13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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
"What I am now realizing after doing more looking is the very great number of varieties in this genus."
I've been thinking the same thing. In fact, I'm starting to realize I really have no idea (yet) of the possibilities.
It's kind of sad to think most people only see the few varieties offered as blooming plants in the fall at their local garden center and settle for that as enough of a selection.
Kevin
Just wondering if anyone has received a brochure yet. I didn't notice any change on their website but wasn't sure if that meant anything or not.... The thermometer has gone above freezing two days in a row and all of a sudden I'm all about growing things and gardens again!
I remember looking around a woodland garden years ago.
I came around a corner and there in front of me was a whole group of Chaenomeles speciosa Moerloosei, in full flower.
They had pink or white hellebores at their feet. The whole effect was magical.
Around another corner was a group of Ribes sanguineum White Icicle. These had masses of pure white narcissus with them.
These two groupings, had a such a beauty, that they made a strong impression on me that I can still recall to-day, many years later.
Daisy
How to grow cascade mums
http://www.kingsmums.com/growing_info.php
Here is a link that might be useful: to grow cascade mums
Ken, cascade mums, which are popular in the far east, are achieved by pinching one or more plants, many many times over a season. I started the process many years ago after being inspired by photos..but lost track after three or four pinches. Ah, well.....I enjoy the photos these days.....LOL.
I'm so glad to have seen this post! I never notice people mentioning this plant and was wondering if it was difficult or not.... Sounds like its not all that tough to grow. Probably should have looked into that before I ordered a half dozen packets of seed in a seed exchange! They've been stratifying outside for about a month and with any luck I'll have a bunch of seedlings come springtime :)
garcan - the only penstemon I have is the rather common Husker's Red. I'm not sure why I haven't tried others; I was just looking at some on the Heritage Perennials site and I'm pretty sure I will find one or two to add to this bed or elsewhere.... Ceratostigma plumbaginoides was a failure here when I tried it a number of years ago! Heather would, like all acid lovers, turn its nose at my garden up I'm sure :-) Golden Arrows would not suit this bed (Rouge is a strong proponent of that one too...) But various suggestions for yellow (flower or foliage) plants on this thread have me thinking about making a 'golden' area in the front bed too - I started one in the back garden last year. There is an area on the north side of the big front bed that desperately needs renovating and the discussion we've been having here has made me think that it might be a place where I could try some of the 'yellow' plants that I otherwise don't have a place for. Another project.... :-)
campanula - L.vernus sounds like it belongs in my woodland garden areas somewhere... added to the shopping list... I'll check out the others you mentioned. Annuals are too much of a PITA :-) I want things that come back on their own - veggies are the only exception to that. I searched for erodium chrysantha and all the sites I found were either UK/Europe or places like California, so it's not a likely one to be found around here by the sounds of it!
Thank you! I enjoyed Dirt Simple and have bookmarked it.
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