13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

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.

I bought 4 Rudbeckia Priarie Sun in the spring and they were doing great. Now we have had rain about every day for at least two weeks and when the sun comes out the humidity is oppressive. Three wilted all of a sudden and one is still OK. They are planted in the same area. My situation does not reflect the solutions I have read that I should keep watering or that they are in shock from transplanting since it has been almost 3 months since they were planted. Does someone have another guess?

Ninam,
Your plants are all nicely established, but they may be suffering from too much water. Rain constantly will keep the roots from being able to breathe, because the water fills all the gaps in the soil that should contain air and oxygen. If the water is there too long, the roots begin to rot and can't do their job of maintaining the rest of the plant. Rudbeckia are prairie plants that function best in soil that is dry much more often than wet.

Martha

Thanks Cyn! Do you have enough paths - in the right places - to keep those galloping gardeners out of the important stuff? Our dogs - visitoring ones as well as ours - have newer caused problems in the garden because they really do prefer the 'path of least resistance' when racing around the garden :-)

I was just out WALATing and took a bunch of pictures. Once I get them organized I may post a bunch, focussing on the plants that have been discussed in recent threads. I'm generally happy with the backyard garden (except for the weeding that needs doing!) but am increasingly unhappy with the front garden. It is badly in need of an overhaul! It has become a spring garden and later summer garden but is in a lull now - there is stuff going on but not really eye-catching from a distance. Parts of it will likely become a shade garden as the trees and shrubs mature further. Some of the large, tall perennials need to be yanked in favor of lower, more colorful things - I foresee a lot of heucheras moving in! I've been planting a few different ones in the past year or so to see how they like it out there. So far, so good.... So next spring is looking to be a tear-out-and-re-do event! I will let this year play out as-is while making an assessment of what gets evicted and what will replace them....

Christine, most of the plants on your list were unfamiliar to me, so I just spent a while looking them up. Defintely some great plants on your list.

If you're interested, Plant Delights just put Deinanthe caerulea 'Blue Wonder' on sale. And Fraser's Thimble Farms sells Double Hepatica for only $75 a plant., lol. (Actually that nursery has a lot of the items on your list.)

Thanks for introducing me to a great group of plants.

And Woody, I wish I could see your garden in person. Truly gorgeous.

'karin', I am a sucker for such cat "nick nacks" for the garden. It has got to the point, having bought too many that I now quickly put them in the garden thinking my partner won't notice them until it is too late ;).

Oh that's funny. I can definitely relate. Perhaps you need to just camouflage your cat art, like this piece, which, you know, you'd need a sharp eye to notice. :)

wieslaw59, what happened to 'let's just drop it'?

If you still need to defend your position about whether trollius need moisture or not, please do so without any further personal comments.

For those of you who are growing it, do you grow it in full sun, part sun or shade? I have spots in all three of those light sitiations. The shade is pretty shady - a Japanese red maple is nearby.

here they get 8-10 feet tall and as wide-yes once established they are gold!

I have the cultivar 'Alice' (won as a door prize 7-8 years ago) which is supposed to be a vigorous selection by Michael Dirr. It blooms on old wood, so didn't bloom for probably the first five years I had it, due to winterkill. If it wasn't for the attractive red leaves in the fall, I would have ripped it out. I guess it finally got acclimatized to its new planting location and has bloomed each year since then. It must be just borderline hardy for me, and the dry summers don't help either.