13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
A.M., you're obviously wiser (and less compulsive!) than I am.
A lot of the latitude in the names used for lungworts must reflect uncertainty in parentage, or origin.
For example, Pulmonaria 'Raspberry Ice', according to the patent description, is a sport (from a spontaneous mutation) of P. 'Raspberry Splash'. This type of knowledge presumably requires rare rigourly controlled breeding. In turn, P. 'Raspberry Splash' (patent description) is a hybrid between P. longifolia 'Bertram Anderson' (= 'E.B. Anderson') and P. 'Leopard'. Reading elsewhere, P. 'Leopard' is a hybrid, it seems of P. saccharata.
Generally speaking, it appears that much of parentage of the named lungwort cultivars is vague and unknown. Al least, as has been said, most available lungwort cultivars are derived, in large part, from P. saccharata, P. officials and P. longifolia.
You say A.M., you purchased the plant as P. longifolia. It looks like it is, but sorry I can't add anything to that.
Interestingly, like you, despite the leaves, I thought of (early blooming) P. rubra and P. rubra 'Redstart', which I also have.
All of the P. rubra cultivars I've read of are selections of the species, not hybrids with other lungwort species, such as P. longifolia. I guess though that doesn't exclude the possibility of (minor) P. rubra parentage in the hybrid lungwort.
This post was edited by SunnyBorders on Fri, Apr 4, 14 at 0:48
Mmmm yes, this is the next stage of my woodland plan - lots of little blue bulbs. I have always liked squills, especially a rather fluffy one called S.litardierei while my eldest son has an impressive collection of numerous muscari....and of course ipheon, chionodoxa et al. Along with omphalodes and the start of my tiny mertensia colonies, in my mind's eye, I see swathes of cerulean blue. Note to self - save seeds of Geranium sylvestris.
Ah trilliums. Years ago, these were some of the first things I sowed from seed. Yep, it took years. If only they had lasted as long in my garden. Somewhere along the line, the fact that they require acidic peaty soil failed to penetrate my dimwitted brain.....so my few wake robins dwindled and vanished after less than 3 years (unsurprisingly, in my sandy alkaline soil).
Guess I got carried away with my feelings. The P. paniculata 'Feelings Series' just brought out the emotional side. I saw Phlox 'Natural Feelings' & warmed up to that one, it doesn't look like a Phlox at all but some people (on another forum I won't mention) didn't warm up to it at all, so there you go. Its all in eye of the beholder. Red Feelings didn't do as much for me but suddenly I find I am overwhelmed with feelings.
SB, you didn't report your feelings about the plant & since you do like Phlox, it would be interesting to hear. Campanula seems to have gotten carried away with impulsive feelings on this one or at least monetary ones + it seems she has some composition in mind. I rather like it because its different but then, as I said upfront, I'm not a phlox person so my opinion is nearly worthless on the subject & needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I would never comment on the more typical kinds, they aren't my cup of tea so I know next to zero about them.
Interesting, Jenny.
Almost all of my gardening is also maintaining mixed perennial beds.
Had never heard of quack grass, though handling the problem sounds a bit like my past experience with ribbon grass. I would never have planted the latter myself.
I also plant and maintain perennials close together, which certainly gets to shading out seeding weeds. Runners like bindweed present another problem.
I don't use any chemicals, just digging, if necessary. I'd feel that periodically disturbing the ground (let alone plant division) may be generally beneficial to many perennials.
As they say, avoidance of problem plants, horticultural or weed (If at all possible), makes perennial garden maintenance so much easier.
I'll be on the watch for quack grass.
I bought a pair at Lowes and I LOVE them! Best purchase ever. Has changed my gardening world. lol They were the last pair, the others seemed like they wouldn't hold up as well.
Here they are:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_264011-1492-1BC-350_0__?productId=1075967&Ntt=knee+pads&pl=1ätURL=%3FNtt%3Dknee%2Bpads&facetInfo=
Others must have noticed the value, because I had gotten the last pair. I plan on buying a backup pair if they get them back in stock.
The sweet woodruff will not bloom all season, and as it is a groundcover, will spread. I think it is a beautiful plant - love the foliage as much as the blooms - but I would not use it as a bed plant (I have it in my woodland area as a groundcover.)
I'm having a hard time thinking of perennials that will bloom as long as you'd like, and agree with laceyveil regarding foliage and texture, etc. One plant I have along the edge of some beds is geranium biokovo. The foliage is quite nice, IMO, and turns a nice bronzy color in fall as as well. In some of my beds it can get a bit ratty in high summer, but I neglect my gardens an awful lot.
Ah, I just read back through your original post and see that you already have geraniums. Sorry! Although I still think this is a good one! :)
For full sun, some of the creeping sedums may work. I absolutely love creeping sedums, especially the ones that turn reddish in fall and are fairly evergreen. However, depending on the bed the soil may be too rich. Perhaps give one a try and see? Just do your homework - some of them are fairly aggressive (while my kamschaticum is not spreading nearly enough for my purposes!)
Dee
How about a combo of Latin and common names? I sent my husband a list of what I bought at the sale at the local agricultural center. Streptocarpus Blue Birds was on the list.....he asked if I bought strep throat for blue birds. Poor plant....that is what I call it now. :)
Check the Vermicomposting forum (link below). The worms don't go into the garden, they won't survive, and you won't be able to make more worm compost. You have to harvest the compost, then you can make worm tea - lots of recipes and suggestions on the Vermicomposting forum. You pour this on your plants and stand back. I use a homemade screen to separate the worms from compost, but there are different ways to do it.
Cheryl
Here is a link that might be useful: vermicomposting forum
FWIW, Mine are planted at the base of oak trees. They grow and multiply, but slowly. I'm not sure I would call them "flourishing", but having never planted them elsewhere, or, for that matter, having never even seen them in anyone else's garden, I don't know how to compare mine to others planted in different situations.
Just this year I noticed about half a dozen new plants, a bit farther away from the originals, and they too have seeded - and are growing - under other oak trees. I do believe oaks are easier to plant under than other trees, so I don't know if that should be taken into account.
Dee
Mine are planted under a Linden tree (Tilia americana) which do not have particularly aggressive roots. They are on a slope so it is fairly dry (I have well-drained sandy loam). There are other woodland plants in the area. They seem to be doing okay.
Here's a couple pics I took today. These are fairly mature plants started from seed, 2nd or maybe 3rd year blooming, which means they are probably 5 years old -
Here's a couple 2nd year youngsters -
I would do what I call a star pattern: 2 in the front row, 1 in the middle, and 2 in the back row. Put the white one in the middle row, and the second white one in either the first or third row. Space the plants about a foot apart.
Keep in mind in the first year you're probably not going to get that full, lush "mingling" look, but be patient - that will happen.
White tends to make most other colors look brighter. I have a mixed planting of "White Swan" and "Magnus" coneflower, and I really enjoy it. :0)
I think white and pink coneflowers look pretty together. The mix of Powwow berry and white together would probably give you a more uniform look to the plants. You could try a zig-zag pattern, 3 whites in back and 2 pinks in between in front.
I have Powwow berry, but not white. I've got other whites - 'Primadonna', White Swan and Baby swan and assorted pinks, Prairie splendor, Powwow, Bravado, and a seedling I've selected, and they are sort of randomly mixed. Most were started from seed.
Here's white swan with some random E. purpurea taken a few years ago-
