13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Thanks all.

These two plants get probably 5 hours of sun per day.

I too have BP and you are right of course ie with dead heading one gets a reasonable amount of a second flush.

Mine get that much or more. Next year is the third year, so maybe they will do better. Thanks!

So what exactly do you mean by "the stems are getting rather long, with foliage just at the top". Is there foliage comming out at the stem where the flowers should be? Or is the basal clump of foliage getting "tall" with a naked stem between the folaige and the ground?

IF it is the former (which I doubt- it's pretty rare) it could be a cell mutation- think its called proliferation.

If it is the latter I would think some die-off with the older, lower leaves would be typical. I wouldn't plant any deeper- I've always read they need their crowns above ground so they don't rot out. That being said I've only tried to grow Lewisia once and failed epically ;-)

You might always try asking this on the alpine forum btw...
CMK

Just pile a few rocks around it - that's what I do when they do that. They like rocks anyway, and the right rocks will really show them off.

That would be preaching to the choir. I'm sure they already know about it.

Aw geez. I did so good at ignoring the email they sent. Sent it right to the recycle bin. But now this. Don't know if i can ignore TWO mentions of it in one afternoon. I might just have to go dig up that email. Thank goodness you didn't put a link....

;)
Dee

Love the colours above.

I tend to just go with what work here; for me, within a perennial garden, for sunny locations which are too small for colour to be maintained by perennials, I've used small and medium sized dahlias and geraniums (pelargoniums), purchased each spring and planted after the bulbs are finished.

If there's enough perennial variety (colour) in the overall garden, the annuals are just useful fillers. With a sprinkler system, deadheading carries the contribution of the annuals throughout the growing season.

Why get fed up with that?

Below September 9, 2013:

I'm still having a love/not so much relationship with daylilies. A visit to the daylily forums always sucks me back in! This fall I am going to try spreading them out among the other garden plants to see if that works better. I want to do something different with that prominent, mostly daylily-filled bed.

Angelonea: I'm not a huge fan of the flowers, and they cost a lot when they are not available in 6-pac. Some didn't thrive. But then, just a few of them grew really well and are still blooming after months of show. So, do I grow them again or forget it? I can't decide!

Anigozanthos/Kangaroo Paw: 1st year they sit there. ok. Year #2 they throw up a few flower stalks. Not bad. Year #3 they put on an amazing show that lasts for months and thrills the hummingbirds. Fabulous/show stopping! They don't return for year 4.
To make them work in the garden, I have to add some new plants every year. Sometimes I discover well after the fact that the tags have been switched. The cultivars I like are vastly outnumbered by the ones that hold no interest. Whether 'paws are in favor depends upon if I won that year's expensive gamble.

Dahlias. Hmmm I haven't grown them since we lived in the snail/slug house. ;-) I have been thinking about planting a few here...those photos makes me want to even more.

Let them go dormant. These plants are spider mite magnets if grown indoors over winter.

Kevin

There are different types of "elephant ears," and the best way to overwinter depends on the type in addition to your zone.

The link below has lots of good information on overwintering.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Delights guide to overwintering elephant ears

Thanks for the information from both of you. I so appreciate your help. Yes the pots do sound like too much trouble. Actually I just wanted to clean up beds since they are in front of house. I will let them be. Can I cut the plants to the ground now and then be done with them?

I grew many rudbeckia cultivars from seed via winter sowing and they've reliably come back season after season, even those I left in gallon pots on my breezeway. I can't vouch for nursery-grown plants but I've not had any issues with winter sown plants.

Echinacea/coneflower cultivars haven't been as reliable either in pots or in the ground where I am. The only plants that have returned after several seasons are the species purpurea and the cultivar 'White Swan.' Even winter sown seed-grown cultivars haven't returned after their first season.

I guess the answer to your question is that some will survive the winter in pots while others may not. Normally I'm grateful for those that survive and don't let myself be concerned over those that don't.

I have an east/west facing breezeway and have noticed that gallon pots of perennials placed at ground level up against the house foundation have reliably survived even a cold, snowy winter season.

Interesting thread/comments.

I'll be sectioning some aster and helenium stems from now on.

I've certainly seen galls on wild goldenrod stems, but, here at least, I've never seen galls on garden aster or helenium stems.

I have no galls either on any of the affected plants. The heleniums were the most affected packed all the way to the crown but not every stem. The aster Blue Autumn only had a few stems affected.

Our gardens are part of our business because we grow and sell plants for a living and like to display them in garden beds. We have about 30 different gardens scattered around the edges of a 36-acre property. I could never maintain them or enjoy them as much as I do without my partner's effort.
Generally, he is responsible for maintenance, especially in the sunny, high-profile gardens. I design and maintain the shade gardens.
At the end of the day, when work is over, we stroll through discussing plans or ideas for more gardens.
Without the gardens, the business would be just that. With the gardens, it remains a labour of love.

No, but DH will move heavy bags or bails of compressed soil etc. for me. He also waters plants when I am away if I leave very specific instructions. He is happy to let me do my thing and loves to invite others over to see the gardens. Most of those people are not gardeners and while they are polite making all the right comments I have come to appreciate the odd gardener who really understands gardening and wants to talk plants and design, etc.

Just beautiful! Can`t grow them here in my KY. garden. Tried and failed several times. They are so beautiful. Lesley

Really lovely, Kato. Your delphinium, whatever type it is, really looks happy there. These are one of my favorite flowers but I've never been too successful with them--- more like annuals for me. Expensive annuals. :(

um, Moonflower, aka calynyction aculeatum, aka ipomea alba is the vine whereas your picture shows a datura, aka brugmansia (inoxia?) - botanists, hey! - aka jimson weed and a host of other common names.

Even the Latin nomenclature lets us down sometimes

Don't even bother trying to start the moonflower seeds unless you can keep them toasty and warm. They really won't germinate unless the soil temperatures are kept higher such as with a heat mat. Also as others have said, try sanding, filing or nicking the seed coat.

Some foxglove hybrids like the Camelot series bloom the first year from seed. But they do not reseed. Foxgloves take a couple of years of planting to get going. But after that with reseeding, the biennial nature evens out .

Some foxglove hybrids like the Camelot series bloom the first year from seed. But they do not reseed. Foxgloves take a couple of years of planting to get going. But after that with reseeding, the biennial nature evens out .

Very peaceful 'vibe' from your new artwork, Woody. :-) I like it. And it is funny that the name is exactly what your back garden theme is. Great living room window!

I do tend to purchase artwork that has a garden theme. I have one of a line of geraniums and another with a line of herbs in pots. I had one that was an abstract of an apple orchard and I have a winter scene with a large Christmas tree in the center. I also have bought ceramic birds and I use photos of the garden or landscapes on the desktop of my computer, so I am looking at those every day too.

I love your painting, Woody. Seems like it was made for that room! Now that I look around at the pictures I have on my walls, mostly framed prints, they do appear to be floral, regardless of style! I never noticed that before. About 4 years ago I collected a large number of leaves from my Ginkgo tree with the intention of placing them all into a frame. I think the project got halted when I became indecisive about the matt color. I better get on that. They're stuck in a big phone book that my husband keeps threatening to throw out.

Catmint is too tall to be what I consider a groundcover. I'm not familiar with the other plant you mentioned. There are oodles of various groundcovers - do a board search and you should find some threads with suggestions.

Hello marymax,
I think it depends: what kind of soil, temperatures in your area. I came across that funny little plant when I wrote my thesis on an old garden near Berlin, botanizing/ making an inventory of all plants, on sandy soil, with dry summer and rather cold winters with little snow.

The Duchesnea grew near shrubs or in an neglected, former lawn/meadow situation.

Under those conditions, I clocked the plant rather as being resilient than competitive. So it kept going when the rest started starving or wilting.

It spreads by stolons, so that it a plus for the groundcover angle.

IMO you can hardly compare it with Catmint (Nepeta?) as the latter is showier, more competitive and much taller.

For semi-shade, and round/ near shrubs on somewhat poor soil they could work. On rich soil with good water supply I would go for something else, like Geranium or Waldsteinia.

Well, enjoy that funny faux-strawberry,
bye, Lin