13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

A very rigid rake and over planting grass seed will do the trick. If you get your grass thick enough it will choke out charlie.

I had a small Suburban yard that was almost all charlie. Every Saturday morning it was my therapy of raking the back yard. When we had a rainy week I would throw grass seed out. By the end of summer I was free of charlie in the lawn.

I had it in my garden along with Virginia creeper, and the perriwinkle vinca vine. I got fed up with them and I took a small rake and just dug them up and pulled them out of my garden. It took a few hours and a couple of days, but it was worth the hard work. I didn't put them there myself, and they will come back. When I see a single sprout of one I weed it out of my garden right away. I hate those plants, and I'm glad I have it under control. They even choked out a passiflora vine!

Ditto what Martha said vis a vis mulch but I would add a note that layering corrugated cardboard under the mulch works a whole lot more effectively than mulch alone. I initially went with the mulch alone approach but quickly discovered adding the cardboard produced far more satisfactory & longer-term results.

Ditto to everyone, lol, and I just wanted to add that if you are working in an established bed with not a whole lot of room between plants, layers of newspapers will be easier to put down under the mulch than cardboard. You can fold the paper to fit the spots between perennials. I usually do at least 6 to 8 sheets thick. Just be sure to leave room around the base of the perennials.

Dee

Thanks for asking for pics of whole garden. I too get frustrated when searching on internet and just get images of the flower. It makes a difference me how it looks compared to others. Mine are not ready for show yet though!!

Gry Falcon, All of my pics are of the same bed. There are 6 Biocovos in the 25 x 8 foot bed. In the last pic, (the overhead one) taken in early May, you can't see them well as they are in the back edge of the bed. Planted 5 years ago, I would say that each plant now covers roughly a 3 to 4ft square area running into and mingling with each other and other perennials. As a ground cover I couldn't be more pleased with this plant. In my picture #3, that is Biocovo surrounding the sedums in late summer.

Goldfinches? Or some sort of finch? Although that seems too small and I'm not sure I get the "late to dinner" clue?

And we have a winning answer! Lesser goldfinches. I thought we had an agreement, those birds and me; I keep two nyjer thistle feeders full for them, and planned to let the Rudbeckia flowers go to seed for them to eat (dinner later) because they enjoyed the snack so much last year. Rudbeckias have a very long bloom season here, and take the heat without a whimper. So I planted about 20.

Yet the little birdbrains seem to think they are entitled to a free salad bar, too! (I guess they don't realize that no plants equals no rudbeckia flowers to produce seed later.) They perch on the plants and pull apart the leaves to eat. Apparently, they also like sunflower leaves. I saw damaged plants last year too, but did not know what caused it. This year I have more goldfinches visiting, so there is more damage.

Goldfinches seemed an unexpected cause of shreaded leaves. Thank you for playing my guessing game! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: You Tube Video

I would protect it in partial shade or shade and out of the wind for a couple days and make sure it doesn't dry out (but don't over-water, lamb's ear doesn't like too much water).

These are so tough. I pull stalks up and move them even in full sun. Water good and forget them. Plant where you want. They will perk up within a week.

Is the pic shown your house? or Is this a idea you were thinking of using. The pics looks like a walkway.

Your description sounds like you have a landscape of....
- you house needing foundation planting
- then there is pavers
- and next lawn.

Is that right?

Delosperma cooperi blooms from April to frost. I edged my front flower beds with it. Cuttings root in a week and bloom while rooting. Best edger I've ever seen!

I think that is the way it grows? I am not sure, but mine tends to flop and be a bit horizontal rather than like an iris and pointed toward the sun? if that makes sense. good idea to prune it as ken said to make it bushier, i may try that myself on one that i would like to be a bit smaller anyway. the others? well, i like that shape!

There's like a 17x25 feet area full of russian sage. I don't recall seeing one that is drooping. It's like 3 ft tall and 3 ft wide too.

I'll trim them tomorrow and bring them down all to 6 inches.

Thank you all for the feedback....here's more info to clarify...

These plants were fine for the last four years, well, they were young and growing into there mature size, but normal otherwise. This is the first spring these 2 have exhibited such unusual growth. They were transplanted 2 years ago, so perhaps I buried them deeper than I should have. I don't see the pips during winter, so maybe that is the case. I'm not sure it's weather related. We've had some cold overnights this spring here in my area of Maine, but the other hostas in the bed, including another S&S are looking normal. BTW, these hostas are all planted in a raised bed around a birch and some sort of conifer. I don't think we have voles.... what evidence would there be?

I guess the best thing to do is dig them up and see what's going on.

Sounds like vole damage.

I had this happen to a couple of my hostas and I am pretty sure it was voles. The roots were just gone. We do have vole tunnels visible on the edge of our lawn though.

Here is a link that might be useful: MO Botanical garden article on voles.

Hardy geraniums would be perfect for that spot! So would verbena!

Got some Delphinium, Astilbe and mulch... Gonna leave it for awhile and see how things do... Thanks for all the advice and suggestions!

Marquest - What's the perennial in the bottom right corner of your 4th pic? Looks like it's in a red pot and look like leaves similar to a geranium, but look at those colors! Is it a heuchera that I don't know about? Can't quite make it out!

funnthsun LOL no it is a geranium for the pots on my patio. It rolled over while I was taking the pic for v1rtu0s1ty so she could see the colors in the shade garden. It is not part of that garden. Sorry for the confusion.

The annabelle suggestion wasn't actually for full sun location (I realized that after the fact), but rather if you did have another area along that brick wall that offers shade, it would look spectacular - but again I'm a Wisconsinite and have no idea how this plant grows in your region.

Wow, I never thought about expanding this bed but I see your point. The house sits up on a hill so there isnt a whole lot of room to expand but I could certianly go a few feet. I assume you would then suggest I move most everything forward, to make room closer to the wall for taller, deciduous plantings. I am planning on moving the JM out further from the house in the fall and this will require expanding the bed anyway. Here is the walkway where I have 2 clematis on a trellis. They are just about to bloom.

I had a couple coneflowers with AY last year and were removed then. Now this year although none of the have bloomed yet because its early, some of my Ruby Stars are giant but seem to have twisted growth and no signs of buds. Please tell me I dont have to rip out another ten plants or so? Is this also aster yellows? Thanks.

Here is another pic showing strange foliage.

Thank you for the suggestions...and reading them, I am astonished at how many of these are lurking somewhere in my garden or allotment especially things like polemonium (I have a very lovely sterile long flowering one), various heucheras (like all of us), heaps of alchemilla and hellebores (obviously, once you get one!). Also, after a visit to a famous woodland garden last year, I came away with many little envelopes of seeds (thalictrums, many aconitum (including the subtle but delightful 'Ivorine'). Astilbes have never d9ne much in my sunny sandy soil but am thinking that I can go overboard on these and.....geum rivale, another genus lost to hopeless futility.
Oh, hepaticas..........if I ever found a buried hoard of treasure in the woods, I would be getting many of these most fabulous plants. A few years ago, I visited a hepatica nursery - you know, those terribly expensive jewels from Japan - and practically had to be dragged away drooling and craving.
Another fail has always been primula so I am hoping to be able to establish many of the candelabra types (P.bulleyana, beesianum etc.)

Amazing how a few good ideas gets the brain cells activating again. Course, we are back at the woods this evening after several rainy days - where the weeds will have doubled in size - so must keep these ideas in mind and not despair at the seemingly hopeless task.

Little steps, one at a time, going forward.

Thanks guys.
Not entirely sure about the mexican pot, Marquest, but I really like the other one.

I know campanula it is about personal taste. I try to put some hardscape with color where I do not get sun to draw the eye into the dark areas.

The Mexican pots are dear to my heart because they were art pieces my daughter gave me for Mother's day and Birthdays. She knows my love of pots. If I need something to pump up the garden my go to solution is a distinct or conversation flower pot.