13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Thanks for the additional info, Linaria - I do speak German (Nelken) but I got the Swedish from an online dictionary. They are notoriously unreliable. 'Nejlika' was given for both meanings.

BTW, I'm sure it was a typo but 'cloves' not 'clover' is the spice. That would be a whole other flower recipe ;-)

Hi flora,
dear me, yes, no Trifolium :-)

probably just was lucky, picked the first dictionary that popped up.

and I just love all these questions that popp up here on the forums.

Bye, Lin

Here is a link that might be useful: clove in Swedish and German

Happy New Year, everyone !!

Definitely, Happy New Year! Hoping that 2014 will be the best gardening year for everyone! Can't wait to get past indoor projects and chores to get to planning next year's garden. I think this winter is going to go by really fast. :-)

I live in Barry County in Michigan and we got hit pretty hard with ice. I think at one time 85% of the population was without power starting on Sunday the 22nd. We lost power at 7:30 am on the 22nd and got it back three days later at around 4 am Christmas morning. Some people around the area just got theirs back on today. I lost several of my fish due to no power or heat for the three days we were without. My parents ended up staying with my sister in Grand Rapids for a night where she had power. I had to stay behind because GR was too far for me to drive to work. I work in Battle Creek. So I had to sleep in a house that was only 40 degrees beneath several layers of blankets with several layers of clothes on to keep warm. We had some nights in the teens with daytime highs in the 20's. So grateful for heat and power. Even the cats were miserable and couldn't understand why it was so cold in the otherwise warm house.

But the ice and snow made for some really pretty landscapes. Too bad I wasn't able to take pictures of any of it. I worked from sun up to sundown every day and didn't have the time to capture the stark beauty before the last two days of above freezing temps melted it away.

Karen

UPDATE:

There are many reports that Toronto has lost over 20% of its tree canopy because of this most recent ice storm.

Here is a link that might be useful: trees so hard hit

Thank you for the link. There was a lot of information.
The last person suggested putting the whole flower head with seeds in the soil and transplant those that show up. No follow up on how that went. I have a grow light I may try putting the seeded pots under it. Worth a try.

I would split them open and cull out the good seeds if it was me. Are you talking about the person sowing laitris seed heads? Thats a wildflower and he sounds like he's direct sowing plus those come up real easy.

Looking at the pictures on the seed forum, there was a lot of difference between the viable seed and the sterile duds. From what they posted, it also sounded like the seeds need a bit of controlled conditions so your grow lights sound like a good idea. I find it helps to put a baggie over the pots until the seeds germinate, keeps it nice and humid. A common snack baggie fits really nice and snug on a 4" pot. Take them off after they come up or just cut the top open for some ventilation until they form their first set of true leaves.

I received a forced mum from my son last Easter. I usually toss those after bloom but he was so proud to have given me a "garden" plant. I cut off the blooms, kept it going in the house and planted outside in May. Luckily it bloomed again in Sept. So it can be done if you want to put in the effort.

It will not likely rebloom much in the same season, but I always deadhead after blooms are done and sometimes get a small rebloom (probably not this late, though). I trim mine down, a lot, after the foliage/stems turn brown. If it is in a pot, I would keep it inside until spring and plant it out. My area is borderline for mums to come back the next hear, but I have had good luck with mulching them.

Just sorting garden pictures from last year.
Get a lot of mileage from columbines.
Another plain pink one.

Below May 30, 2013.
From my records, seems to be at least four years old and should be either a Winky or a Biedermeier; currently suspecting the latter.

These are nameless self seeders. They do very well amongst the vegetables.

I'm thinking of getting these this year. I'm trying to create a bee garden, and every year I see these and want them and never get them. I tried I think it was called "Icicle" veronica and it got really nasty looking. There wasn't much sign of life, so we got rid of it. We are going to put some clay breaker down because there is some clay in that area. Hopefully that will help some of the drainage.

"Icicle" is still on my evaluation list. I've had it for a couple of years and like it, but it has a tendency to flop terribly for me from the center outwards. It also hasn't been a very good rebloomer after the first flush of flowers. I'm going to try pinching it back earlier in the season this year to see if I can reduce it's height a bit and hopefully control the flopping.

Kevin

christinmk, you can trim them to keep the size down. I think its hardy in your zone. We see them a lot around here and lately the city has been planting them by the droves in street medians and along highways because they are so indestructible and drought tolerant. Its quite a sight in summer. They can get very large for sure and will completely dominate an area if left to grow untrimmed.

-Susan, is LI considered a z5, or higher? It sounds incredible.

There was a GW member in z5 that posted a pic of her glorious Vitex. I seem to recall she said it died back to the ground each year and then got around six feet by the time it bloomed.

I regret not looking for one at the sale, although there really isn't any space for it (not that that has ever stopped me from buying a plant before mind you, LOL!)
CMK

Again, thanks for all the help. The two websites were great. As much as I look at Wikipedia, I didn't think of looking there for plant information.

I will enjoy the plant and flowers for now, plant it in the spring if still alive and see what happens. It wouldn't be the first time I killed a plant - always feel a little guilty, though. :)

Happy New Year!

The plant may not look alive in spring if it has already entered dormancy. After flowering the leaves will begin to wither .. don't think you've failed it, this is natural. Just make sure, whether planting indoors or out, that it is in a well-drained area. Excess moisture during dormancy can cause rotting of the corm.

I know the stuff you are talking about. Here is what I have done...now is the best time to start over.

I did not cut mine down/trim them. If you do that now, you will be cutting off buds that are already forming.

Remove all leaves once frost has killed them. (Does frost kills your leaves?)

When the leaves start coming in the spring, spray with the stuff I linked to below. Do it every 7-10 days for the rest of the season. It is a bit tedious, but it helps a lot! It will not get rid of/prevent all of it, but it slows it down tremendously. Mine looked great until I slacked off...then the cercospora returned.

Try to not water overhead...it spreads the spores onto other leaves. Try to water closer to the ground.

My understanding is that this stuff is pretty much always present....it is just a matter of trying to control it. My understanding is that it also will not kill. It sure looks unsightly, though.

Far as other plants.....I am not sure if this exact same thing can spread or not. I have noticed similar things on random plants, but I cannot decide if it is the Salem thing or a similar fungus.

Hope this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: Spectracide

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hydra/msg082241474892.html

Ken,

I'm so sorry I dropped out for awhile. Here's the link to the other thread, if you still want it. I don't know the exact hydrangea I have, but it's some kind of ES. They're everywhere here. Thanks for your input.

Carolina, I think I'll try the spectracide. I don't want to use a lot of chemicals (mostly I just want to spend my money on plants, really :), but that seems very affordable compared to some things and every week or so doesn't bother me at all. Its depressing to think I'll never be completely rid of it though.

My only question is, then, I wonder why the Daconil didn't work? I sprayed it with that religiously. It still looked completely zapped. Part of me thinks I should rip it out, let that spot sit empty for a year, and plant a new one after that. But it was here before I came and I would hate to do that.

It has frosted here a few times, but there weren't any leaves left to pick off honestly :( I'll never stop being amazed at what's still green in the ground here in December, though! A few petunias and random annuals leftover from the summer that somehow survived the few freezes, some confused bulbs that have popped up already, foliage left over from summer bulbs that I wish would just die back already!, some volunteer seedlings... Virginia is nothing like Ohio where I'm originally from!

You're an awfully quiet bunch! Nice to hear a little of the other side to you posters.... Once or twice I would post to an idyll thread, but mostly just enjoyed the photos when things were quiet in the winter.
So don't worry, I won't talk anyone's ear off! I'm mid 40's, male (sorry to crash the party.... Or am I not the only guy?) wife, two kids, girl into kindergarten this fall, boy into second.... Located between Scranton and Wilkes barre PA. That's about two hours north of Philadelphia in case you're not up on your smaller Pennsylvania cities.
I've gardened all my life, even in college I had a houseplant or two suffering along in my dorm room. This house that I'm in now has been my first permanent property since leaving mom and dad, and I'm finally able to try lots of the stuff I always wanted to!
So greetings to all, hello marquest my fellow Pennsylvanian, and a2zmom how are those color themed borders going? Im trying to make my plant collection look a little more "designed" but so far all I have to show for it is a red border that's just a mess of weeds and almost every color other than red! Lol
Be good folks!
Frank

Lat: N 39 ð 11 ' 36 '' ( 39.194 ð )
Lon: W 119 ð 45 ' 53 '' ( -119.765 ð )
Elevation (ft): 4723

I don't trust Zone 5s anywhere. Last year a hosta survived in a half whiskey barrel, but that doesn't mean it will survive this year. If I thought I might have some Z6 in my yard, as some maps indicate, I might feel better about it, but 5 is fickle and might as well be Zone 4 for all I care. Zone 5 just sucks.
Pat

I own a greenhouse and Garden centre which is a zone 3a in a good year with snow cover and a zone 2b when we have no snow. All our perennials here are grown and propagated in raised bed. All perennials hardy to zone 3/4 will survive here in raised beds. The zone fours are those that must be planted against a building to survive our hardest winters and so they are planted the same way, either closest to a structure or in the center of the bed. Any plant that is hardy to your zone will survive in a raised bed..IF it is watered sufficiently before freeze up and watered again if it thaws.

kato

When I planted my Buddleia 'Blue Heaven' this past spring, it was a small plant in a 3 1/2 inch pot and I was absolutely blown away by how fast it grew. I'm so used to shrubs not doing much the first season or two, so to have a very respectable blooming sized Buddleia the first season from such a small pot size sold me on the idea of ordering more small plants this spring.

Sugar sprinkles: Be warned! It's kind of an addictive process. Once you discover how easy it is to do, it's hard to stop with a few basic colors.

Kevin

One year, maybe two or three years ago, I noticed about 20 self-sowed Buddleia growing in my beds. I have never noticed any before and none since. I think there may have been heavy late-summer rain that year.

I notice some growing wild, not so many to seem problematic.

My garden contains 4 mature Buddleia. My soil is rich loam and mildly acid.

Some combination of conditions allows for self sowing. I just can't figure out which ones!