13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Ditto your first comment, Judyhi
Am very fond of Helenium
I also never cut them back for lower blooms.
Some of the smaller ones certainly don't need it,
but I like height in August and September.
I do, however, stake all the taller and medium sized ones including Mardi Gras. They don't need real attention to staking as plants like peonies may.
Below a patch which just has a stake or two and twine around it.
You may know that without replanting and upgrading the soil, ever few years, Helenium (at least in my experience), gets shorter and peters out over a couple of years.
Did you discover anything under the scope? Or did dinner win out after all ?lol
We had a strong late frost this spring and I was amazed by the number of flowers stunted and damaged as the weeks unfolded. Most were distorted and stunted, I don't recall much browning....
DH brought home pizza and then we both spent some time fiddling with the microscope but we weren't able to see anything. This is an old University surplus scope--good quality but it has a few issues. Plus, I really need to make slides for better viewing. I know we have slide supplies somewhere so I might still work on this. I did find a lot if interesting pictures online. I am going to try to find a plant pathology textbook because I am finding looking at plsnts under the microscope quite fascinating.
About the lilies: these are some monster lilies; seems they are the ones referred to as 'tree lilies'. Last year almost every plant had 16+ buds. this year they have fewer buds but are taller than last year with most 6-7 ft tall (except the darker pink ones). In other threads people have mentioned recent lily varieties petering out on them, perhaps these are types that lack in long term vigor. I plan to dig a few up later this year and see how the bulbs look.
Actually, I didn't get rebloom, but that may be because I'm growing in too much shade.
I wasn't really replying to your post about deadheading - sorry if I sounded like I was disagreeing. It just reminded me of my disappointing experiment, so thought I'd share. :-)
I do not ubderstand. My Lobelia is planted where it gets wet feet in the Autumn, winter and spring. It is very dry there in the summer most of the time unless we have a very heavy rain. The very opposite of the link. It also gets afternoon shade. Here is a picture of mine this year. It seems to really like this spot. I have to say that it is next to a small drainage ditch. Maybe 6-8 inches deep. Maybe mounding it is the answer. Finicky little buggers : /
I planted the straight species in 2010 and Queen Victoria in 2011. Its come back every year with no problem including last year which was a very very winter with a lot of tempertaure flucuation.
Here's a picture from August 2011.
Behind this planting is a birch tree, so it's in a fair amount of shade.
Jerseygirl -- too too funny! GMTA, I guess. When we moved to this house in 2007, the original owners had "landscaped" the foundation in an 18" strip (argh!) with gladioli. I had just gotten my landscape design cert back in Chicago and was like WHAT??? That's a foundation planting? Glads??? Oh yeah, there was also a dwarf Alberta spruce that had been eaten by spider mites.
I yanked them all before we prepped large foundation beds (15 feet out) and every year a few come back. I've pulled them, I've sprayed them with glyphosate, they still come back to haunt me.
I had purchased a Crazy Daisy 5 years ago and it never really grew well for me. The flowers did not all open, some buds browned and dried up before they opened. Many of the buds that did open produced flowers that were mis-shapen and small. The plant decreased in size every year and just looked sickly. There was just a small piece left this spring and I dug it out and gave it to my neighbor to see if it would do better in another place.
I received Esther Reed in trade last year. It bloomed late in the summer and this year it has put on quite a show. Every bud has opened and I'm pleased with the shape and size of the flowers. It is just now finished blooming and I would say that it has been in bloom for 2 months. I need to dead head it to see if I will get more flowers and I plan on doing that tomorrow, if it doesn't rain here.
Linda
If the water is in the top 2 in. of soil, then that is where the poplar roots are. I don't know what your plans are for grass removal, but it might not be too hard to get rid of the poplar roots as well. Then if the garden is edged, the poplar roots would cease to be a problem, and you could plant what ever you wanted, and still have less mowing and something nice to look at. I still would go with more xeric plants, like Agastache cana or rupestris or one of the various hybrids that there are, salvias, penstemons at least for the sunny spots. Does your soil drain well? Or some ornamental grasses. You have a lot of good choices there. Harder to think of are things for dry, hot shade. I think back to when I lived in CA and there was a lot of PIttosporum bushes, lantana, StellaD'Oro and Agapanthus. But I was in San Diego.
Some of the large roots are above ground. When I try to mow, the mower blade hits the roots. As far as the grass, right now I am spraying it with Roundup to kill it. This fall, when the weather cools, I will plant the area, then probably cover the dead grass with mulch.
I like the idea of xeroscaping, I also like the ornamental grasses so will incorporate them, as well as some other colorful plants. I don't know about hydrangea, I like it but it may not do too well there. If I can find a small one, I may experiment. I love lantana, and have had good success with agastache (in my former home which had different growing conditions).
I had no idea ferns come in colors, will have to check them out. Lots of good ideas here, thank you all.
Cheryl
Asclepias tuberosa can tolerate lots of sun and no water. Long lasting yellow or orange blooms that attract Monarchs and other butterflies and hummingbirds. Easy to start from seed or get established plants from many online sources. Disease resistant and doesn't reseed the way some natives can.
Martha
that must be some great soil.. to be able to use a spade bare foot .. whats that all about ...
i tend to just tear them apart ... they break at NATURAL weak spots...
it was suggested to me once.. that in general ...[not iris] ... that large cuts can rot faster .. comparatively speaking...
and do fan them for sure...
i dug out about 100 in the last week... and gave them all away ... actually.. lol.. i dug out 20.. and ended up with 100 ... lol ...
go for it peony.. this is a foolproof plant to work with.. and because all the pieces are so big.. you can really learn a lot ...
ken
Did you ever check out the FAQ on the iris forum? They have a good explanation of how to divide.
Here is a link that might be useful: iris FAQ page
Mary max where do you live? If you are in the western half of North America, and have a semi-wild area that the milkweed can grow and spread then yes definintely.
I have winter-sown A. speciosa, got a couple seedlings and planted them in a fairly sunny, well-drained location and it barely survives. I don't think it likes the generally wet climate we have in the northeast US.
I've attempted to grow other western natives and overall this has not worked very well. One exception would be Cal poppies which grow okay along a dry lean sunny edge of the driveway.
This post was edited by terrene on Fri, Jul 26, 13 at 20:57
a2zmom - I have bleeding heart/Dicentra spectabilis, both 'Alba' (white) & the common pink form growing in my garden. The pink plants grow here (& self seed) no matter what the conditions, in everything from full-sun to full-shade so I'd guess they're tough as nails. My DIL has one in full shade that's closer to the size of a mature rhododendron than a medium-size perennial.
My own D. spectabilis 'Alba' is growing in full shade in my hosta bed, surrounded by Carex/Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' as well as hosta, Japanese painted fern, Tricyrtis hirta/toad lily, columbine, hellebore, Cimicifuga racemosa/black snakeroot, astilbe & other shade lovers. Once the BH goes dormant, there are lots of other things that conceal the dying foliage.
happygardener_2006 - I've never bothered to cut back the foliage on my BH plants since it dies back naturally on its own. If you need to move the plant, just do it later in the season when conditions aren't so hot/dry. Spring & fall are generally the best times to move things--those that bloom in spring should be moved in fall so they have time to acclimate to their new location before bloom season rolls around again.
gardenweed, your hosta bed sounds lovely. I'd love to see a picture.
A bh the size of a rhodie! Sounds like the plant is extremely happy where it is.