13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
No, I won't hate them - I've wanted one for a long time, now I have two! I got them on super-duper clearance (but I didn't have to walk them home from the nursery like that tree LOL!).
I put one right in front of the big picture window in the living room and the other one on the diagonal not to far away from it, close to the laceleaf Japanese maple.
I wouldn't say 90% of our days are not blue skies - maybe 90% of our winter days, but spring through fall Michigan is glorious! Even winter can be enjoyed in its serenity. But gardening is all about winter interest up here - the bright red berries on my winterberry hollies, what a pretty sight against the white snow the other day, or the sun lighting up ice-covered branches the morning after an ice storm - wow!
You do not need to water an already rooted and potted plant with rooting hormone. And every other day is way too much to water; you will drown it.
Cut off bloom stalks, plant it outside and it will either rest until spring or put out new shoots from below ground. These are the shoots from which you will take your cuttings. Go online for full instructions. Good luck.
The original poster says he's in zone 11, so probably he can put the viable-looking plant outdoors (in filtered light/shade at first).
Whether or not whatever type of mum he has will do well in his climate is another question.
And yes, cuttings that turn brown and look dead are dead about 99,999999999% of the time. Toss 'em.
No, it is a perennial. The flower part and the foliage become dried and brown after the bloom finishes.
I don't know the name of this plant, I got the seeds in trade several years ago. The bloom is lilac and beautiful. Kinda luminescent. No way I'm going to get rid of it.
hmm.. odd that all your dianthus have nice foliage...
anyway thanks for the feed-back.
(Yes, I cross-posted to annual forum, bec. I don't have a preference for annual or perennial for this purpose. Hope I didn't violate some cardinal rule. lol.)
Have you tried cutting the pinks back when they brown out? Or strippig off the leaves by running your fingers gently down (not up) the stems while holding the top end with your other hand? Have a variety of pinks here in Zone 7a central Virginia, and a few respond to either treatment when they go brown like that in some years when the weather gets very hot. I contine to water them along with their neighbors as needed, and they've always regrown & often rebloomed. Bought a Kahori dianthus this year & left it in its pot to learn its nature before planting, It browned over entirely after its first bloom. Left it alone, kept it watered & it regrew from the roots right through the dead tuft on top that I gently lifted right off when the regrowth was noticed. Sometimes violas here do the same. I just cut them down to the soil & they regrow & rebloom when the weather cools as long as the roots are consistently watered. Worth a try.
You're right to protect a potted Cuphea from frost.
However, Cuphea "David Verity" (a commonly available form) makes a good hardy perennial in zone 8b on south. I'd just make sure it was planted early enough in the season to establish well before cold weather.
As for taking cuttings of Cupheas - they are very susceptible to whitefly infestation indoors, so spray well before bringing them in and keep an eye on them to avoid problems.
christinmk, I do not know how long they have charged 10.00 but it is too much. It is not a plant. lol
mxk3, I know how you feel. Because one of my duties as assigned was technology and communications. I had two cell phones. I had to have a back up without a moment of interruption. Talk about over load on tech. So I am like you cell phone is for emergency and not my life now or ever again.
I'm a hardcopy reader for almost everything; two newspapers per day and many magazines covering a range of topics. If a magazine switches to digital only, I cancel my subscription.
So it is rather surprising that, when I do order plants, I prefer browsing for them online. I think the reason may be that catalogs throw in so much hype and take out information I want to know before ordering. (You know, info such as: This sprig will take over the block within three years/The bloom period is roughly 5 days per year/It hates the SoCal climate./Is that blue flower really blue? ) So if the plant is something I haven't grown before, I can easily open other windows for information sources to check out those important details and look up other photographs of typical in-real-gardens plant appearance.
But wandering through the local nurseries is still my favorite shopping method.
plant them ASAP ....
do not confuse air temps with soil temps ...
if the temps are fluctuating as much as you note.. i bet the soil.. at depth.. is not 80 ...
no roots on any plant.. will appreciate sitting around in heat ... w/o soil on them .... IN A BAG ... even a burlap sack ....
if you care to experiment.. plant one.. delay the other.. and let us know ... come late summer ...
i always default to ma nature being more capable then me.. in caring for her goods ...
if you cant get to it ... put in a shallow tray of water ... just enough for the root tips.. and in full shade ... against a cool wall ... but not for more than a few days... roots need air as much as moisture.... so do not submerge them .... we dont want the root tips to dry
this is how i would HOLD OVER ANY PLANT ... i have no experience with yours in particular ...
ken
Agapanthus are so tough, I had to smile a bit at the worry over a few days delay. I once removed a variegated agapanthus from it's pot in October, divided it into 4-5 plants, then intended to transplant one section back into the pot. Well, as timing would have it, I ran out of potting mix. So I just placed the bare root plant in the empty pot and planned on taking care of it in a few days.
Well I got busy, and time got away from me. Occasionally I would see it and spray some water over the roots. More time passed, but the plant didn't even wilt; it became a bit of an experiment. That division sat in the pot, without any soil around the roots, until March or April, in our Southern California climate. The fleshy roots hardly even withered; the leaves remained in fine shape. I potted it up eventually and moved it with us to a new house. It has been divided a few more times, and all of the plants are thriving.
I'd have suggested you wait for the cooler weather to replant. But honestly, I doubt that it would matter much one way or the other. :)
My neighbors are also happy to bring me their shredded leaves and using a mulching mower with a bag collector makes quick work of the leaves in my yard. With a forecast of up to three inches of snow overnight I spread most of my bags yesterday. Only had a light dusting of snow and still have more bags of shredded leaves coming. What doesn't go on the beds will get added to the compost pile. So this year I am doing both, spreading before and after the ground is frozen.
Regarding the neighbors, after years of asking for their leaves they now come to me and ask if I want them. My favorite is the guy who cuts one neighbor's lawn drives his cart to the edge of one of my beds and dumps them. Two or three cartloads later I use my rake to spread them.
Just leave them to die back naturally - the pot will look sad and empty but, if it is going to return next year, the roots will tuck in for winter, sending out new basal shoots next spring. You might notice little seedlings in the pot - these can be lifted early next year and potted on to make new plants.
I am aware that some plants are very dependent on a period of chilling in order to initiate next years flower buds (many old European roses, for example) but confess to being ignorant on the overwintering requirements of foxgloves in Z9 (although they are perfectly alright in Z8).
I often stash my pots somewhere less noticeable once the main show is over and all that's left is withered and dying foliage.
Serviceberries are nice, airy shrubs. They also have great fall color.
Here is a link that might be useful: Fall color
Here's a photo of the 1st path the summer after planting in spring. I might have an updated photo in my picasa, but it's not uploaded yet.
I have surgery tomorrow & need to stay on task today before work. When I'm feeling better in a few days I'll try to find a photo of the other dry river bed with the path across. If I forget email me through GWeb.
Corrine, that looks nice! I can see the white stepping stones in the river bed. That looks like it keeps the weeds down for sure. It's a little shady there, if the hosta is an indication, which would help too. Pretty blue pot!
Oh, so sorry you are having surgery tomorrow. Don't give the 2nd photo another thought, just take care of yourself. I hope it is not major surgery and that your recovery is swift! Nowadays, I think they can do some amazing things with surgery. See you when you are back on the forums. :-)
So my advice: If you grow these, be prepared to do a lot of grooming unless of course ugly, spent flowers don't bug you that much.
Isnt there a variety of zinnia that is of course still very floriferous but at the same time requires none or little dead heading?
rouge
I've only been growing zinnias for a few years and only in my Blvd. garden, so I am by no way very knowledgeable as to what is available and characteristics of each. Also, I've only been growing the taller varieties - 2 1/2 - 3+ feet, but I rarely dead head any of mine. I start out with good intentions of doing so, but midway through the season, I just kind of give up. With the ones I grow, the new foliage and blooms seem to cover up most of the spent blooms.
The main thing I didn't like about the Profusions was the fact the old flowers kind of bleached out as they aged and became almost a white-ish color which really stuck out amongst the brilliant orange flowers. With the taller varieties I have grown, as the flowers age, they simply turn dull before they die completely. So something that starts out as a brilliant yellow flowers ages to kind of a dirty yellow flower which isn't nearly as noticeable as something that bleaches out completely.
I realize, I really should dead head regularly, but my plants really don't slow down that much in flower production until late in the season (mid October or so) and by that time I'm tired of them anyway, so I just pull them out. For me zinnias are hot weather flowers and by the time the cooler temps of fall arrive, they just don't seem appropriate any longer, so I'm ready to get rid of them.
I'm still experimenting with colors and varieties, but this was my zinnia garden in 2012. I didn't like what I did this last summer, so I didn't take any photos.
Kevin
Rouge, the 'rudbeckia garden' is of good size and impact, about 30' x 15â wide, I think it's gonna overtake the entire garden and I don't mind a bit lol.
SunnyBorders, I had purchased 'Little Goldstar', though for the irritated life of me, I couldn't find the potted plant, when soon afterward, I gone to plant the thing. It was one of those disappearing mysteries ... until much later, I had found a rotted mushy mess at the bottom of the rain barrel. It had gotten blown off the deck in a strong wind and landed in there, out of site, out of mind, lol. Thanks for posting the photo, I'll be getting another one that will then immediately go in the ground, lol.
Dayscapes, the hydrangea is 'Little Lamb', one can see by the small blooms that the soil is lacking in nutrients and I had forgotten to give it a good layer of compost last spring.
I do not have full sun anywhere, but have afternoon sun in one area. I certainly have seen this Dicentra in full sun and it is worth a try as it blooms forever. Euphorbias can be tricky unless in a pot (which you could try), unless E. Robbiae which will take over your entire garden! when you say full sun, do you mean from early morning until sunset?
also meant to add>>>camassia in front of border is dealing with all that dying foliage after the blooms. Unless under planted with something to cover it. I have had terrible luck with the white double...it NEVER opens all the way and I end up just cutting the stems to the ground. arrrrgh
I donâÂÂt have any âÂÂKryptoniteâ plants, but if I had a larger property, I could definitely have one with roses. I have childhood memories of a few enchanting old rose gardens that propel me in that direction. But I did get the âÂÂfrugalâ gene and I would have a hard time paying unreasonable prices for a plant, even if I really wanted it.
âÂÂAutopilotâ plants, maybe. I automatically look for epimedium, ferns, hellebores, bleeding hearts, tiarellas and I add some every year. I donâÂÂt feel guilty about it though, because I still have plenty of shady spots that need those plants. IâÂÂm starting to be automatic with clematis too. Clematis though, are hard to collect, since you have to have vertical support for them.
I also love trees and if I had a large property, I would be buying a lot of trees and having a wonderful time doing it. Our family had a property that had a 50 year old copper beech on it, it was massive! Loved it.
IâÂÂve added bulbs most years, but now IâÂÂm having to try different kinds because IâÂÂm almost out of room for more daffodils. I tried Leucojum for the first time this year, and excited to see how those will work out in spring.
Ken, the opposite is also true. Many things that are perennials in cooler climates, we must grow as annuals here in the deep south. Of course, it only works with plants that bloom the first year, otherwise they rot in our hot, humid summers before they can bloom.
My Rudbeckias and Echinaceas produced bountiful see their first season with me (this past spring) and their tags said "Perennial", so we shall see if t hey return.
But, being like a hoarder of other "things", I have collected many, many seed pods and have lots of bottles and bags, Rudbeckia and Echinacea included. Both are incredibly spiky, so I use a pliers in the right hand and a sturdy glove to hold the spiky pod in the other. I can also now (sometimes) differentiate amongst R, E and Meixican Sunflower seeds. The Mexican sunflowers are SPECTACULAR; I highly recommend them and then collecting their pods. (Let all seed pods dry for about a month before dissecting.) And Marigolds? I have, I kid you not, at least 25,000 seeds in bags and bottles. (Christmas presents from us poor church/synagogue mice.)