13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

flower-frenzy..do you have any photos of your sombero series of echinaceas? Are these a new variety?

Boday...the Snowcap shastas..were they once named Snow Lady or are these two different varieties. I used to have Snow Lady shastas one year and they were about 18 in .tall but didn't know then to try to collect/save seeds. My former neighbor had "Snow Princess" which is about same height. When she passed away, the landlord allowed me to pull the seed heads when they were drying and I have something to remember my neighbor by each year.

This debate comes up every season. Of course it is preferable to transplant/plant in the cooler spring or fall but as others have stated in this thread it can be done very successfully even during the inevitable hot, dry days of summer. I am way to impatient to wait for the best time but It has been my experience that for perennials, taking all of the root ball and hopefully (much) more + lots of water on-going will lead to a very high rate of success. If you can wait till the Fall then good for you, but I can't.

This post was edited by rouge21 on Fri, Jul 19, 13 at 22:31

Thanks!
I think Ill wait until it gets cooler. 100+ degrees the last couple of days sooo definatly to hot right now! As far as them getting brown in the sun, thats ok with me. I dont much care for how the leaves look after them bloom anyway.
Will they do ok if I mow down the leaves after they bloom? Ive got a serious bug problem at the moment and Ive considered mowing them over, but havrnt because I dont know if they will come back!
Thanks again!

With LOTV, your black thumb shouldn't be a factor. They're tough as nails but if you're transplanting them, I'd recommend you do it in the fall rather than in mid-summer--reduces the number of casualties due to hot, dry conditions. Generally speaking, mid-summer isn't when you want to start transplanting perennials, bulbs or shrubs. For spring-blooming perennials it's best to transplant in fall; for fall-blooming perennials it's best to transplant in spring.

When I moved here I had a friend come with his backhoe & scrape up a huge patch of LOTV from where they were growing--in full sun--and dump them down along the back boundary in full shade. Judging from the fact they were growing on the north side of my house in full shade as well as in full sun, I'm guessing they took off where he dumped them. Like periwinkle/vinca, in ideal soil/growing conditions they're virtually indestructible.

As for soil, I can only vouch for where it grew here which is organic sandy soil.

Word to the wise--plant it where you'll want it several generations down the road. When I moved here & tried to dig it up with a shovel, I discovered roots more than a foot below the soil that were as big around as my thumb & almost 24 ft. long.

prairiemoon - You're absolutely correct about knowing what you're getting into.

I just figured out why I'm having a problem deciding about this plant. It originally came from a dear friend. At the time, I had no idea what it was and neither did she. When it bloomed, I figured it out. Her plant came from her grandmother and she always referred to it as "Grandma's bush".

My friends plant died, so this is the last of it. She also does not live in that house any longer and is renting, so she doesn't have a garden. She doesn't stop by all that often, but when she does, she looks for this plant in my garden. If it's suddenly gone, what do I say? For the record, I can lie when I know it's the better thing to do, but I don't like to do that generally.

I've kind of decided, I want it gone, but the other situation makes me take pause for the moment.

Kevin

Yes, that is a dilemma. Such a treasure to have a plant from a loved family member. Something I've never had. It's too bad that this person doesn't have a garden, because that would have been perfect if you were able to offer her the plant or a portion of it, back again, after she lost hers. I wonder if she has a friend with a garden that could accomodate it? Even if you save the seeds from it? Or maybe there is some institute that she or her family frequent that would like a donation of the plant for their grounds, like a library or something? I've seen a lot of traffic medians that are planted now. Maybe in the town her family grew up in, might like a plant to add to a median strip? It might be a nice project for your friend to find a location for it. Maybe you can find a compromise that is a win/win for both of you.

Funny, how sometimes we don't know what is blocking us from a decision about something and then suddenly...it dawns on us.

Me too. I saw another one today which I was happy about. Maybe they will increase as the summer continues. I see a lot more bees this year, which I am very happy about.

I spend most of my time on the butterfly forum, and most areas have had a significant lack of butterflies this year. But, things are really picking up just this week in many regions. Last summer was a terrible drought, and this spring was cool and wet. So, things were off to a slow start. But, it's getting better. Just keep growing the native plants and heavy nectar annuals, etc., and you'll be rewarded with visits eventually. Thanks for taking the time to respond to the post and spread the word to gardening folk and others.

Martha

D'oh! Of course you're both right. I thought sure I had taken a photo of Serastro before I yoinked it out, and when I saw the big plant with the purple blooms in that photo this morning, I re-posted without really looking at it. Rummaging through my pix post-coffee, it seems I don't have a copy handy of the photo I'm thinking of.

But I *did* grow it, and it *did* overstep its bounds quickly. THAT much is accurate. :)

I've grown Kent Belle for years and it's never spread. In fact, it's now being squeezed out between a salvia and a catmint.

However, my original plant seeded way across my yard into a different garden 5 years ago. That plant has held up very nicely during the many torrential rain storms we've had this summer. A few of the outside braches flopped, but the main part of the plant held up.

Of course I was more thinking of (very) unique colour for a coneflower. It really does remind me of the color of "Kraft Dinner".

Hmmmmm..... I always knew I liked grilled cheese with tomato soup! I actually like the color of this one, and I'm not that huge a fan of the new coneflowers. But I do like this and 'Tomato Soup'. They might make quite a stunning combo on the menu in the garden.

The term circumnutation is used in describing a woman who tries to find a wealthy man( so called "helpless one", aka "the vine")

The moonflower vines I planted are using circumnutation to climb up the fishing line I wound around the porch post. I knew there was a more technical term for that kind of vine, TY! (Assuming I've used it correctly.)

Speaking of spores...
pro÷thal÷lus n., pl. = pro÷thal÷li:
A small, flat, delicate structure produced by a germinating spore and bearing sex organs. It is the gametophyte of ferns and some other plants. (If someone can explain gametophyte in a way that makes sense to me, TIA!)

Photoperiodism = the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night. IE, plants that bloom when the days get longer/shorter.

I had a coneflower with buds looking similar to yours. I finally took a bud, sliced it in half and looked at it under a microscope. I definitely found mites. I could not see the mites just by eye or with a magnifying glass. Of course, this does not rule out aster yellows, but it did make me feel a bit better. I decided to keep that plant.

If you do not happen to have a microscope handy, you might be able to take the sample bud to a local group or agency that does have one. If you live near your county extension office (run through your state's land grant university), they might have a plant diagnostic lab. A local university or community college might have a plant sciences/ag department that could look at it. Sometimes even state parks with education centers have microscopes available for community use. A local Master Gardener group might be able to look at it as well.

gl whatever you decide to do!

thanks!

It's a great plant, but even better I think is Persicaria 'Crimson Beauty'.

I LOVE this plant. But as rouge21 said 'give it lots of room.' My plant is 6 1/2 ft tall x 6 ft wide and has to be staked to keep it upright and prevent spawl. It flowers for me from June-August and the white blooms are spectacular. It is the anchor plant for a large garden bed meant to be viewed primarily from our deck so large size and highly visible flowers were a requirement.

Mine seed true, so you should be in good shape for some nice, new plants.

Thank you. That's good news.

So far, I've only seen golden leaved seedlings, but maybe I just hoed out the green ones thinking they were weeds. They really are cute - being so golden and so small.

Kevin

The answer to such questions is generally: if you HAVE to move it RIGHT NOW, then move it. Otherwise wait to the proper time. Before you dig it up, water it thourougly so the soil stick together, and move with a big clump. Some plants barely notice being moved. Unless your soil is utter rubbish and everything just falls off, then do not do it.

There's no need to move it now. I'll be waiting til fall to move most things. But since asters are fall bloomers, I was thinking maybe that is not advisable. If I wait til after it blooms it will probably be too late in the year for it to root in.

I SHOULD have moved it in spring :) but spring is the season of never ending gardening tasks. Likewise, I can say "I'll do it next spring," and like all the other things I should have moved then, it won't get done.