13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
river_crossroads - there is a white perennial Iberis but it is I sempervirens, not I umbellata. It is evergreen and flowers in spring only.
Here is a link that might be useful: Perennial candytuft
floral_uk, thanks for info! I wish we could give Daisy some more info. Can anyone else help with the original question?
I killed the Agastache âÂÂSummer Loveâ that is the same series as DaisyâÂÂs âÂÂSummer Sunsetâ in a different color. I think I kept it too dry and gave it too much sun right after I got it and transplanted it to a clay pot. I wish I had kept the pot closer to my door so I could checked on it 2x/day, wish I had paid more attention to how the plant looked and less attention to the directions. I realize that other people are better gardeners than I am! Thanks again, Daisy and floral, River
SB, That primula is pretty!
By adverse I mean not only a lack of sun, there are also the big trunk like roots growing many feet deeply into my property along with thick feeder roots and they immediately suck the ground bone dry after watering or rain creating a difficult, if not impossible 120' x 15' area that is not good for any kind of desirable gardening and very difficult to dig. Thats a lot of square feet being affected by neighbor neglect and on a city lot when space is always at a premium its a bit hard to swallow at times.
I found that Salvia greggi which will take the dry conditions do surprisingly well since the tree leaves are not dense during their best blooming time and they are defoliating when the salvias are back in bloom in fall.
A really big surprise is how well Silver King Artemisia does. I have lots of this growing in groups in the area. It stands tall and thick and adds some much needed bright silver interest lightening up the otherwise dark area. I wouldn't have guessed it would do so well.
Cool season grasses like stipa varieties that go dormant in summer are also choices and I am having luck with hardy Lantana too. Of course all these bloom better in full sun but they are still attractive and able to take the conditions I am dealing with.
What I am trying to get are plants/shrubs that will provide some height as well as visual size presence since its a transition zone that jumps drastically from low growing plants to this sudden and abrupt line of unattractive mismatched volunteer trees and messy undergrowth. Currently the effect is very jarring, like a 30 ft wall of blackness that feels and looks visually oppressive. I am on the downhill side which adds to the problem because my yard is much lower than the neighbors so eye level is distorted from his ground level to mine making it even harder to achieve a graceful visual transition. I'm planting on his side (with permission) to get some height.
So many plants I've tried just end up seriously leaning east looking like they are attempting escape and further emphasizing the lopsided problem so I have to go back to the drawing board but these I mentioned have worked. Actually, all of my backyard plantings, even those in full sun, lean east in varying degrees except for the O. grasses.
This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Jan 1, 14 at 21:51
A karma update. A couple of days ago with no snow or storm in sight, a dead tree fell not only up hill but also on a steep up gradient angle from the gully behind my house (on park land) to make a pinpoint landing across the dog pen where my lovely neighbors put out their dog to bark usually when I'm trying to sleep or work. The tree also did some damage to their window and roof. (the dog wasn't in the pen at the time.)
If this tree had fallen directly up hill it probably would have fallen between our houses and not done any damage.
The path this tree took was spookily precise. Makes you think of karma (yes those neighbors) or there is a winter spirit awake in this cold and dark time. I think I'll walk gently on the ground at least until the Spring equinox.
This post was edited by kimka on Mon, Jan 27, 14 at 13:18
You've received good advice from the above posters. Keep in mind that plants are normally dormant for at least part of the cold season in any climate zone.
One of the clematis is putting out a lot of new growth. My question is do clematis require a period of dormancy to do well in the spring?
Chances are it's putting out new growth because it's indoors which isn't normal (or optimal) for the plant. Perennials, including clematis, go dormant in winter based on climatic conditions affected by hours of daylight + air/soil temperature. Indoor temperatures + artificial light don't replicate seasonal growing conditions.
To answer your question: I'm in a much colder zone but it has been my observation that clematis (like other perennials) DOES need a period of dormancy as part of its natural growing cycle.
I would echo Ken and recommend you move the plants to a garage/sheltered carport and let them do what comes naturally. In my experience, that's generally what works best. The new growth that's being produced by one plant may or may not survive but should not sound the death knell for the plant once it has a chance to establish a natural & optimal growing cycle.
I seldom move plants around either, Campanula. But I have moved ferns, including Athyrium filix-femina, in so far as I've obtained them from various sources and put them in my garden. Not ever had a problem, even with the old dried out ones which I rescued after they were dumped on the allotments.
no matter what i say .. or suggest ...
i am ALWAYS SURE... that anything i do.. will lead to death .. lol
no matter how many times i have done it before....
but then i usually fall back to the thought.. that if i ever saw it for sale... in a nursery pot.. then someone had to pot it up and plant it somewhere ... otherwise.. who would sell it ... and why would they be in the business ...
ken
In similar conditions: have been having a purple moment with the ubiquitous verbena bonariensis, common toadflax, L.purpurea and verbascums. On the misty blue spectrum, caryopteris has been rewarding (and yep, I too have done the gaura and sage combo with one of the brighter eryngoes. I also had a bit of a silvery passion, with convolvulous cneorum, artemisias, anthemis, dianthus, buddleja lindleyana.....with a plummy contrast - heucheras, berberis, ajuga, rosa glauca,
I would probably not have baptisia and perovskia together without some buffer companion - some of the grasses have been pretty good - festucas, a couple of stipas, calamagrostis.....
Yes, my green peppers scorched too, but not my jalapeno peppers surprisingly enough.
Thanks for the suggestions campanula. I do have buddleja lindleyana next to Spirea x bumalda 'Froebelli' in a different part of my yard. Its a nice combination.
Yes, the more I thought about it, the more I am steering away from the baptisia-perovskia combination for the reason you mentioned among others, but I still like baptisia in a different part of my yard...where I will never move it. lol
I planted 100s of tulip bulbs in late Nov and early Dec in my Michigan garden. I could easily dig in the soil. However, I didn't plant 8" deep. Now I am worried. However, I could not resist the sales and bought a lot of bulbs. I hope they come up.
Here in Zone 8b /9a I planted the ones that were cooled for 15 weeks last week in Dec. Then, another batch Jan 15 (which were only pre-chilled for 12 weeks) Haven't been as healthy this year so dug huge beds and put them in together in 4 beds so far. Also planted 8 inches deep because I didn't know we were going to have such cold weather and was afraid the sun would make them come up too fast (they are in full sun, because the city came and clipped the trees robbing me of the partial shade!)
We are having the coldest weather our city has seen in decades (Southeast Coast). We haven't had that much rain though. I feel they need a drink of water, since they are on a; hill and water doesn't stand or sink in so well.
Will watering the bulbs hurt them when we are having these cold night time temps (25 to 40 degrees) ? Last year I watered carefully and everything went beautifully but I got them in 2 weeks earlier, and we didn't have such cold temps. Should I go ahead and water them? I'm really afraid of watering when it's so cold.
The wood strawberry and the alpine strawbs are the same species - Fragaria vesca.....but, as stated, the seed variety is a stable variety which is less stoloniferous than 'weedy' types. These will not hybridise with garden strawbs (fragaria x ananassa) nor the other possibility, F.virginiana.....but may well hybridise with each other, losing the non-running character (although my experience has been that ALL fragaria are very inclined to run about. Years ago, I remember sowing some European variety (hautbois strawberry) which was a different species, but cannot recall what.....
I'll (somewhat ashamedly) admit....I have a little map. I started them out on graph paper just to help me to do some light preplanning - just to help put the sizes of the beds and plants into perspective - and just kept it as a reference so should I forget where or what something is I'd have something to look back on. But that's only good if kept up to date which I can safely say that it hasn't been. I'm not one for surprises but I can handle a few when it comes to where a cranesbill or phlox might pop up.
David883 refers to the effect of seeding and running on trying to maintain cultivar identification using maps.
I do my best to avoid seeders and runners in mixed perennial beds, for that and a more obvious reason. When seeding and running do occur, it's usually the seeders which are the bigger (identification) problem.
Occasionally, however, a seeder seems so distinctive and so attractive that I do keep the seedlings; e.g. the Japanese primulas ('Miller's Crimson'), June 11, 2013, below.
There's a couple of great blue lobelia seedlings (to weed out), in the picture, as well.
I'm a HUGE fan of the Rubbermaid storage containers. I keep one outside all summer with all the small stuff I need on a daily basis. 99% of the time, that small stuff is all I really need to do what I need to do. I keep it in an inconspicuous place in my back yard, so it's never more than a few feet of where I'm at. If I'm working in the front yard, it's easy to cart over there.
Kevin
You have a great eye for color and texture Daisy! Your Nigella and roses are lovely companions for your Miscanthus.
Is the foliage of ML sharp? It looks similar to one we sold at the nursery called 'Little Kitten'- thin and razor sharp blades. I don't know how I managed it, but each and every time I moved/picked up one the darn things would give me cuts! LOL.
Beautiful pictures! Look forward to seeing more of your garden sometime too ;-)
CMK
No, the foliage isn't at all sharp thank goodness.
Which is just as well, as it it planted next to a path.
I have another miscanthus, which is just as good looking.
It is Miscanthus sinensis var condensatus Cosmopolitan.
That one doesn't have sharp leaves either.
Here it is with Argyranthemum Jamaica Primrose.
Daisy
I'm in Northern California zone 9 (8 this winter) and have several East Freisland. I cut it down to the ground at least three times a year- as soon as it starts to look ragged. The new bloom flush is fairly rapid. Black and Blue is a thug here, but I love it so I dig out big chunks of it every winter..
Kathy in Napa
I don't have many salvias. Mainly because I have such a tiny garden. There just isn't room!
Salvia involucrata Bethellii grows in summer shade.
I cut it back to ground level in late winter. It grows fast to about 8 feet and flowers from late summer all the way through to late winter again.
I also have Salvia guaranitica Black and Blue.
This is a carpenter bee on the flowers. I call him The Bumbler. All the other bees, butterflies, hover flies and other nectar seeking insects, daintily fly in, land gracefully, and sip the nectar. Not this one. He blunders around amongst the flowers, lands as gracefully as a probationary co-pilot and his weight pulls the flower right over, where he hangs on upside down whilst he takes the nectar.
He is very comical to watch, but what I want to know is...how does he know that the colour of the salvia flowers go with his beautiful iridescent wings so well?
I also have Salvia scabra, which I cannot find a close up photo of, but it is a small plant, about 2 feet tall, with soft lavender blue flowers for most of the year.
And Salvia argentea which I love for those big, fat, woolly leaves.
I also have a salvia I bought from a local market stall. No name, but it looks like a microphylla type.
Here it is with a pink argyranthemum.
The only salvia I have that I would call a dud, is Salvia farinacea Victoria, simply because it behaves as an annual here.
Daisy
I grew Golden Alexander in my butterfly garden and it is easy to grow and stays green and attractive. Beware, though, that it does get quite wide and will reseed enthusiastically. I would deadhead or plan to mulch heavily to decrease sprouts--or both.
Martha
I don't grow the senna, but do have the other two plants mentioned. They are both spring bloomers, loved by insects, and very easy to grow in part shade/part sun and relatively dry to fairly moist soil. I don't know how tall a plant you want. Senna is a much larger and taller plant, around 5 ft. I believe it also prefers a sunnier spot, and blooms in July-Aug. Check for more info on native plants on Prairie Moon's website. https://www.prairiemoon.com
Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie Mooon Nursery