13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Not all MG has fert in it, but I would agree, also worrying it might not be evenly mixed or too strong for house plants - or I'll forget and fertilize when fert'ing other plants. If all your plants are in that, the last wouldn't be a concern for you. The issues folks can have with peaty potting soil usually take more than a few months to manifest, so, worst-case-scenario, you won't like it and can change it again in the spring. Compared to having its' roots crammed/with no soil, the fern would probably pick the MG even if something else might be preferable. Ferns aren't that picky, IMHO/E. FWIW, I put a few plants in the ground last spring and they stayed evergreen, through a winter-low of 25 here. Same thing at my Mom's house a few miles away. They seem to be much more concerned about not drying out.

ok i did it the miracel grow is oldish so i am using organic fert like worm castings and coffee grounds they are doing awsome

I am assuming you want plants that draw attention and comments/questions from onlookers due to their unusual characteristics or simply because they are not typical of what you usually see growing. These are plants that I call 'head-turners" and they make people slow down to gape and point at your garden while driving by.

I think I can give you some suggestions guaranteed to different and not be duplicated anywhere else within miles. Personally I think its best to develop a theme and stay with it rather than having a lot of attention getters like a museum collection of unusual plants. This means not every plant needs to be a focal point but should fit into the scheme in a harmonious way. The use of appropriate fillers makes a scheme like this work.

Big rocks strategically placed can add to the unusual and taking out a standard lawn and replacing it with gravel, pavers and/or very low growing native grass & small native forbs really makes it different not to mention low maintenance. It depends on how far you wish to take it or what your neighborhood will allow.

If you decide to plant cactus, Cold Hardy Cactus online offers a very wide variety of them with differing pad textures/color, sizes and color of blooms in spring and bright pears in autumn for year round color and texture interest. You need good drainage and full sun, this is more important than temperature for success. I have dozens of varieties and they do quite well because I am on a slope. Native grasses and forbs are a good way to bring it all together and create a very unique, unusual landscape.

Here are some focal point plants with descriptions that will grow in zone 6 that have not been listed in the above posts that would create a Southwest flavor.
DESERT SPOON-- (Dasylirion wheeleri) 3 ft wide dome of stiff light blue ribbon like leaves with hooked thorns along the edges. Puts up a tall flowering spike 12 ft tall when mature.

LEAD PLANT--( Amorpha canescens) 5' x 5' drought tolerant native prairie shrub with soft grey leaves running up stems in bean formation. Spikes of indigo flowers in fall. Considered one of the most ancient prairie species. Very pretty.

YELLOW BIRD OF PARADISE-- (Caesalpinia gilliesii) Rows of small leaflets on an airy plant with big yellow flowers each with a long red sex filament. Blooms summer through early freezes.

APACHE PLUME--(Fallugia paradoxa) White rose flowers cover plant while simultaneously forming abundant plumed silky pink seedheads. Tiny leaves, the whole plant looks feathery. Looks great with low growing evergreens or native/ornamental grasses.

BEARGRASS--(Nolina microcarpa or N. texensis) 3 ft tall evergreen with multitude of thin long shiny leaves that curl on the tips. Puts out a bloom in summer, looks grasslike but its not, its in the lily plant group.

BIG SACATON (Sacaton wrightii) an impressive no care ornamental grass that puts up golden feathery seed heads in mid summer to 7 ft tall. Very distinct and different from what you usually see in the nursery's for ornamental grasses. This grass glows yellow in afternoon sunlight.

DEERGRASS (Muhlenbergia rigens) handsome commanding ornamental grass 4ft x 4ft with thin spikes that grow straight up and out like a large fireworks display. Gorgeous.

MEXICAN FEATHERGRASS--- Delicate silky grass low growing that is golden and soft all spring and summer. Good to tie in plants together or for textural contrast.

CHOLLA CACTUS--- many varieties available. Adds a strong sculptural element. Cold Hardy Cactus has one called 'Snow Leopard' that literally glows in sunlight or on a moonlit night from the dense white spines covering it.

SPANISH BROOM--- A big leafless green plant that looks like thin pencils all season or you could say it resembles a big weird grass plant except in spring when it is smothered in yellow pea like flowers making everyone ask "What is that?". Otherwise, its sculptural

JIMSONWEED (Datura wrightii) large shrublike native perennial 3-4 ft high with large soft blue leaves enormous 8" white trumpet flowers. Attracts bees like crazy.

YUCCA ROSTRATA--Very blue leaves forming a perfectly round head and a short truck (eventually). Monrovia has a very nice one available to nursery's you could probably find online. A very user friendly yucca since it won't try to stab you.

'MISS HUFF' HARDY LANTANA. It is reported to be the most cold hardy lantana around. Some reports list it hardy to zone 6. The 'unusual' factor here would be to have a 6 ft wide lantana in your zone 6 yard blooming heavily all summer making you the envy of many as butterflies flock in massive numbers. Thats how big it gets in a single season and if you don't trim it until spring and mulch it in winter, you might just be able to do one successfully. Its worth a try. Almost Eden online carries it. Cuttings are easy to root if you want to winter one over indoors for insurance or make more of them easily.
COLD HARDY AGAVE-- There are some that will grow well in zone 6. Parryii, Utahensis and others. Kelly Grummons at Cold Hardy Cactus carries them as well as some small barrel types that are also hardy. He also carried various Yucca plants that are hardy.

Good source for seeds of the plants above is Plants of the Southwest. You won't find them locally, you will need to search online but then, thats what makes them unusual and why you won't see them growing locally in your city. Unusual is a relative thing. What is common in one place is unusual in another.

I grow all of these successfully in the midwest in zone 7 with around 30" annual rainfall but they can take zone 6. You do need good drainage though for some and tweezers on hand for others. Cactus are not for everyone but nothing else can make such a statement.

Bill RI posted some photos of his garden, including cacti in fruit in the link below. Part way down the thread he answers a couple of questions about growing cacti in zone 6 RI.

Here is a link that might be useful: Late season color in New England

The ajuga I have is Caitlyn's Giant. It's very thick and burgundy colored. Mountain phlox works well around my slate steps. I weed whack it back before winter.

Mahogany ajuga works well for me and spreads slowly. The blue flowers in Spring are lovely. Seems to take little care. I am gradually digging and transplanting to edge a rather long flower bed. The plant stays lovely all summer. Mine is growing in rather heavy soil and does very well. Mary

They appear to have good support.

That's good! Thanks for letting us know.

Kevin, thanks for the mum shopping list, this should make selections much easier this winter! Some really nice pictures.

That was nice you took the time to find that info. I have sandy well draining soil, but there are things I can do better, I suppose. I've only had one do well for several years, and it was along the curb. I thought it had to do with warmth, but possibly other requirements were being met in that spot. I'm especially glad to hear yours come back without babying them before winter. Looks like I'll be giving mums another try. Yours are very inspiring!

Assume the spread of native plant seedlings, in the wild, is limited by animal consumers and probably especially by other native plants (latter: re adjacent microclimates).

I do favour the use of sterile plants, but also use many very useful North American perennials which are bee magnets (not least New England aster cultivars, as PM2 indicates).

For me, two summer bee magnets are culver's root and purple loosestrife (only use the latter very carefully).

I realize that wild asters and goldenrod can spread like crazy in gardens, though for me, running rather than seeding seemed to be the main problem.

I do think that many cultivars which have been selected for clump-forming (and against running) work out very well in maintained mixed perennial gardens.

Picture below (set up on October 5, 2013, for a wedding) has the wrinkled-leaf goldenrod 'Fireworks' (on the right), planted in 2006. I've seen no seeding from that cultivar and it's spreading is quite tame. It's very easy to pull up. There's more of it there than I would usually leave because the garden is not maintained that intensively.

I've seen Aster divaricatus growing in wild areas that were pretty much full shade, but I don't have any growing in the gardens. Got lots of Aster cordifolius and love it. It blooms in patches here and there in the shady areas and creates a haze of lavender blooms which the bumblebees love. It is one of the few native plants that grows and blooms well in nearly full shade, directly underneath a Silver maple, and in the middle of the Vinca minor. Very tough! It seeds around, but not so terribly, and I like having more natural gardens, especially in the back yard.

Btw there are species of Goldenrod that are clumping and much less aggressive than the rhizomatous Solidago canadensis. I really like Solidago speciosa, it's a very pretty clumping species (prefers full sun though).

Ech - It may have something to do with other growing conditions. I have well-drained acid fine sandy loam with a lot of added well-composted manure added to the bed. It may not do as well in other soils. I haven't seen photos of your garden, so I also don't know how well this plant fits the style of your garden. It fits well in my rambunctiously casual garden which was planned to have as much year-round foliage interest as possible as well as looking nice from a longer view, so I would grow it regardless of its fall color.

I have to admit that it doesn't always look this spectacular. As long as we don't get an early hard freeze (when it goes from green to gray) it usually turns a lovely gold with orange highlights, more like the shaded plant in the fourth photo than this year's full sun plants. It does take a hard freeze (25 degrees F) to kill it however, so the color will develop through several light frosts in my garden.

My favourite plant! I'm in Canada and it is always beautiful here. I grow it in several spots on my rural property.

The black Hollyhock looks great here. They are so easy to grow. I'd try some from seeds.

Thanks echinaceamaniac. I googled the seeds, and will order some. Will look for some other hollyhock seeds as well.

Our local university arboretum was selling this species at it's fall plant sale last month. The plants looked really healthy and I was tempted to buy one. However, I hesitated, fearing it to be too aggressive. Having read all the comments here, I am now considering trying it since I live in a cooler zone. which should keep it in check somewhat.

I have several areas in the garden where this plant grows. It breaks ground too late in the Spring for me to offer it on my annual plant sale. In an open winter with no snow cover, I am thrilled when just a bit comes through. I have no problem with it's spread because it is shallow rooted and easy to contain like monardas. Love it for it's late bloom. It looks like the annual ageratum except grows much taller. I have it in part shade and full sun and it does well. Mary

ispahan - I'm happy you mentioned Emperor of China as one of your favorites. I almost ordered it last spring, but went with something else for some reason. I'll put it back on the list for 2014. I also did a Google search for Mei kyo and it looks exquisite. I'm looking to add more colors other than the traditional fall colors and that one would definitely be nice.

I'm always a bit concerned with the really, really late bloomers, but I'm ready to risk it.

Kevin

Mei-Kyo blooms really late for me every year. It is just starting to open its flowers now. I'm in the equivalent of USDA z 4 (maybe? 5). It seems very frost-hardy, though.

Flora, I've seen your tag before and wondered where in the UK one finds zone 10. :) I figured it was a glitch.

I know the fuchsia will grow here as I have had them in the past. I just don't know how to make them fit in, I want all the plants to be harmonious in appearance even if they would never be found together in nature.I have very ordinary plants as the "bones" of my garden. Things like Nandina and Pittosporum. Fuchsia looks more tropical to me. I think I will be getting a hybrid as I hear there are a few that tolerate heat better than others.
I was hoping some of you would share photos of your Fuchsia.

Ignore it.

I had some lambs ear that was taking over my beds. I dug it out with a spade and threw it away. It's still sending up fresh new shoots -- in mid-October!

Yep, leave it alone. It'll be fine. This is one tough plant.

It would be awesome to visit springtime while we are getting frost and autumn leaves. Your post was most appreciated on this 25 degree Saturday morning and the pictures are just beautiful.

Beautiful pics! Yes, there is nothing like spring!