13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
I have been doing grapes for about 5 years now and used to have pumpkins and other melons but now all grapes. I love to watch them grow and learn from the experts and have gotten better every year. I live in Mn and sometimes it can be tricky with the weather and the experts help out to get me through the tough years. We make the best grape and honey Jack grape jelly in Mn we haven't got enough grapes to do wine but maybe after the new vines get mature we will. Just an FYI Mn has the richest soil in the world and eventually will have the best wines so look out west coast.
When I was small my dad would spade up the garden spot behind the garage and in front next to the front porch. Then it was my sibs and my job to "break up the clods" while my dad went in and had a beer. When we had adequately performed the task he would come out and plant the seeds. Needless to say I didn't garden much once I got out on my own. But I rented the back of a small house in Denver in the early seventies and the landlord told me he'd bring manure for me to garden when I mentioned to him that it looked like someone had had a garden in one spot in the yard. He did, and I planted it in vegs of various kinds. Have had various veg gardens in many different places since- Tempe AZ, Buffalo NY, Flagstaff Az, Spokane WA, San Diego CA, and now here is SD, where I discovered flowers.
I have no idea. Was it purchased as a perennial? I guess that's hard to say if the nursery didn't even know what it was. Looks like you either bought multiple plants or it already spread a bit.... This might be a good time to check out the 'name this plant' forum
Very interesting.
Although I was very familiar with Waddington's epigenetics and with (paleontological) provenance (graduate school), further development and application of the concepts, in botany/horticulture, is quite new on me.
I don't deliberately grow perennials from seed and, if fact, prefer to use cultivars raised by vegetal means.
At the same time, the information above raises a number of questions. For instance, we apparently often get perennials raised in the Carolinas, in part so they'll be in bloom when they're sold here (up north, to them). Is what seed they use a relevant issue, or, seeds aside, is it the cultivars environmental adaptability/plasticity much more important?
As to location/microclimates: it's an old gardeners' adage: if you want to know where to place a plant, buy three and plant them in different places and the plant will tell you where.
The superficially fortuitous survival of some perennial plants always amazes me.
The most extreme case I've come across is one of around 15 painted daisies (Tanacetum coccineum (Robinson's series)), which survived ten years in one garden, while all of the rest died within two or three years of planting.
They were all purchased as plants from the same place. It's hard to see seed provenance (re the grower) being the simplest explanation for this odd situation.
That one super-survivor painted daisy: I kept it and it's continuing to grow happily in our own garden.
I'm sure provenance is very important in regards to exactly how the plant looks and what it's genetics are..... But I think in many cases it's not a safe bet as far as hardiness.
There are several cases I can think of where plants were collected from colder locations to find hardier strains, but there are also a lot of cases where the historic range of a plant really doesnt match the cold tolerance.
Needle palm is an example, it's found in the sub tropical southeast, but when you actually check hardiness it's one of the most cold tolerant palms, capable of zone 6 and maybe lower.
Still your best bet for a hardier strain would likely be at the coldest end of its range or highest altitude.
The sharp point of the typical hand pruner is probably a marriage of the best overall pruning features, because homeowners generally do not purchase more than one hand prunner/type. The point allows for close positioning of the pruners to the trunk for cuts, allows better precision for delicate flower trimming, but the sturdy bypass can handle the small branches.
Maybe you would be happier just buying one of the many pruners that do not have sharp points on the tip. :) They are not as common as the typically-seen bypass, but they are out there and readily available online. If the pruner you are talking about are hand pruners (rather than loppers, although loppers are available in different blade styles too), you may want to check out Ratchet Pruner 3/4-inch (RP-3230), anvil pruner (AP-3110), or one of my favorites, a form of grape shear (AG-5030). Snips and grape shears resemble oversized needle-nosed pliers and have rounded tips. The grape shears are great for quick trim work, but not the thick branches. Other gardening tool companies have their own similarly-styled tools.
â¢Posted by Gyr_Falcon
For those curious about the impaled cricket, his final thought was probably "Shrike!"
I figured the cricket had been impaled intentionally, but had completely forgotten about shrikes' habit of doing so. Thanks for the reminder!
Nope- I do it all on the computer. Think I mentioned my obsessive garden-related list making on this other thread... link below ;-)
CMK
Here is a link that might be useful: Do you keep a JOURNAL?
Beautiful Monch. I had one years ago and loved it. It got paired with 'Chocolate' Joe Pye and it made for an interesting color combo. Unfortunately, the claims of it being short lived were all too true for me. Think mine made it to four years. ;-(
Ps. I also really like your pathway Doug ;-)
CMK
Very pretty plant! I don't grow 'Monch' but have been curious about it. I love asters, for both late season spectacular color and their attractiveness to pollinators. But I do agree they can (do?) look weedy and rangy before blooming, even when trimmed back during the summer.
Perhaps the worst asters for me in terms of unattractive pre-bloom growth is Aster cordifolius and its cultivars. Rangy and lanky would be charitable words to describe them. But when the pale lavender or mauve blooms open in a shady setting, all is forgiven.
For me, asters with overall best shape include Aster divaricatus and cultivars of Aster oblongifolius. This latter species responds very well to pruning and shaping.
David,
Did your liatris bloom? Mine is about one week into what will probably be 4-6 weeks of bloom. It started at the tip and the bloom moves down the stalk. The first day there was a bloom open, I returned home from work to find a Monarch nectaring intensely. I could walk right up to it and it barely noticed me. That was the second Monarch I've seen all summer.
I hope you enjoy your liatris as much as I'm enjoying mine.
Martha
Hi Martha - Well... kind of embarrassing... it's not liatris at all. I received it from a plant exchange and it was labeled as liatris but its actually liriope. I got a little suspicious after I saw a neighbor's blooming profusely and growing tall (compared what mine looked like). After a little more digging... liriope it is. Ugh. Its the second plant that I got that was blatantly mislabeled that, only due to my inexperience, I fell for. But the liriope isn't bad, just not quite what I was hoping for. I'll probably look into getting some seeds or a plant on the exchange forum because I do still want one, especially knowing the butterflies love it. I've started reworking a small bed into a small butterfly garden, which is where the liatirs (oops... liriope) is so I'll probably move that and get some real liatris there.
Glad yours is attracting monarchs! Just more incentive to get some!
My two cats have never touched any of my hellebores. It's a great plant that looks good almost 365 days a year, including now...even when so much looks tired.
Thanks, Ruth_mi! I'm excited to try them out. They're just gorgeous!