13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Thanks for the kind words folks. When you garden in the same spot for 27 years you can blindly hit things right eventually.

For the record, the first pic area gets little direct sun, the second pic area gets about 4 hours of morning sun.

tj

TJ-- amazing garden there. I am keeping these shots to remind me to add more dwarf conifers into the garden when possible.

I had this happen to me too, with Stargazers bought from WalMart. I did not water overhead but my ground might have stayed too damp in the winter or maybe the bulbs were bad altho they didn't look bad when I planted them.

Advice I just got from a very knowledgeable local professional gardener is that they have a virus & should be removed. Sad, but I'm going to take that advice.

Mine grow to six foot plus every year. I grow them thru towers may be 5 foot tall. Then use green twine to keep strongest stems straight. By the time I've wrapped twine around the top they stay up straight. Then top flowering branches from an umbrella of flowers at the top. Mine where brought for clematis but wasn't using them and they looked perfect for growing Splendide thru. Tomato towers would probably work as well. I post a pic tomorrow.

Not the best pic but towers really work well. Still allowing Thalictrum to look natural as opposed to tied up and from path you can no longer see the tower. Have not worked in any side branches yet. If you trim top you'll still get flowers from side branches but top flowers are the best.

UGH... Never heard of that before, and wasn't expecting it to be a disease... I think you are right though and thanks for the information. The leaves look fine... the plant is probably about 66% the size of the others...

That's definitely asters yellows... Get rid of it before it can be further transmitted to other echs, rubekia, etc. keep an eye out for the tell tale green petals

Also, in 5 b here it appears to self seed and survive the winters somehow. Mine are not in particularly sheltered spots.

Yarrow foliage has a pretty distinctive smell if you rub it lightly and those ferny leaves. Sedum leaves are always thick and fleshy. Both are tolerant of dry areas, but they just have developed different ways of accommodating, the yarrow with fine hairs to reduce transpiration and the waxy coated, water storing leaves of Sedum.

capecodder - in what conditions (i.e., soil, sun, water) are your two Cimicifugas growing? My own pair are planted in sandy loam, full shade with only whatever water Ma Nature doles out--I've never given them supplemental water. Both plants were purchased a number of years ago via mail order.

As an interesting anecdote, I've learned thanks to mad_gallica's comment above, that I apparently have one each of C. racemosa and C. simplex based on when they bloom.

Hi, My cimifugas are in basically full shade, very sandy soil and I do water when it is very dry here. I also amend the soil every spring with compost and manure. They are between daylilies and hosta that do finel. I really thought it was the soil but all the other surrounding plants are thriving...I did throw on some Osmecote this year.

Thalictrum kiusianum. Much better seen close up.

Miclino, I see you're enjoying "Druett's Variegated" as well. It really is a stunning little plant. I planted five 2 1/2" pots and now have about 2 feet of coverage. They just need to fill in a little more and it'll be a solid wall.

I like that Thalictrum. The flower is adorable. I have so many large perennials, sometimes I forget to enjoy the tiny ones.

Another view.

If anyone is considering planting Yucca, make sure you choose your spot carefully, because once you plant one you will never get rid of it. The roots are huge, tenacious and resilient. And the plants don't react much to chemicals. Just be forewarned.

Martha

Miclino - Any chance of starting a new thread? For those of us with a slower internet connection this thread takes quite a while to load, but I don't want to step on anyone's toes by taking over your thread and starting a new one.

Heh I won't be offended if you started a new thread :)

I was thinking of just carrying on with the same thread since we could see the progression of the seasons but you bring up a very valid point. I will start a new thread. This one is getting pretty big

I'm zone 5 and I have zebrina zebra hollyhocks and they never flop. So if you end up looking for a different variety maybe try this one

David, just so you know, Zebrina/Malva is a different genus and species than what is more commonly called hollyhocks/Alcea, though both are in the same family and have similarly shaped blooms. Malva is a perennial while Alcea is a biennial.

Thanks Dee. That is interesting about your problem with the beetles and "Becky". I too had problems with these insects last summer on my lily but no issues with it wanting "Becky".

Thanks for mentioning this. I am on the third year for my Shasta daisies. Two of the three died. The third one is ho-hum, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it. I will give it a third year. :)

And Creeping Jenny

I didn't buy it since it was an annual, but I wish I had tried it. I did get coreopsis red shift, which is slightly similar but a perennial....but it doesn't have as much red and isn't as bright. I haven't seen the salsa this year. I hope yours survives! It is such a pretty flower. :)

I did buy 'May Night' last season, but it didn't bloom. This spring, it didn't emerge and I figured it was dead like a lot of other things. Yesterday, I noticed a few sprouts finally making an appearance, so I moved it to a better location. Last night, a rabbit chewed it off. We will see.

eric - You got me all excited about 'Black and Blue' and then I noticed its hardiness range - zone 7.

Kevin

Salvia Caradonna is so superior in every respect compared to the other nemorosas, that you do not have to have others. Got rid of Eveline - floppy in part shade. The most attractive S. nemorosa for flowers is Schwellenburg (absolutely gorgeous fat inflorescence). Sadly, the plant prefers lying position, which is not what I want.