13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Keep in mind that your climate is much more pleasant than mine, but 'Crystal Lake' is one of the few geraniums I have been unhappy with. It is a very slow, weak grower and seems to sulk in "heat" (here defined as anything other than idyllic springtime temperatures). Blooms are tiny, about one-third the size of 'Rozanne'. For me, it starts flowering late August-early September and never seems to have more than one flower open at a time. Not exactly a high impact plant, lol!
I bought 'Crystal Lake' for its color, but I should have spent my money on more Geranium himalayense 'Derrick Cook' instead. This one is more of a groundcover/border geranium rather than a scrambler/weaver, but the color is almost the same as 'Crystal Lake' in flowers about 5x larger. The plants are vigorous and it flowers heavily from late May through July here. If it were available on this side of the pond, I would plant 'Lilac Ice' in a heartbeat. This is a tissue culture mutation of 'Rozanne' with pale silvery lilac blooms. 'Rozanne' might now be ubiquitous, but for me it is still one of the most perfect and vigorous and floriferous and adaptable.
Let us know how 'Crystal Lake' does for you. My experiences could just be a fluke! :-)
mmmmm Lilac Ice.....I have that one lined up too (to go underneath a fabulous hulthemia rose, Eyes for You) but the CL was a bargain on another order.
I think it was an earlier report of yours Isphahan, which prompted me to query this cultivar.
G.himalayense.....I have none of these (nor any G.maculatum either) but now I have more space........
The Trollius ledebouri I grew from seed via winter sowing 4+ years ago appears happy where it's planted in part sun at the northwest corner of my garden. The soil is sandy loam; the plants get no supplemental water. I mulch heavily over corrugated cardboard so my plants don't compete with weeds or encroaching brambles.
According to Larry Hodgson's book 'Perennials for Every Purpose:' "Cool and wet. Those are the conditions you need if you want to succeed with globeflowers." Included under that heading is Trollius x cultorum although 'Alabaster' is not mentioned specifically by cultivar name.
Mulch may explain why I've had no issues with self-seeding. I do enjoy the cheerful blooms early in the season, more particularly because they attract pollinators and don't appear to be bothered by pests.
For me, Trollius x cultorum (mine is 'Cheddar'...I think) has been very slow. Even in a shady area that is almost always moist it has been weak. The foliage looks terrible after blooming, which is why it is planted amongst other things, used almost like a spring ephemeral.
It's a bit of a toss-up. Your T. cultorum would probably prefer the damp/shady area to its current home if it is that dry. BUT I'm not sure if it could stand up to more rampant neighbors. I wouldn't chance it myself, but in your situation it may prove more vigorous.
I know it's not what you asked about but...Trollius chinensis ('Golden Queen') is extremely stout and could easily contend with your wild plants. For years I stayed away from Globeflowers because the tag and book blurbs of their requirements always made them seem fussy. This guy isn't at all. It's even braved a root-y area that dries out easily. It seeds around a bit, which I am more than fine with.
CMK
Actually, there is a really mannerly and charming white vinca minor 'Gertrude Jekyll' which has the virtue of being both floriferous and reticent....not a lawn smotherer......but not totally without some attempts at takeover. A nifty lawnmower usually puts paid to world domination attempts.
Yours are probably 2's or 3's which are the more common types in cold zones. Type 2's are large flowered and bloom in mid-May to mid-June here. In areas where they are less likely to die down to the ground, they bloom in the spring on the previous year's vines and in the fall on the current season's growth, but my growing season doesn't seem to be long enough, as none of mine have ever bloomed a second time. Type 3 bloom after that on new growth only, so cutting them back hard every year helps to encourage flowering lower on the plant. I have various ones that bloom mid-June through mid-August, and there are some that bloom later than that. I prune both my type 2's and 3's the same way since the cold kills my vines to the snow line every year, but folks in warmer areas mostly prune type 2's lightly after the spring bloom. The type 1's that are cold hardy here have a different bloom shape, and since they only bloom on last year's growth, I only prune if needed and only right after they are done blooming. All varieties will bloom unpruned, but proper pruning will make for better blooming for some.
Type 1 Clematis Stolwijk Gold
From May 25, 2011
Type 2: Guernsey Cream and HF Young
From clematis
From clematis
Type 3 Betty Corning are the lighter bells and Viola is the deep purple
From June 22, 2013
Hi Ginnier, So glad you've been enjoying it! I love my mom's easy writing style. It's A Heron's Garden.
Here is a link that might be useful: Heron's Garden Blog
thats not very warm ... especially on a plant that comes up pretty late.. after the soil warms in my z5 garden ....
but more importantly ... are they under supplemental light..
or are you playing near an ice cold window [in a cold house].. hoping for sun on a regular basis in mid winter???
also... i dont understand your media replacement system ... i would probably near bare root them ... not just a bigger pot.. with more media in the bottom ... that is how i avoided salt build up ...
also.. the flushing may have saturated them too much ... and cold air.. plus cold wet roots isnt great either ....
so long story short.. i think you have temp/heat and light issues ...
you started them awful early,.. did you save any seed, in case of failure.. if so.. why not start a few more ....???
finally .. as a perennial.. i probably would have winter sowed them outdoors ... or straight into the soil in fall ... rather than trying to mess with growing perennials from seed indoors .... have you done such before????
ken
Thank you for your response Ken.
Sorry I wasn't clear about what I did when I shifted them. I lifted the original root "balls" (not tightly packed) out of the old pots and put them into new pots filled with Pro-Mix, then flushed the new pots in hopes of removing the remaining salts or whatever. When I was devising my plan, I did worry about too much moisture and too large of pots, so I downsized the new pots a bit. The old pots and media are sitting out in the hoop house while I debate whether it's safer to dump the potting mix in the garden or in the alley. I'm thinking the alley, lol.
It's interesting that Bleeding Hearts come up late in your area. One of the main causes of failure in Cheyenne (6,000'+) is they come up way too early (maybe April or so) and get hit with fairly hard frosts, often through the middle of May, sometimes through the first of June. Mine are on the north side of the house and don't wake up nearly as early as some people's do. Even so, they get flattened every few years. Our nighttime temps aren't reliably above 50 degrees until July or August (though the day temps do average 80-ish then), which is why I was wondering if I might need to give the seedlings a chilling.
I do like to winter sow many of the perennials I want for my own yard. Much less work! For our spring plant sale, though, I start a variety of perennials in the fall or winter. The foliage tends to stay pretty low. I'm supposing it doesn't get leggy in the short winter days (no supplemental light for these guys) because the temps are low, too. The roots, on the other hand, seem to grow really well. Potting things up as the roots start showing out the bottom (not on stuff like Mirabilis multiflora or Callirhoe involucrata - yeesh!) keeps me busy. If we get any warmth in April, the foliage usually catches up to the roots in time for the sale.
Oh, nope, no extra seed. I collected it in 2011 or 2012 and promptly forgot about it. I didn't have much hope they'd even come up, and figured I had nothing to lose :)
Depending on the weather, my projects are either in the east-facing patio we enclose in the winter (sun from the north, east and some south) or in the west-facing sun room (sun from the south, west and north). When it's 20-something below zero at night, the patio is 20-something below, too, lol. The coldest I've seen the sun room this year was 7 degrees above zero. I bring things like geranium and dahlia seedlings in pretty much every night. The hardier perennials may or may not come in if the weather is supposed to be mild.
So, long story short :), it sounds like if we ever get some warmer weather, the Bleeding Hearts might wake up and get back to growing :) Thanks again!
Lingholm are soundly perennial ( but fleeting in bloom) while a few of the sterile group are reliably perennial too (although expensive because they can only be vegetatively propagated). Even some of the monocarpic ones have such glorious evergreen (or gold, rather) foliage....and once they do flower, they set tons of seed.
Yes, I feel the madness coming on again.
Growing Meconopsis in a climate that is not suitable for them usually leads to disappointment. I succeeded in getting some in flower in my Dutch garden (climate reasonably similar to Cambridge, UK) but the colour wasn't the fantastic blue you see in many pictures but a wishy-washy blue with some purple-pink streaks. This colouring is caused by too high a temperature. Also the flowering period was very short. I think there are better garden plants.
I find lamium orvala to be relatively mannerly in my garden, beloved by bees....while the little L.maculatum 'White Nancy has been a reliable groundcover in dry shade without ever over-stepping the mark......unlike the horrendous lamium galeobdolum (yellow archangel) - a supremely stoloniferous maniac.
There are deadnettles.....and dreadnettles.
Silvergoldenrod: Yes, you will be able to do that. Some root loss/pruning is not going to damage the plants and, in fact, will promote better root growth. Be careful if the plant has a tap-root, though; although, I've broken taproots before when transplanting, and plants end up just fine anyway, which I knows goes against all the standard advice one hears but hey.
I usually asked them to ship in Feb or early March...because I knew I was getting dormant grown-outdoors perennials (from where I was ordering).
Thus, no stress on plant or broken stems, etc. And they're ready to leaf out and bloom in my garden...but then my ground never froze either.
It's about what you know (or can find out)...lol
They can be planted out as soon as the ground is workable - that is, not frozen or overly saturated by winter rains. In zone 7, it is unusual for garden soil to freeze to any significant depth, so planting time is typically whenever :-) But this winter has seen some pretty wierd weather across much of the US, so let your own climate be your guide. Generally, if it is comfortable enough for you to be able to garden outside, it is okay to plant hardy plants. Frosts can damage newly emerging foliage as mentioned above but if the perennials are hardy for your zone, there is little concern about the root systems. Still, I would err to the side of acclimating the new plants to your area before plunking in the ground.
Babs, ThatâÂÂs a cute little Penstemon. I had âÂÂPikeâÂÂs Peak Purpleâ for four years and then it didnâÂÂt show up in the spring. IâÂÂd try them again, I really like them. I hope I can get a few of the Campanulas to try this year and IâÂÂll let you know how it goes.
Floral, your climate is so different than ours. I canâÂÂt wait for April!
Campanula, I have loamy clay and plants that need lean soil, usually struggle here. I can neglect it though, for sure. [g]
This thread has turned out to be a "keeper" which I will bookmark because of all the comments related to particular varieties and growing conditions in different zones.
I'll be seeking out c. cochlearifolia, "Samantha" and c. portenschlagiana this spring! I've also put them on my "New for 2014" wish list. I'm with PM2.... can't wait for April... even March will warm my gardening soul after this snowy winter (more snow is falling today).
Molie
My praecox is a thug with thickness to what sprawls. Bloom is not much to get excited about, but the width and rambling is good. It'll go for the sun (run out or up whichever way it can get it's tips to the sun). It'll also do a decent job of overtaking whatever it's in it's way. Large leaves with lots of side branching.
My rooguchi does have the 'cute' little blooms. It's not near as sturdy of a vine though. It's my first one up in the spring and grows fast up I'm not sure it'd handle roaming around on it's own and bet it's competition. (I have mine on an upright support structure).
My durandii is a sweetheart. But I have it going both up and also rambling in a bed setting. It's not near the length, width nor fighter the praecox is though. I'm not sure it would do well and what you wanting in the setting you're thinking it for.
I will surely be letting C.flammula free and, having seen C.cirrhosa running wild in Greece, I might let that loose on the sunnier south-facing bank into the dry ditch (apart from when the Yare overtops).
Interesting responses.....would say the jury was still out so should be worth a punt.