13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Karin - I was wondering if you ever did this. Happy to hear it went well for you. I think you just have to do it once to figure out a system that works well for you. I didn't do it this spring, but I have a few peonies to get rid of this fall, so I'll put 'em up. That should bring in a nice hunk of change to put towards my spring plant order.

molie - You know, I think you're correct about the type of people you meet selling plants. From my experience, they really are a different breed - a nice breed. That being said, I've sold so much stuff on CL - non plant stuff - and have yet to have a bad experience. If you have some common sense, you really can weed out anyone who seems insincere or just not who they say they are. I think it also depends on what you're trying to sell. Selling a rare coin collection for instance probably wouldn't be a good idea. Selling some patio furniture, no big deal. Just my opinion based on a lot of experience.

Kevin

I have never tried selling on Craig's list, but for too many years to count, I dig excess plants from my many beds and advertise a two day sale. The wonderful gardening friends I have met make it a joy, not a chore. I dig and pot according to the size of the plant and mark each with info about it. The reward is in sharing for at a fair price and then having the dollars to buy more of the expensive plants I would otherwise not afford. Though it is a bit labor intensive and ads, potting soil,etc.take a little off one's profit. The reward is meeting these gardening folks who look forward to the sale each year. Have only had to purchase pots one year and most return them each year. Usually dig between 6 00 and 700 plants each year and try to introduce a couple new ones. One year I tried the dig your own approach which didn't work out for me. Good luck with selling on Craig's list. Will be anxious to see how that works out for you. Mary

The 'Luna' is also a good, and relatively dwarf series.

True re Luna - they are shorter than my Disco Belles....

Thanks for the continuing feedback but I have now planted both "Chicago Apache" and "Earlybird Cardinal" day-lilies. I am hoping that with EBC flowering early and CA blooming later there will be color for much of the summer in this section of the garden.

Even today "Apache" gives a hint at hopefully future floriferousness with this one bloom.

(The Crocosmia suggestion was interesting but the place I had in mind was not full sun and being in a z4 I think they might have difficulty overwintering)..

This post was edited by rouge21 on Tue, Aug 20, 13 at 17:18

If you really MEAN BRIGHT RED, then I would suggest All American Chief daylily instead. It is the only one I've seen that I would call bright red, the rest are just red-wannabes. What's more, it actually grows and blooms!, unlike many other daylilies here. One of the few, who actually deserves its Silver Stout Medal.

Ok, please don't get offended by my negativity, but although I generally love variegated plants, there's something to this one that always makes me think it looks weedy.... And I have more than my share of weedy plants that I love.... But not this one.
It seems bulletproof though, and it does lighten up the hedge behind very nicely. I think when pruning, your best bet will be to cut older stems out from the base in late winter. That should help with the size and keep the graceful airy look.

'kato', there is no need to apologize! Most of us are stimulated by honest and varied points of view re. plants and gardens.

As you say it is bullet proof in that it can easily handle dry shade.

It will soon do (far more quickly than I had thought) what I wanted it to do when I planned the purchase i.e. (quickly) cover the very back corner.

Interesting suggestion re an "airy look" as I had always thought I wanted it to be essentially impenetrable to any view behind it but you have got me thinking.

This post was edited by rouge21 on Tue, Aug 20, 13 at 15:10

Lathyrus latifolius is the perennial sweet pea, and the annual is Lathyrus odoratus. The perennial doesn't have the lovely scent of the annual, and here the perennial sweet pea is a real problem. I am still removing random seedlings more than 10 years after deciding that they were a bit too enthusiastic for me, but happily their spread was limited by the drive and walkway. I sometimes pass a field of a couple acres that has been totally taken over, so hopefully yours will be more restrained.

You should be able to grow more of your own easily when the seed ripens. Fortunately I think that's the only way they spread (no runners or suckers as far as I know). It spreads a bit here too. Comes in pure white also as well as shades of pink, something to keep in mind!

Iris may be rotting from too much water. Bearded iris are NOT like normal plants and have their own agenda and needs. For one thing, they do need to get back in the ground ASAP not because they are going to dry out (these are plants that people have forgotten in car trunks for months during the summer and lived) but because they need to get their roots established before winter comes so they can manage snowmelt without rotting.

Thanks all for the advice and molie for the daylilly link! Will study this before rearranging.

I made a brief mention of the background yards in my comments on the 12th, but with the hostile posts towards differing opinions and comments about neighbors' yards in the Perennials forum threads growing like powdery mildew, I chose not to say more. Not a shocker, is it?

delete post

This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 4:37

I had to move 400+ plants this spring from Ohio to Michigan, and started the project in March as soon as the soil was workable. I dug out new beds every possible day I could and it took me a couple of months to do it, weather permitting. Then I had to make two trips down to Ohio and back in two days to get all that I wanted (and not everything came, which saddened me but I had lots of big beds and not enough space in the Michigan yard for it all), mainly the hostas and daylilies, and it took me two weeks to get it all in the ground. That was being outside every day all day and getting quite crispy in the process. I still have hostas in pots that I have no room for in the ground due to lack of shade, so I'll have to over winter them in the garage and upgrade them into bigger pots as they grow. I'm still working on this yard but I'm nearing the end of planting things. I'm getting quite burned out.

Karen

Oddly, I was having itchy thoughts about my perennial bed.It has degenerated in "onesies" and "dots" and it wouldn't know a mass or a swath from large patch of weeds.
It has never been the "same" for the 18 years, but however long this iteration has been, it is too long.
I think I'll start a new thread.

Thanks Lin and Justmetoo for answering the question about how they spread - a bit of a runner. That's OK. This one is planted in a rather confined bed - long and somewhat narrow, so it's an easy bed to maintain if by some chance this plant gets out of control.

The bed itself gets morning sun until around 2 pm or so and because it's in an easily reached area, I tend to water on a regular basis.

I kind of hope this plant spreads through most of this area. So far I really like it. The foliage is interesting, robust and healthy looking and the flower stems seem very sturdy which I really appreciate. Flopping of any sort is a real turn-off for me.

Kevin

Mine is in very dry shade so stays put, it isn't very robust at all there. Which is fine by me - that's why I planted it there in the first place, to keep it under control.

Anemone will spread like gangbusters if they're happy - soil on the moist side, part-shade or sun (but lots of moisture if sunny spot). Foliage is stellar all season. I'm speaking mainly of the Japanese anemone, but same goes for Robustissima. They spread by those running rhizome thingies. They still pop up from time to time in areas where I had removed them.

That is a funny image, Martha. (g) I heard the other day that Mosquitoes can't fly on a windy day, and I thought maybe I should get a fan blowing on the patio on a still night to keep them away. The seedlings could be near the patio and sturdy hollyhocks and fewer mosquitoes with one fan. It is funny, but definitely a very good idea. As a matter of fact, I heard it said to blow a fan on your tomato seedlings for the same purpose when you were starting them from seeds under lights and I did have a fan on them and the seedlings were sturdier.

Yes, I've heard the same thing about fans and seedlings. In fact when I grew a ton of seedlings indoors I did try the fan thing. I agree, I think they were sturdier.

Kevin

Just reading mzdee's post about ditch lilies makes me laugh. There used to be a landscaper in the suite next to the office where I work and last summer he had a full truck load of ditch lilies, ready to take off to a job. I just thought "really?". Someone obviously didn't realize you can pull on up off the side of the road, throw it in the yard and you'll have an endless supply in no time. I have a ton in my back yard (came with the house). There's on particular patch that gets abused to no end... the dogs trample them, role in them, dig at them... And I have two pits and a husky so when the dig, run and role they REALLY go for it lol. These things barely even notice lol

False lamium... I have it creeping under the privacy fence from the little woodsy area behind the house. It looks pretty in the pure-shade corner with the lemon balm. I just sigh when I look at it all in all its thug-glory

Hops vine and bindweed are my big banes. You never, ever want to plant a hops vine near a garden. Trust me on this! The wild scentless violets are getting a bit thuggish too. I've also spent a lot of time recently cleaning wild blackberry vines out of my day lilies, though I must admit that I left the ones that actually had berries on them.

I move plants and add plants in the spring and fall and any time that the temperatures and cloudy weather give me the best opportunity. I can't remember the last plant I lost. Some years if I wait too long to get a few pots in the ground, I've sunk them into the raised vegetable beds, cover them with a thick layer of chopped leaves and keep my fingers crossed. I'm always pleasantly surprised to see most of them make it.

I live in SW Va mts in zone 6A, about 3 miles from NC. I often plant perennials in the fall. They need at least 6 weeks to grow roots before the ground freezes. For us, that's usually around Thanksgiving. I haven't planted conifers in the fall though. I suspect it's the wind and lack of water. Usually Sept and Oct are fairly dry and the fall rains begin in Nov but who knows what is "normal" now!