13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
i would give it at least a week to sort itself out ... and then go at each plant individually ... [you will be able to better id the damaged parts ..]
why in the world you think weedwhacking the whole.. would be a positive .... is a pretty bizarre thought ...
ken
Oh no! That must be so disappointing. Agree with above - wait a bit and then deal with the plants on an individual basis. Or, just leave things be until next year, everything will sprout up fresh and new. Perhaps you can buy some pots of annuals and strategically place those in your sitting areas to take your eye off the damage and give you something to enjoy for now.
..well, I would love to know of your progress as you get on, even though I'm a million miles away, almost... I think you have a lovely back yard - garden - to get started on, so exciting... if it was mine, I too would probably have to remove those trees, but I have an issue with privacy and I can see some windows staring back at me from your neighbouring property, and I'd have to put some large shrubs, small bushy trees in appropriate points to block those out... may not be an issue for you...
...I wouldn't worry about those railway sleepers either... they'll just disappear into the background once you edge the lawn and enlarge the border, with compost, mulch etc... I've got double edged borders here...
...I also love trench edging and I'll just post a couple of photos as examples.. obviously this is large scale and cottage garden which I know you don't like... but just to see how a stretch of grass can be shaped and edged, or flowing away from the boundary line...
...as a large shrub suggestion, I adore smoke bushes - Cotinus varieties.. my favourite is one called 'Grace'... which will become small tree like... 'Royal Purple' is another... these might do for you... but I wouldn't know that.. great autumn - fall color...
..here's some edging from a garden I visited recently.... I cannot boast that it's mine...
Redbuds certainly grow well here in KC -- a little too well, sometimes. The tree I mentioned that used to cause me power line trouble was a redbud. Its mature width was about 30 feet. I would prune it back to keep it away from the power and communication lines, and it would respond with a flush of growth so that I was in the same situation every year. Eventually I decided it was too much trouble. I miss it sometimes, though. On a gray fall day I could look out from the second floor windows into its yellow foliage and it cheered me up.
There are numerous redbud cultivars with smaller sizes that might be a better fit for your yard. A good reference is:
https://www.clemson.edu/extension/horticulture/nursery/ipm/book_files/chapter_12
Even with a smaller cultivar, I would plant them farther out from the fence than your pear trees are now located.
Yes it is agressive but the silver color is beautiful and really adds a pop to the garden. I grow it in a mixed shrub/perennial bed and I take measures to keep it under control. Every spring I remove all growth that has expanded beyond the allotted area and it takes it all season for it to recover former territory. The below photo was taken in late May right after I took disciplinary measures. The artemisia is right behind the bearded iris 'Samauri'
I've grown it for years and mine have never spread that much. Every few years the current parent dies out, but by then a new one has sprouted to continue the cycle. I usually am very religious about deadheading though.
I do cut it back by two thirds after flowering and normally I get a second, smaller flush late in the season.
Tasymo, I don't think I have mulberry tree. I am bad with names of trees, but I did some search and it doesn't look like I have mulberry.
I have I think are oak trees. The ones whose seeds have wings and land all over the place. I think these seedlings might be those. They look familiar to me before I even grew coneflower, so I didn't think they were coneflower but since I have planted some coneflowers, I thought I should better check before I pull them out so that I won't accidentally kill what I intend to keep. :)
Interesting, for me, especially re (factors affecting) garden lupin longevity.
I don't use lupins now, in mixed perennial beds, for the reason that they are so short lived; my experience is that the plants (purchased in flower) never last more than a year or two in our growing conditions.
All (or most?) of the available garden lupins are derived from the Russell strain. The latter, based on wild Lupinus polyphyllus, are nevertheless of extremely hybrid origin. As such it makes sense that the Russell strain needs to be maintained by active breeding. After a hiatus of perhaps 10/20 years, active breeding and reselection of the Russell strain resumed at the Woodfield Nursery, Stratford-on-Avon, UK in 1970 and the "New Generation" lupin is the result.
I've read that "New Generation" lupins last 7 or 8 years. Can anyone corroborate that?
Ives, re your seeds, I would make sure they are all dry and darkened, then strip them off the plant and toss half of them onto the ground where you might like to have more growing and save the rest for planting later or trading for other seeds you might decide you'd like. They do wintersow very well for me.
Martha
Proper identification of the insect pest is critical before determining what product to use. Insecticidal soap is very effective on soft bodied sucking insects but it is a contact killer - you have to spray the solution ON the insect. Neem oil has a much broader scope of application and has the benefit of being a natural product as well. But you really do need to know what is causing the problem first. Any chance of photos of the affected plants AND the insect?