13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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
The problem with buying bare root plants this late in the season, especially from big box stores, is that they are usually either dried up dead or barely alive. They practically give them away near the end of the season to get rid of them. A lot of novice gardeners don't know what the bare roots of plants should look like. If bought it recently, I would take it back for a refund if possible.
I bought approx. 2 dozen 'Cheyenne Spirit' seedlings at a local farm last fall, they were in 3 inch pots, on sale for $1.50 each. I scooped up all of them that were left. After reading this thread I now realize that is a pretty good price for these seedlings.
I could have started them from seed cheaper myself, and am growing other Ech. cultivars from seed with great success, but the farmers did it for me, and I didn't want to wait.
They are growing well and almost all of them are budding. They aren't huge, because they're only 2nd year plants, but I'll see some blooms. Can't wait!
Sorry to hear about the burglary loss, Camp; also your gardening/crop problems.
Gardening seems to be about holding all sorts of problems back. Some are very difficult to have any influence over at all; e.g. for me, the silver maple trees on my neighbour's and on the township's property.
Bloody buggers, I hate thieves. We had our car stolen once, it made us feel paranoid and violated. I'm wondering if anyone else out there got hit?
Also sounds like you have an acute case of Garden Overload with too many projects needing attention at once. When I get like that it helps to try not look at all of the jobs but just concentrate on one or two, see them through then do the next but then I do get overwhelmed easily. If I look at the whole wad of wax at once I get lost and seem to go around in aimless circles not really doing any of them like a spastic ball bouncing around. I probably look crazy when I'm like that. I'm no multi-tasker. Ugh, I just used one of those awful modern phrases I detest.
I was in a crummy mood today too, a bit of delayed reaction syndrome as I got galled at the gall of it and ticked off royally in fact. I'd started fuming over ugly business the other day so I got ruthless with thinning, weeding and attacked all the "to hell with it, I've decided I don't like it" plants which I pulled out with gusto. Made me feel a whole lot better. I can't believe I can let nonsense like that roll around in my head but its pretty flushed out now. T.Ranger had a mental chat all day with GP1 (may she rest in peace) who agreed 100% that some things are too stupid, petty and crazy making to think about.
Here's hoping your condition is temporary, the thieves get their
come-upence and you don't get robbed again.
At my old house I had her in a mostly shady area and she languished. Moved her to a spot with more sun and the difference was remarkable. In my garden now she gets about 4-5 hours of sun and does quite well. I never had her take over in my old garden, so this year I was a bit shocked by all the seedlings around. A little thrilled as well since she's one of my favorites.
In the trade they are referred to as standards. It isn't difficult so much as time consuming--the time, extra training of the plant growth, and stake are what you are paying for with the price bump. But they aren't difficult to do yourself. I provided a link that explains how to form them, because I'm not getting premium $ to write it out myself. ;)
Here is a link that might be useful: Standard Training
I got Bartzella two years ago and this is the first year it's bloomed... and Whoa! 14 flowers - I guess I was rewarded for my patience! I really want to divide it and put some in the front yard, but I don't want to risk having to wait years for it to bloom again.
I love Festiva Maxima too and the fragrance is heavenly. I had it at my old house... and have tried twice since to buy it from different sources and did not get FM. I'm going to buy it from Scheepers with my bulb order this fall.
Here's Bartzella yesterday evening
What fun, I love those kinds of sales. You lucky guys got to get stuff early and sounds like you got a good haul. New bed, even more exciting, it really helps to find stuff on sale if you have a blank slate in a new yard, congratulations on that.
The big one here I wait all year for is June 21 -- The Annual Midnight Madness Sale. My favorite part is what I call 'The Hospital' where they have expensive plants with a few broken stems or some sort of cosmetic flaw. You can find $50 or $60 dollar plants for real cheap, like $5.00 or 3 gallon size shrubs for $3.00 and many assorted perennials, some are mystery plants without tags marked down to almost free. Its impulse buying heaven. Everything else is marked 1/2 down so they don't have to get it through summer. I can't wait.
Good luck with your plants. I'm counting the days for our lottery.
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.