13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
I cut lilacs about when they show color and are within two days of opening. I want to enjoy the fragrance as soon as the first blossom opens. I don't have experience with viburnum. Though, I have now planted three of them, so may cut them in the future. I'll be interested what others say.
Martha
they are geranium himalayense pink. I took the pic to show them the condition per email. I'm glad I did and I'm not the only one who thinks they look bad.
I will take your advice and may give hallson gardens a try next season if I can find room for more plants. I found out about garden watchdog just recently. I'm very new to gardening and I am definatelly learning alot.
Thanks again.
I am also a fan of bark mulch. On all of my perennials. About 1-2" thick. Scratch the surface if the ground with a hand rake before you apply it. You will be amazed at how the soil "eats" the mulch by the end of the season. If you buy a good quality mulch it is fantastic for amending the quality of the soil...particularly here where the soil is naturally a very dense clay. Also my worms love mulch. I think the take it as a personal challenge to eat it all up by the time winter is here.
I usually mulch before Memorial Day. I find that it's best to get a jump on the weeds. My perennials pop up right through the mulch. I have never bothered to mark them. If you use cardboard though it's probably a good idea.
Nothing wrong with ordinary G.pratense....although it does tend to get a bit mildewy and has a fleeting bloom season. I do have (lots) of it - I guess I should have said that violaceae plenum (along with himalayense Birch Double) is the only earlyish variety I would buy.
Mrs K C is a real winner at dusk - it gets that moon touched, luminous electric glow.
Great to know that about the color of "Mrs Kendall Clark'. I went ahead and splurged on some seeds from Jelitto, since they offer MKC as part of their Gold Nugget collection. I thought it would be nice to have geraniums germinate quickly and uniformly for a change, lol!
The way you describe the growth habit of G. pratense, it almost sounds like our native G. maculatum (except for the mildew part). G. maculatum is one of my favorite wildflowers.
scent on all types of plants.. vary year to year ..
e.g. ..... after this horrible winter.. i have a low lilac flower production .. but the the flowers it has are stinkin up the joint big time ... lol ..
temps also matter ... on a coldish day ... little scent might be noticed ... but on a warmer day ... it can be blinding ... and humidity in the air really makes it blast off ...
and also .. subject to temps... flowers can fail faster some years.. as compared to others ... in other words.. if the flower opens in a heat wave.. it seems like a day or two later.. it already is developing that rot smell ... but in a very cool spring.. they can last a week or two ...
so.. there are so many variables.. in any given season.. that .. presuming it is the variety named ... aroma will vary ...
ken
Not sure if you have the same problem I have... Peonies don't smell much to me and hardly as good as people say they should. My mom grows a lot of them and swoons over the fragrance. Standing in the same garden , next to her, I can't smell it wafting and have to smell the bloom itself. And that isn't even a great smell to me! It's very weird , because I love her lilacs , roses all smell great, gardenia , heliotrope ... I love all of those. But peonies , just don't smell much .
So, I guess will have to self censor more effectively because someone has a inferiority complex and is frightened of a few plant names. OK, I will try to be nicerâ¦.NOT.
I like Shame boy and Dog weed. I think I will start a thread on this
Also, I just got some small Calendula starts in exchange for some violet plants. I put them in on Saturday, but they still seem a little droopy. Hopefully they'll rebound now that our weather's finally warming up.
The love-in-a-mist plants are about to bloom. I can't wait, even though we live in a windy spot and the flowers don't last too long.
ms_xeno - another slug deterrent is crushed eggshells. I sprinkle them around my emerging hostas in spring each year. Slugs won't crawl over the shells because they cut them.
I've read that they like acidic soil
I'd say that's an accurate statement--my soil is acid sandy loam and my TLs grow healthy & multiply the longer they're growing in both full shade and part sun beds.
Thanks for the info, gardenweed. I haven't tried shells (not many to use in a 2-family home), but I swear by my cheap beer in old yogurt containers. I honestly wish that other local pests were as easy to deal with *sans* poisons as the slugs are.
If I ever get these things to bloom, I'll add a picture to this thread.
Yes, I know--rampant growth sounds good until you are dealing with it. :) I am in awe of your ability to transport an entire family! There have been times I have spent years just trying to learn the trick of transporting barking-at-all-hours-for-hours dogs into the interior of their homes, to no avail. We were the ones that had to move each time. And then there was the rental neighbor that played the base so loud our windows shook (and no, the homes were not attached!). So far this neighborhood is quiet. But are you for hire should the need arise in the future?
Hi
of all the problems the pond has presented the "BOYS were the most difficult to handle . I was scared to death they were going to drown but that eased as they captured some of my best fish ,containing them in jars as a "gift " for "grandpa "lol there seems to be some silly law about using live ammo on children Figured I'd have to resort to "psychology' no problem as obviosly much smarter than those under 10??
They had names but I called them Beast 1 and 2 never humanize an adversary..??
First conversation with #1 . That's a nice fish pond but WE have a swimming pool!!
Those aren't fish they're maneating sharks!!! so there.
You're a silly old man you can't really keep sharks!!
Oh yeah?? , We could throw your younger brother in to test the theory??
Okay won't do that ?? Stick your foot in the water but be prepared to lose one, which can you do without??
After aLONG time he gingerly stuck in some toes which were immediately attacked by the "peacock bass"lol
have never heard such a small child emit such a loud scream!!!
I examined his toes . I don't think surgery is necessary but be VERY careful in the future ,Fortuneately you escaped the BIG ones .
While it did not stop the visits they never again got in the water!!! About a month later the family moved supposedly because the father got a job But I'm certain it was because of the "sharks:?? Have never seen the "beasts" again but would imagine they have little beasts by now, terrorizing other neighborhoods ??lol
Was a memeorable "pond" problem
Have never found it mentioned in any handbook lol gary
I don't, but have you thought about something like a caning type shrub? I have a sloped yard and the previous owner planted terraces of snowberry, it has held up the ground very nicely and fills in like crazy (too much, unfortunately). We have clay soil as well.
I would definitely look at vinca minor and some of the spreading sedums. You will want to consider at least a few evergreen plants in my opinion.
I have learned so much from this thread.
Keep the posts coming!
you will love your Allium 'Millenium'. It is a beautiful, very low maintenance and extremely easy to please garden plant. And yes, the flowers do not form seed but produce huge amounts of nectar that bees and butterflies will flock to.
With this glowing first hand endorsement I made the always hard decision to remove 2 perennials. Specifically Blue Cushion lavender. They did make it through this difficult winter but there was lots of winter kill on each plant and their performance during the growing season was never outstanding. Anyways in place I planted two Millenium. (And now that I think of it these are the first two perennial plantings for me in 2014).