13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

If you are in an area with red lily beetles, which I know are unfortunately common in New England, be aware that they like Fritillaria, so you will need to hand pick the beetles, grubs, and eggs (or else use some really nasty pesticides.)

yep, and not only do the lily beetles attack frits, the frits simply will not return reliably after losing ANY foliage to lily beetle. A long ago memory in my garden (although I grow many lilies which can and do sustain a certain amount of lily beetle damage).

You may have asters yellow. No, it's not only restricted to this one variety. It is a problem of epidemic proportions here in Europe.

And it has been epidemic in my NAmerican garden also the past couple of seasons. This coupled with "sunflower moth larvae" in the cones will likely have me removing all echinacea from my property this season as I see these issues reappearing. The complete unreliability of coneflowers seems a bit similar to the wide spread health issues of impatiens walleriana with its downy mildew epidemic.

mmmm, afraid echinaceas (apart from basic seed sown pinks), along with coreopsis, (all of 'em), smaller delphiniums (tatsiense, belladonna et al) and sidalceas have not been a feature of my gardens for the last few years - too temperamental, too sporadic to jostle for scarce resources in the hurly-burly of my garden beds.
On the other hand, am getting rather fed up with the rampaging rudbeckias and asters............

Sorry to hear about your critter problems. A small terrier type dog or a cat who is a good mouser can be very helpful for controlling the population of small rodents and rabbits. In addition to the cat, I use primarily repellents or barriers to keep critters away.

For year I've had problems with critters decimating the Sunflowers. From chipmunks, woodchucks, squirrels, and even a dang Robin that wanted to pull up EVERY seedling, my Sunflowers have been under assault for years.

Now I use double barriers, hardware cloth around each sunflower and 2x4 inch wire fencing or yard wire, encircling the whole group of Sunflowers, and finally success! This seems to have kept all the critters out. These are the best Sunflowers I've had in years - Helianthus annuus Mammoth Russian in back, Lemon Queen in front. :)

This post was edited by terrene on Fri, Jul 5, 13 at 15:30

stir_fryi - the rubber snakes are a clever idea.

You don't identify the heat zone in which your garden is located so that might limit or expand your perennial options. I've listed below hardy perennials growing in my beds that are untouched by deer but wouldn't want to get your hopes up of growing them if they aren't hardy in your zone.

Agastache rupestris/sunset hyssop and Caryopteris/blue mist shrub are both fragrant, low-maintenance and of no interest to the bunnies or deer in my garden, along with the following:
Penstemon/beardtongue
Lychnis coronaria/rose campion
Buddleia davidii/Butterfly bush
Stachys/lamb's ear
Baptisia/false indigo
Chelone/turtlehead
Brunnera/Siberian bugloss
Hellebore/Lenten rose
Stokesia laevis/Stoke's aster
Trollius ledebourii/Chinese globeflower
Euphorbia polychroma/cushion spurge
Heuchera/coral bells
Persicaria virginiana/fleeceflower
Phlox divaricata/woodland phlox
Phlox paniculata/tall garden phlox
Nipponanthemum nipponicum/Montauk daisy
Nepeta faasiini/Walkers Low catmint
Ratibida columnifera/Mexican hat

Most, but not all (phlox, lamb's ear, catmint, spurge, brunnera & hellebore) were grown from seed via winter sowing. Those purchased were picked up from reputable mail order nurseries on half-off sales over the course of several years.

Best of luck with your garden.

Thank you coolplantsguy. I may have to remove the plant if it is Aster Yellows.

Thanks, coolplantsguy--- I pulled mine out early this morning.

We were posting at the same time... Yes, that looks like Silver Mound.... Shear it regularly and it's a nice, neat plant.

clip it that low.. sniff sniff :( But yes I believe you..
Thanks

Even harder this year, because that Euphorbia didn't come back this spring.

Any of you planting things now for fall blooms?

===>>> it is very hard.. to plant things NOW ... for fall bloom ...

especially in the midwest on july/august ... and i am talking about in a method that is rather care free.. if you are there 24/7 to TLC things.. maybe you can succeed.. where peeps who want a more care free garden cant ... its all about transplant shock ....

and that.. if you can find decent stock for sale ....

the trick.. is to start making a list in sept.. of what you see that interests you.. so you plant the things in the proper planting season ... spring.. for the fall show ...

if you have a lot of vertical space.. the autumn sweet clematis can be stunning ...

ken

I would love to have a division of the goatsbeard. I am not good at dividing plants normally (except daylilies), I always feel like IâÂÂm mutilating them: but if itâÂÂs out of the ground anyway, IâÂÂll look and see if there is enough there to divide in half. I wanted one on the opposite side of the (symmetrical, more or less) bed anyway. I think since IâÂÂd like another, that tips the scale in favor of moving the goatsbeard.

Troves of trilliumsâ¦.I assume you did not have to cut back the leaves, since you moved it in spring? IâÂÂm just not sure how IâÂÂd move it in the fall if I kept all the stems intact. When I want to move some tall plants, like asters, I just chop them off halfway. They never miss a beat. But I donâÂÂt know enough about goatsbeard. IâÂÂd say IâÂÂll wait til next spring, but this last spring I DID plan to move it, and the season got away from me and soon it was too big.

Yes, I used KenâÂÂs hosta moving tips a few years ago! I was having a front patio installed in late July. It was a very hot July, too. My husband thought it looked like too much trouble to do. But the patio installation guys were definitely taking notes. They were moved to a holding bed, then moved back to the front yard again a month later. They took the move well.

Hi there,
I reduced some Goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus) in spring on sandy soil. The original clump was just too big, so I hacked off smallish bits ( about3-4inches across) with a spade and replanted. The owners did some watering afterwards and it started ok, the biggest risk it dying in the summer draught.
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It is a European species, so it can produce roots as long as the soil is warm-ish. (in contrast to warm season plants like some prairie grasses).

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I wold transplant in early fall (is that late August/ September in your region?). And in general when transplanting perennials in summer it is best to cut off most of the stems almost to ground level, the roots growing on and the next years buds as well. Unpruned you risk that the chopped off roots can`t supply the foliage with enough water so it could die of dehydration.

Add some leaf mulch or something for winter and it should be fine.

Hope that helps. bye, lin

Do you have a way to keep them very moist until their older. Illinois does have a moist sandy subsoil. Many moisture loving plants can survive once they get their roots down in this thick gooey sand. You will probably need to water for a few years. I read that this sand layer was left behind by the last ice age. Good for growing corn. Any way since I'm a bit nuts and was bored one day I tried to dig thru this sandy substrate. I got three feet down and no end in site. Filled in hole and concluded it goes to China. Just kidding

Thanks!

I can actually wait til fall to do most of them. I might try one, which is where I want to plant a new hosta. I have enough seedlings to play with.

The transplants will be growing in the same bed as the parent, with the same conditions. I just want to put some on the opposite side of the bed. The parent plant was obtained in a swapâ¦and was smaller than most of these seedlings are now. So I guess maybe it was luck that it survived in dry shade.

This area is former farmland. ThereâÂÂs 6 to 8 inches of black topsoil, then clay underneath. So I donâÂÂt consider it to be well draining. I never noticed any sand in the soil.

Yes it looks like ligularia dentata. Gorgeous colored leaves!

This post was edited by pam_whitbyon on Tue, Jul 2, 13 at 12:30

The fringed edge makes it look like Ligularia to me. A plant that enjoys moisture.

I don't know what the sedum-like yellow blooms are, but I have a very similar volunteer all over my dry, shady, sandy front yard. I think they are quite beautiful , but they don't fit in with my pink-purple-white themed bed. I guess I'll change the theme. LOL

Martha

The St John's Wort is one of many St Johns Worts ie Hypericum. There are a lot ranging from tiny alpines to large shrubs.

Neither of the succulents is a Euphorbia. They are both Sedums. The white looks like Sedum album.

It will also self-seed, at least mine has, and it grows very well.
Also, it is pretty late to come out of the ground in spring. Mine is currently covered with honey bees.

In my experience the tuberous rooted, perennial species of milkweeds are slow growing for the first few years. Your plant probably won't be a large bushy plant for about 2-3 seasons. Although it's hard, you'll need to have patience for this one.

In all honesty, 15 years is the longest I have had a garden in any one place, so I can't be totally sure that any plant will be OK for 20 years. I'll assume that you will choose plants appropriate for soil and temperature conditions since I am not familiar with what grows in NC.

Hellebore was my first thought as well. Can you use groundcovers that might need cutting back, but would not need dividing per se? Can you use short woody plants? Are any of the evergreen daylilies slow enough to spread to make them work here?

If you can use groundcovers, some of the thymes might work well to weave in and out of other plants.

If you can use woodies, some of the small conifers derived from witch's brooms might well work or some of the really small rhododendrons. I've had a Rhododendron 'Checkmate' for somewhere close to 10 years and it is still under 3 feet and is as easy as all the other PJM family plants. Would any of the easy care roses work for you here?

For deciduous plants, peonies are the classic plant that never needs dividing. Baptisia is another one that is happiest left in one spot. There are some fairly short clematis with long bloom periods that might suit the situation as well.

Yours is an interesting question! I'm curious about the size and topography of this garden and also about the plants you're already considering for your zone. Posting a photo or two of the plot could help us visualize your workspace.

You asked for perennials that won't need dividing for about 20 years. In my years of gardening (two homes), I've found that when planted in optimal conditions of great soil, sun and watering, many perennials will go nuts! For example, I have several Pine Knot hellebores. After 7 years these have formed huge clumps that do not die back in the winter. And yes, the leaves do get ratty as Gardenweed said. The clumps are now 3' by 2'6", and I've had to remove many things near them.

I wonder if this garden will have some of the "woodies" that nhbabs suggested? If not, I'd suggest plants with interesting foliage -- like variegated Liriope, Sedum ('Vera Jameson', etc.), Artemisia, Agastache or Sage. Except for the Agastache, which I've only had for one year, I've found most of these to be well behaved.