13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

J.L. Hudson, the Fragrant Path, Pinetree and (especially) Chiltern have been good and reliable sources of interesting seed for me.

Thank you all for your wonderful input! I decided to try out Plant World since their selection looked amazing. I e-mailed a question and was surprised to see a response from Ray in less than two hours! I ended up ordering:

Geranium 'Syabru'
Aquilegia fragrans
Aquilegia 'Perfumed Garden'
Aquilegia 'Fragrant Fantasy'
Aquilegia 'Honeydew'
Aquilegia 'Oranges and Lemons'
Aquilegia yabeana
Silene 'Ray's Golden'
Helleborus foetidus 'Miss Jekyll's Scented'

And I have been so happy with the quality of seeds from Jelitto that I placed another order, this time for:

Meconopsis cambrica (Gold Nugget; pre-treated for quick germination)
Silene fimbriata
Aquilegia chrysantha 'Denver Gold'
Aquilegia canadensis 'Corbett'
Aquilegia viridiflora

So, yes, I have gone a bit columbine crazy! I have been so pleased with my pre-existing swarm of granny's bonnets that came with my house that I would like to work on them a bit and add different colors and fragrance into the mix.

Babs, I love that site!! Thank you! I think you're right re: tall and skinny. Will post another picture tomorrow of the containers.

I'm thinking tall and skinny as well. My first thought was that while tall and skinny works for the placement of the pots, it wouldn't work in those tall narrow urns, making it TOO tall and skinny and bottom-empty to boot. But now, in looking again and again at your photo, I'm rethinking that. Perhaps these pots will complement and enhance the tall and skinny look.

My first thought was ilex sky pencil. I'm not a great admirer of its form, but it does work well for these types of spots, and I believe it would be hardy and do well in the light conditions as well. You would have to double check the hardiness as I don't recall the exact zone off the top of my head. I think it calls for full sun but I grew one in part sun (in a pot) and it did fairly well. I ended up giving it away when I found something better for the spot.

I'm also thinking of ilex Castle Wall and/or Spire, which I think are more pyramidal. Not sure again exactly of zone or conditions, or even if this is "skinny" enough, but just going off the top of my head here.

Maybe ilex Earlibright? Again, sorry, not sure of zone, but I think this is a fairly narrow, upright form and would give great winter interest (if you have a pollinator nearby).

I seem to have ilex on the brain today, lol.

As a person who is terrified of pruning, I don't know if any of these would be amenable to pruning for size. I would think the Sky Pencil and Castle Wall would be, but not sure about the Earlibright.

And this may all be for nought if the zones aren't right....

Oh, one last thought - yucca? Golden Sword is quite nice, and while in bloom would give you the height you are looking for. And I think it is zone-4 hardy, so might work for you over winter as well. Not sure about sun exposure. I did grow these in pots on my back patio for winter interest, and they looked great over the winter, but died on me in spring from some kind of (I think) fungal thing.

Please let us know what you decide. This is kind of a challenge, in terms of perennials!

Dee

That sounds like crown rot - I've had that on my daisies but we live in an overall arid climate so they seem to just get over it. I don't know what the solution would be elsewhere but I'm sure that someone else will know. Where are you located?

I'm in East Tennessee. We have had an incredible amount of rain lately, much more than usual.

LOL

lol Karin

I agree with Susan. The hardy kiwis are grape-sized and unlike the fuzzy tropical ones, have smooth skin. Since the vines are either female or male, your must have both to have fruit.

That's it! Thanks so much.

so I did not want to make people sick of me by sending the same pictures all the time.

I do this all the time....oops...maybe I should heed this advice myself ;).

But...but... those of us who are new have not seen it!

I look forward to the pictures!

Here is one

OK - if you Google the name John Warren you will find information on that specific cultivar of Clematis. It is in pruning Group 2 which means it may bloom again this year although perhaps not as it is very young. There is detailed information on pruning it at the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pruning group 2 Clematis

Well, I was going to ask to see Karin's wall, but Karin, that's a great idea to start a new thread calling for stonework photos!

Dee

karin....

you can NOT reply to an email from GW ...

to reply privately to steve... you would click on his name.. go to his members page.. and then hit the SEND ME AN EMAIL link ...

but both of you.. when you do that.. you should include your direct email in your note.. so you can continue the discourse between yourselves...

just trying to teach you how.. not complaining or anything ...

i will be looking for the new wall post ....

ken

ps: you could have found his members page.. by putting his name in the GW search bar ...

All great ones. Thanks!

Incidentally, I'm compiling the list of ideas for people I know who vacation away from home the entire summer (late June thru late August).

Lucky them, huh?

There are some reblooming irises, although I don't know exactly when they rebloom. I have a NOID dwarf purple that actually has rebloomed in November for me. It was sold as Royal Knight but I think it was mislabeled. Anyway, not sure if in general reblooming irises rebloom in fall or just later in summer.

Maybe they should concentrate on planting spring-bloomers and fall-bloomers?

Wow, they are lucky. Although I would miss my garden being away that long, lol - perhaps the ideal situation would be to have the whole summer off, but be able to spend a lot of it at home in the garden!

Dee

How far back did you cut it?

Thanks again!

Cut the long stems to the base. They're done.

patty - Thanks for the additional feedback, It's helpful to know about the winter wet and amount of sun.

I have some Heliopsis 'Summer Sun' growing in a well drained position, and it is a vigorous perennial and after a few years has started reseeding like crazy. Not sure about wetlands though.

Molie - "Ratty" the muskrat, how cute.

Zinnia or echinacea ... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm no comparison . The great thing about ech. for me is not only the bloom , but the foliage as well . I mean seeing the foliage growing next to poppies or flax or lupines = ~swooooon ~

Gumneck : that last picture , with the monarda AWESOME :)

Coolplants your plant looks quite vigorous, and it's a pretty color, but I'm not really crazy about double pom pom type flowers either. They look a little too poofy, and also the pollen and nectar in the flower don't seem to be as accessible to the pollinators. Right now the bees are very busy and happy to have lots of coneflower blooming in the gardens.

Gumneck your plant this year looks like it might have mites in a couple flowers, maybe that's why it's not as pretty.

Sammy - don't you mean Helenium not Monarda?

I have planted soapwort as an edging plant in my herb garden, and I do deadhead it. I can easily lift it up and weed out any seeedlings I don't want. If I had a rock garden I think I wouldn't include it, as those rocks that are so pretty would make it harder to weed it out where I didn't want it. I think if I were planting it in an easily weeded place it would be okay, but you will have to decide for yourself.

Thanks! I will not plant it in my main bed then. I will keep it only where it can do what it wants, or where I can live with that. IâÂÂm glad I asked!