13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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!
Hey Christin, they were and un-named sedum. I bought them last fall (i think 6 of them) because they were only about 1 foot tall, so I figured that was pretty close to what they would be in the garden. They're more like 2-3' tall but they don't flop and have a thinner leaf. Haven't tried to get an id on them. Might cut them back next summer to see if they'll be a bit shorted upon blooming. I like the stem color with the physocarpus.
-Susan, my thoughts exactly with the stem color and Ninebark! The flowers looked like sedum but then I was totally thrown by the elongated leaves. Very cool. If you ever get an ID on it LMK!
Let me just add that so far I have not had luck with my V. crinata. I got it three or four years ago and the dern thing is barely over a foot tall. Only thing I can think of is that the soil pH here is off for it. Either that or it needs supremely moist conditions.
CMK
Lacey, you might try Googling a particular heuchera by name, then click on "images" -- this would give an expanded view of the color variations beyond the catalog/online photo from the seller. I just did that to see if it works, and saw a fair bit of variation, enough perhaps to make a decision whether you purchase or not! Give it a try... and good luck.
That's pretty late for a coneflower to bloom but whatever the reason, be glad they bloomed. Might be the watering issue--they're prairie plants and tend to thrive on whatever moisture Ma Nature doles or doesn't dole out. I've never watered mine and they're thriving 3 years down the road. My neighbor has had a butterfly garden filled with them for more years than I've lived here and she's never watered it. The coneflowers have thrived.
Yes we're a zone warmer than you but Echinacea/coneflower is mostly rated to Z6 so you should be okay unless you plant some of the fancy hybrid cultivars.
I recommend you do your research on the perennials you plant and get acquainted with their needs. Chances are you'll be surprised. They honestly need quite a bit less help from you than you might think.
Happy gardening!
Mine (both spectabilis varieties, one white and the other pink, planted in mid June of this year) turned yellow before they went dormant. The one in a slightly drier position with more sun did this first. But neither got any brown tips in the process. Just a slow yellowing.
According to what I found on Google, the cultivar you're asking about is a cultivar of the spectabilis type so I'm guessing at this time of year in Zone 5 it's either dormant or soon will be. D. spectabilis is a reliable spring blooming perennial in my zone that goes yellow & dormant not long after flowering. If the roots were well-established when you planted it, I'd expect it to show up again next spring. It's been a tough old bird in my garden beds for many years.
I doubt it will survive winter if you're growing it in a container altho' the WFF website says it's hardy to Z3. A plant needs to be hardy to at least two zones colder than its range in order to come through winter in a container. You can sink the container into the ground to increase your chance of seeing it survive the winter.
An added note--I've never fertilized or fed any of my bleeding hearts over the past 30 years. As with most perennials, they simply don't need it if they're growing in healthy soil. If your soil is healthy & rich in organic material, your perennials will thrive without fertilizer, especially chemicals.
Below is a link I found to information on your plant at White Flower Farms.
Here is a link that might be useful: D. spectabilis Valentine at White Flower Farm
I used to grow Emilia every year and it really was a nice accent scattered throughout the garden. On my monitor your photo is showing much more orange, so I didn't recognize it till you said the name. Hmm, I had forgotten about this little gem - been awhile since I grew it and I kind of forgot about it. Since I'm making a red/yellow/orange bed, I'll have to think about adding Emilia to it. Thanks for the reminder!
Dee
There you are gardengal! Nice that you had a little time off while summer is still with us. Thanks for the name of the brands of potting soil. I can find Farfards locally, I'm pretty sure. Expensive, but, maybe it's worth it. I will also change what I'm looking for with the bark fines and see if that helps.
Well, your cottage by the sea sounds very cozy. And I guess there is always a trade off, no matter what. The deck sounds wonderful and I would imagine you could just about live out there. :-) I bet all your guests don't mind staying out on the deck, one little bit. lol
Amazing. We battled them in Chicago my entire pre-Kansas life, and they were always gone by mid-August, turned into grubs that killed the lawns. They showed up in KC a year or two ago, but so far so good here. If we ever get heavily intested -- it's time to move again!
In "the old days" lol, I had much better luck overwintering potted mums. Almost every one I planted survived and throve for several years.
It's only been the last 6 to 8 or so years that I've had problems. I can't help but wonder if it is because back then, they were sold in September. Now the supermarkets have them in the end of June. Actually, I find it's getting harder and harder to find mums that will last through October and into November because they are all bloomed out by September.
I still plant most of them, but never with much hope of survival.
Dee
Mammoth Mums are quite hardy and have survived my zone 4 winters until I got tired of them and gave them away. Do not cut them back in the fall, the stems help to protect the crown over winter. Also, it's a bit late to tell you this now, but planting mums in the spring improves the survival rate.
Spreadsheets were made for gardening, weren't they?
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?