13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Shortly after we had this conversation, I saw this plant at the garden center looking very nice so I picked it up for my new house. I noticed that the newly open flowers did not have as dark centers as the older ones, but they got darker with time. Today I happened to notice the lilac colored petals as more time has gone by. So I think we have a solid ID on yours.
The camera didn't pick up all the lilac. There seemed like there was actually more in real life, but this shows some.
Notice also how the centers are darker on the older blooms with lilac petals.
Watch for 2 seasons before you do much. See what grows, see what spreads, see what you like/don't like. Maybe do some edging and trimming of things that are obviously too tall.
Year three is the time to get aggressive with evicting, dividing, pruning.
Take pictures. Take so many pictures that you want to throw up. No matter how many I have I can never find the one that I "need" (ie what a particular plant looked like during a particular time of growth). Make those pictures into a book (cheap and easy online). Reference it often. Make notes in it.
Have fun and don't take gardening too seriously.
Good advice above. I'll add just this: ask questions. There are novice and experienced gardeners of all ages who have varying levels of expertise with perennials and who post regularly on this forum and others. Many of us have already asked the questions that plague & confuse newbie gardeners.
Oh, one more suggestion: draw your property on paper; include the dwelling, any outbuildings, driveway, patio, swimming pool, etc. Then add where there are trees, established garden beds. Orient the garden with the compass so you know where E, W, N & S are relative to your property. Unless you're planning major renovations, the map should remain fairly accurate in years to come.
Another plant I tried which worked surprisingly well was Silver King Artemisia --if there are a few hours of early morning sun it works amazingly well. You wouldn't think it would but it does-- since I had free rooted cuttings I tried it going against the 'rule book'. Its thick and upright and adds light, nearly white foliage to an otherwise dark area making a tall clump that fills in nicely by underground roots which can work their way through soil thick with tree roots quite well.
After this success, I now have a whole line of it planted in my dry shady area along the west side where it gets early morning sun only or some dappled sun. The only maintenance is a spring trim. Its growing in parts that get so little sun that I am impressed with what I always thought of as a full sun plant. This is unamended heavy dirt that is very dry all summer.
In the background you can see the Silver King making a white contrast in that dark shady area. A bit of very late afternoon sun comes in and it catches the light which is nice.
This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Tue, May 27, 14 at 15:27
columbine are annuals.. biennial at best ... it could not have taken years to bloom ...
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if the you can not maintain sufficient water for the gerber to not wilt.. it has to be moved ...
been decades.. but i seem to think they are very heavy water users ... which means... that it would be preferable.. to not have them in sun.. in the heat of the day.. when they use more water.. than their roots can pump .. never forget.. sun between noon and 5 pm.. has much more impact on water use ... than full sun at dusk and/or dawn ... [and as noted.. pavement is a problem .. many such stressed plants.. can survive... if they can grow the requisite root mass.. an/or.. have anight recovery period.. but if the darn pavement/brick.. stays hot in August .. until 4 in the morning ... then there is no recovery period ...]
full sun.. is 8 hours, generally speaking .... but it doent have to be.. all in a row ...
find a better spot ...
ken
I would guess that some zones may kill off the columbine, so it would be treated as an annual there. In my zone, it is most definitely a perennial -- or even seems to be evergreen for certain established clumps. Even one particular clump that I somehow messed up the taproot and ended up reburying it less than 1" from the soil surface -- it withstood the colder than usual winter (for this area) and is thriving this season.
That's how I sometimes find out, by accident, how durable a particular plant variety is -- by not giving it the best conditions to grow in.
I have learned to love them, beats stressing over them. Our lawn out front if you can call it that is now a mix of moss, white violets, we used to have some yellow as well but they seem to have died out. Veronica repens (blue), the odd crocus and I think some 'Chocolate Chip' Ajuga have also crept in, and let's not forget the wee bit of grass struggling to survive LOL.
In the back where my garden is I just pull where I don't want them. I love the fragrance of the purple ones in late february/march. I actually planted 'White Czar' under our Robinia tree some years ago. This one hasn't spread much at all, isn't that always the way.
Annette
I've decided to embrace them. Both of my neighbors have them in gardens, so I know they will always find a way to MY gardens even if I remove them, so, now I just dig excess volunteers out and enjoy the early season color. I have both purple and white ones. I like them more than the lily of the valley that came with the house, they are much easier to remove!
It was a very interesting plant, but I rarely spend a lot of money on any plant material. That one was an impulse buy and cost me $40. which I thought was a lot of money. And I don't really miss it. To spend a lot of money for a plant and then have to tip toe around it is not for me. The plants that give me the most pleasure are those that are vigorous and dependable and full of blooms and just high performers year after year.
Oh, campanula, by the way, you recommended a Daffodil to me, 'Baby Moon' and it is blooming right now. Really late for a daffodil in my garden. Everything else has been gone for a couple of weeks. They are very cute and unique. Good recommendation. Thanks! :-)
Ah well, you should see my hosta - looks like crochet done by a three year old, after the slugfest....and yep, after munching those, physalis would be dessert - tatty is a much kinder term than what originally came to mind.
Still - 'improvisational' - I am stealing that (low budget goes without say)..
:D At least your slugs have some gumption, campanula. Mine completely ignore all the hostas once their leaves are more than 1" off the ground. They prefer the toad lillies right now, possibly because those are supposed to be the caviar of the slug kingdom. Or maybe they can discern that I paid good money for the lillies, but got the hostas for free. [grumble]
Anyway, I just moved the Chinese Lanterns to a slightly bigger planter, which I've parked on top of a porcelain lid that came off somebody's toilet tank. I figure that even a Chinese Lantern can't bore through solid porcelain, and if it can-- I'll be more than happy to start a new religion centered around it. Like those tribe folk in an old Godzilla movie who worshipped Mothra. :D
Hi shadeyplace! Good guess, but in looking through online photos, I don't quite think this is white mulberry weed. I guess I'll head over to the Name That Plant forum - I usually like to post here first but I'm not getting too many responses so I will try there.
Thank you for your help! :)
Dee
I bought both Purssian Blue and Cats Meow a couple of weeks ago, so will see how they do.
Last year I bought Little Trudy and am very happy with that one. Little Trudy just started blooming, which is earlier than a lot of catmints.
Blue Wonder is a really nice catmint that I have a lot of. It's smaller and blooms earlier too (is blooming here now). It does reseed a bit, which I don't mind. and the goldfinches love to perch on it and eat the seed when the blooms have faded.
I had Walker's Low in the past and did not care for them - they got too big for my liking.
I have to second the Blue Wonder recommendation. It really does stay low - like 9-10 inches - so flopping isn't an issue. That was my biggest concern when selecting my first Nepeta and I haven't be disappointed. It also really spread out a lot the first year. I think it was a good 2 1/2 feet across by the end of summer.
I was disappointed however to find out it is not sterile as advertized. I've been hoeing out seedling by the hundreds all spring. Mine is blooming now too.
Kevin
That is what is growing in my backyard! Thx! I do not mind, though (but, it is not a huge problem compared to English ivy....yuck!).
Bluebird, Firecracker is lovely, has little yellow flowers later on. But it's rather aggressive. I started with 3 stems of it about 3 years ago and every year I have to pull up quite a bit of it!