all American Gardens so if I tread on any toes here,*&^%$#@Q I apologize in advance, feels like walking on eggshells a lot of the time.
What follows is from the Kentucky extension service. These moths devastated my two baptisias last year - I cut them to the ground and to my surprise they have come back just fine.
Genista caterpillar larvae (nocturnal moths) lay their eggs in spring; they hatch begin feeding on the tender new baptisia plant growth. The larvae work fast and can completely strip the foliage of a mature baptisia in a few days...fortunately, this shouldnâÂÂt cause permanent damage to the plant. The larvae have 5 stages before they pupate for overwintering. Since the moths are quite prolific, they can actually lay several generations of eggs each year, so youâÂÂll need to monitor your baptisias all summer. When the caterpillars are young they can be easily killed with organic BT (Bacillus huringensis) products.
Seems like you would see chewed leaves if caterpillars were working on it. When any plant has leaves turning yellow then black I always suspect too much water or poor drainage. If you are over watering or getting lots of rain that could be the cause. They do like moist soil but again, too much water is a problem. If its drainage issues, the roots could be suffocating/drowning from lack of oxygen. Often an overwatered plant looks like it needs more water because the leaves wilt just like when a plant is too dry so it can be confusing what to do.
When I lived on the coast, they grew and flowered with no help at all,many very old, most predating my purchase of the property. Here in the very dry, very warm, Napa valley, they will only survive if you are lucky enough to find just the right spot in your garden. I have some in two gardens that survive and bloom but with very little enthuseism, both patches about 10 years old. Al
I got some from my sister-in-law. She grows it in a pile of rocks, no kidding, but it looks very cool when it flowers. I have plans to move mine so they're planted among hosta, alongside daffodils. I think the spring tufts of leaves complement the daffodil bulbs' linear foliage, the hosta will cover any messy foliage left after the daffs bloom, and everyone will think the hosta flowers are huge! :)
Kevin, there is no doubt that significant continuing snow cover helped perennials but this wouldn't have been much help to trees and taller shrubs. I am disappointed to have lost the top half of my Acer palmatum 'Filigree Green Lace'. The bottom branches, all insulated with that snow are lush and green and the unprotected upper branches are barren.
I just got your reference to Star Wars, Rouge! One of my favorites. :-) Sorry about your Acer palmatum. I have not grown that type but I thought they were slow growing and the form is of particular interest. So will you be able to salvage it with pruning or do you think it is ruined?
Googling Salvia lyrata purple over lunch, seems mine may be Purple Knockout, as the flowers look just like this example.
Here is a link that might be useful: Salvia lyrata Purple Knockout
And just to clarify (not) the hardiness range, this source says 5-8...
Here is a link that might be useful: Purple Knockout
I generally use Swallowtail Garden Seeds as my barometer for Echinacea cultivars. Since they rely on happy customers to buy their seeds, it suggests they have some idea which seeds deliver the desired results.
I've given up on most of the "designer" Echinacea cultivars simply based on my own experience: even winter sown seed-grown plants don't appear to survive beyond their first season. That says 'annual' to me.
I garden to sustain pollinators so fragrance isn't high on my list of priorities. If it smells good and attracts bees, butterflies and birds, I want to grow it in my garden.
Perhaps there are other, more reliable fragrant perennials that would suit your purposes. Impulse buys don't always return the expected results. Ask me how I know this to be true.
Here is a link that might be useful: Swallowtail Echinacea Seeds
Echinacea Sombrero 'Hot Coral' smells good!