13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Is your anemic astilbe going to flower? It looks like it's got some stunted bloom stalk kind of thing going on... I would actually consider tossing it, the other one looks so mch better and will spread out soon enough. Why waste your time on the other? Also it might have something that could spread to the good one....
asiatic beetles are a pain, sorry to hear you have them.
I didn't want to spray anything so I ended up going out there with a pail of soapy water, picking them off and dropping them in the water to drown. It's a bit on the strange side to be out there in the dark going over your plants with a flashlight, but..... the neighbors will talk and there's always that awkward run in with an evening dog walker, but it seemed to control them enough.
I heard someone suggest Surround, which is a clay based spray that's supposed to work... there are plenty of other sprays with chemicals that should work too but I've never gotten that serious about control. Maybe someone else has better ideas.
asiatic beetles are a pain, sorry to hear you have them.
I didn't want to spray anything so I ended up going out there with a pail of soapy water, picking them off and dropping them in the water to drown. It's a bit on the strange side to be out there in the dark going over your plants with a flashlight, but..... the neighbors will talk and there's always that awkward run in with an evening dog walker, but it seemed to control them enough.
I heard someone suggest Surround, which is a clay based spray that's supposed to work... there are plenty of other sprays with chemicals that should work too but I've never gotten that serious about control. Maybe someone else has better ideas.
Great close ups. My DH has an expensive camera (our son's reject when he upgraded to an even fancier and more expensive one) with several lens and other doodads. He hasn't learned to use all the extras and finds close ups are easier than ones of the whole plant or area. Since he has that good camera I haven't replaced my broken point and shoot.
I also deadhead some of my columbine for continued bloom. Follow the blossom stem down until you see an itty bitty bud or two which is where the new blossom comes. Some blossom stems will not have any buds further down. I noticed tonight those are usually the center blossom stem of a group of three or more closely placed blossoms. Once you know where the new blooms form it is very quick to snip, snip off the dead ones.
I would trade for it but I only want rather spectacular plants, not more ordinary like what I already have. No curb, we are in the country and I don't want strangers form Cl or FC coming to the house. I've thought about selling them..... but so much work, little money. I don't have enough great plants yet!
These are divisions, not cuttings, btw, I cut the dianthus with a spade to keep it the size I want so the excess is almost always rooted.
I throw out enough veronica georgia blue to cover an acre, really, lots of nice stuff, I just don't need more. I did give away all the stella daylilies though.
I feel better knowing other people throw it out too.
When one has to ask the question and finds it is more bother than joy. I give away and swap dozens and dozens of plants every year. This year I am thinking about throwing all my divisions in the compost heap as I am tiring out and don't want the hassle. No guilt.
Your seedlings should be good sized by August and adjust well to being planted out if you can water them as needed. Giving them a little shade when planted ( a pot nearby so shadow can shade them during hottest/sunniest part of day or a lawn chair nearby, etc.). Shouldn't be any problem surviving winter. The roots will continue to grow until the ground freezes. If you are worried or some are tender perennials winter mulching after the ground freezes will help.
The voices of experience have spoken and you've received good counsel from the above posters. Generally speaking it's best to plant perennials when they won't be stressed by climate--specifically hot, dry periods without rain. Also, it's generally not recommended to plant things when they're blooming since they need all their resources at that time of year and being transplanted taxes them when they've no reserves on which to draw for sustenance.
You haven't deceived yourself into failure with perennials but are perhaps not being realistic about your expectations. Some perennials (more than others) take a year or several to establish themselves and provide the look you're expecting. Don't embrace the false hope you'll achieve your goal in Y1 or Y2 but allow yourself to enjoy your garden as it progresses through the seasons.
Just a few additional notes: blue poppy is not happy in Z6. From my reading, it prefers significantly colder temperatures. My own success with winter sown Verbascum is that it does not return after year one. The other perennials you referenced appear to be reliable in my Z6 garden.
I can only recommend that, rather than rely on a temporary greenhouse, you learn about winter sowing as a method of growing trees, shrubs & perennials from seed via the winter sowing method. You'll ultimately be vastly more happy & satisfied with your garden beds as a result. It's proven, it's reliable, FDA-certified and it's a low-cost, huge boost to what you hope to achieve.
Veronica 'Georgia Blue' will do well in this setting and spreads some, though not in a problematic way, so it will move outward as the Viburnum grows.
Carex 'Ice Dance' will grow well here, but for some folks a bit too well.
Lady's Mantle might work. Check to see if the height is more than you want.
Sometimes if you plant perennials that you buy at the greenhouse that are in peat based potting soil, and you stick them in the ground, "poor, dry, rocky" in your case, they never put roots out into the surrounding soil and therefore they don't increase, especially if the soil is on the heavy side. Sometimes the peat can hold too much water and rot the roots so they can't get out into the soil that might be more to their liking. You say the plants look okay, just not bigger, so maybe that isn't operating here, but it's just something to think about. I often bare root anything that is a lover of poor soil before I plant it if it comes in peat. I have the varigated sedum k, and it seems to be a slower grower, but the plain kamtschaticum down at the park had spread to be about two or three feet across, and even reseeded a couple of other places, but someone hit it with herbicide this year, I'm not sure why.
Sedum K behaves very well for me when it's in dry soil. Most of my yard is moisture retentive. If given a nice moist soil it spreads out of control. It is easy to pull out where it's not wanted. It's been kicked out of the yard in all but two places. On the North side of the house by gas meter. Where it gets not one drip of sun light. soil is wet in all but August. It's spreading quite nicely and is very happy and healthy. The other spot is by the woods in back yard were I had thrown a bunch of it away and yes it rooted in two years ago it's now an 8' x 4' patch. It and a few others are native to Asia and can live with moisture. This sedum can live in sun or shade. A swamp or air. The only thing it won't do is die.
When it comes to gardening it's all in the details. The fact this was really a WATER GARDENING question is light years different from PERENNIAL GARDENING where we're talking about plants growing on mostly dry land not in standing water 24/7.
My original post to your question was a complete waste of time and of no use to you what-so-ever because I was missing that little detail about the iris growing in a pond not on dry land.
Once again, an example:
I post the question: "How do I grow lilies in my garden?"
Because people out here are extremely helpful, they start sharing their knowledge of lily culture: Asiatic, species, Orientals and all the rest. Because I know some people are really lily enthusiasts, they will probably go into a lot of detail and give me tons of wonderful info.because they're always anxious to welcome new lily enthusiasts to their group.
After a lot of people have taken a lot of time to type a lot of great information, I suddenly announce: "Oh, I'm talking about growing a water lily in a pond in my garden."
All that great lily information given is suddenly of no use what-so-ever.
Creativity?? Think outside the box? Seriously?
I can think outside the box just fine, I'm rather known for that, but I still need all the facts. That was a big, missing fact.
Kevin
This post was edited by aachenelf on Sat, Jun 22, 13 at 16:14
How about parking a large excavator on that bridge and scooping away? I see why herbicides aren't on the menu. If it was water in the west, it would be managed and maybe you could draw it down to more expose the plant. I don't really know if it has to grow in water, but maybe not being in water would make it weaker to whatever treatments you decide to try. There is iris borer. I wonder if they would eat it, or just fly away and destroy the beardeds around the area. Sorry I'm not such a good out of the box thinker, but I do wish you luck.
pippi21 - what is the compass orientation of the affected bed & its sun exposure/shade cover? A number of perennials can survive the seasons in a container but there are others (i.e, lavender) that suffer from too much winter moisture such as snow and/or rain. I was a bit surprised but happy when WS Heuchera/coral bells, delphinium, Astilbe, Agastache, Alchemilla mollis/Lady's Mantle, Platycodon/balloon flower, Siberian iris & Spirea all came through the winter in gallon pots/larger containers on my breezeway.
Phlox sublata/Creeping phlox is a spring-blooming perennial and as long as it gets moved in the fall when it isn't blooming or too stressed due to dry conditions, should transplant in good shape. That's only my own general understanding of perennials speaking--not the voice of experience since I don't particularly like creeping phlox. My spring preference is P. divaricata/woodland phlox which is just as lovely but blooms for a much longer period than P. sublata.
Again, it's only my own observation & what I read in my perennial guide but Papaver orientale/oriental poppies grow from seeds, not bulbs, and spread via rhizomes/traveling roots in much the same way as Missouri evening primrose (whose botanical name escapes me at the moment). It's my understanding they're best moved when very young plants as they don't like to be disturbed.
You may or may not already know this but laying down a layer (or two) of corrugated cardboard under your mulch will be a huge help in discouraging weeds. I've found the cardboard is free & readily available at my local grocery store, package store or else the recycle bin at the town landfill. A judicious application of ordinary vinegar at the edges early in the season tends to discourage most weeds.
I highly recommend bike shop as a place to get large sheets of cardboard. Those bike boxes really come in handy.
I moved an oriental poppy, and it did just fine in the new spot, but it also grew back from the very deep roots where it was before. So it might be hard to get rid of if you are set on moving the spot it is in. They do have a sort of dormant period here in the midst of summer when it is good and hot, which might be a good time to try. I don't know about all this putting into a pot and so on, if that will work for it or not. I think the more fussing you do during the plant's active growing time, the less success you will have. I have moved a small creeping phlox to a large pot, and then later to a place in the garden which worked well, but I did this in the early spring. I think that what is the best for plants is not always what is easiest for us and fits into our time schedule. So if you are set on doing this now, you just have to try it and see what happens, and if it doesn't work, then be ready to replace the things that don't make it.
It's not a sun problem. Half a day from noon onwards is plenty of sun for normal, full sun plants. It will fry a fair number of part sun plants because they have to transition quickly from shade to bright, hot midday sun, but full sun plants won't have that problem.
It may also be a water problem. Young man who does the hardscape/hard work pointed out that this is the upslope side of the garden, water flows down, etc etc. I have a well, and rarely water anything that isn't a new planting. His theory is they are chronically water deprived, and would thrive in the lower portion of the same garden.
How are daphne with limited water?
oops...
wrong forum
ken