13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
guess it's going to have light purple flowers with leaves that are larger than the parent's (royal candles). I think I will be quite happy with it. Many thanks for your good eye!
It might be a little too early yet for you. I'm A few hours south of you and have some that are just now budding...while others now blooming.
Have you noticed any missing tops? I ask because the deer like to snack on them...hopefully this is not the case for you. I'm guessing it's just too early...
A. mollis, here (also alpina) I loved this plant for years--makes a great cut flower if cut just after the blooms open! Alas, I allowed it to go to seed too many times and now have it in my nearby lawn--dug it out of the border this Spring--a clump around 2-1/2 feet around. I found it moderately difficult to dig out--used a shovel and my heavy duty curved claw. The seedlings aren't that easy to remove, either, in my experience--and there are lots of them.
I may let some of it go again since I'm paying more attention to my plants! It gives a long lasting show, IMO but again, you need to cut the blooms back before they mature. Have alpina in deep dry shade for many years--it barely hangs on--gotta move it one of these years! :wink:
Hi ther
thanks for your comments.
I scanned all gardens that I happen to pass by keenly the last couple of days.
there were some groups ( or hordes ;-) ) of that Lysimachia.
Some just 3 inches high, starved by a bad shallow soil.
all were wilting and looked thirsty.
So, I think I could have handled the spreading ( it would surely not overrun my Helianthus micro-thingy Lemon Queen), but it seems not really resilient with the nasty long spell we are having right now ( for three weeks+, Which is unusual in our region).
Right now on my short list for cut flower perennials, with drought resistence are things like
Echinops
Acanthus hungaricus (? The clumping species)
Aster amellus
some simple cultivars of Echinacea purpurea ( not fance hybrids).
Perovskia
well than, thanks a lot,
bye, Lin
they grow wild in my prairie [read that.. the unmown part of my former horse pasture.. lol] .. why do you think they need food ...
and what might have been not too much in any other year.. might have been just too much.. with all the rain ...
perhaps/.. the only issue is.. that they have grown to lush to support themselves.. and the foliage surely doesnt look sick.. in this pic ... maybe you just grew them too well ...lol
who knows ..
ken
looks great ...
do nothing more .. its a shrub.. it doesnt need anything else ...
and do understand... though you took after the top .. there has been no insult to what is probably a rather massive root mass ...
meaning.. its not starving for water like a transplant might... and its not really hungry .. as a long potted plant might be etc ...
you taught it a lesson... now dont try to love it to death ...
this is what i call.. running it over with the truck pruning.. lol .. and its rarely detrimental ... except maybe to lose a year of flowers ...
but sometimes.. you just have to do.. what you have to do .. eh???
thanks for the follow up ...
ken
I loved this plant for the first couple of years. Great color and perfect size for the front of the border. I guess I didn't dead head the blooms soon enough because after two years, a regular species sized and colored gaillardia came up in the same place. The same thing happened with my Arizona Apricot Gaillardia after two years. The original plant must have died and a yellow and red flowered plant came up in its place. I really like both of these plants - Arizona Red and Arizona Apricot - and plan on purchasing them again.
Very nice, Kez.
Couldn't find the plants you were talking about, then I realized I was looking at your picture.
Plant to right - Chrysanthemum x morifolium (planted spring 2014): silver plant - Brunnera 'King's Ransom': and very perceptive! - that is part of the outline of one leaf of a Pulmonaria ('Dark Vader').
Think my 'First Love' looks neat and tidy because they've just started blooming. I'm also quite big on deadheading in general: more sensible reasons include - to encourage reblooming and/or to prevent seed formation and reseeding: less sensible reason - for neatness.
Likely, we also have more pronounced seasonality. Our perennials typically only bloom for two or three weeks.
I believe that both 'First Love' and 'Royal Candles' are interspecific hybrids (despite the name you read for the latter). So neither plant would be expected to breed true.
Sunnyborders, thanks for answering my questions about the pic you posted. I can't believe your luck in living in a zone where you can grow veronica, pulmonaria and brunnera as neighboring plants without both silver plants frying in the sun! I have to grow both in a spot where they get way more shade than most veronicas would tolerate. I can't even plant dark-leaved coral bells in even a half day of sun down here, even though supposedly the dark leaf coral bells can tolerate more sun (so they say).
It's funny how I pined for full sun when I lived somewhere that had only dappled shade everywhere. Now i have nothing but sun everywhere and most of the plants I'm dying to have now have to have a good amount of shade. My latest lust is for some spigelia marilandica. I really would love to try that. I keep looking for some spot that might possibly work.