13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
plant them ... its not even June yet ...
crikey.. up here in MI.. i havent even planted my tender annuals yet.. and we had a frost last week ..
and what.. you think summer is over... lol ...
you are worrying too much ... if you can shade them for a few days.. maybe just a lawn chair.. for them to get the roots pumping before blistering sun.. that might help ...even better if you can do it with a little rain or a few cloudy days ...
harden them off properly first.. if grown indoors ...
ken
I'll preface my comments by saying I have never grown an American wisteria - but do successfully grow both a Chinese and a Japanese wisteria as 'trees', and have read widely on wisterias in general. Peter Valder is considered one of the world's experts on them and his book on wisterias is the best thing I've seen (IMO there's a lot of nonsense written about them by people who've clearly never grown one successfully themselves!) Peter Valder (from Australia) appears not to have direct experience growing the American ones either but this is what he has to say about them:
'Flowering as they do on current year's growth, the American wisterias do not usually display their flowers well if grown on pergolas, though the long-racemed introductions of W. macrostachya may prove to be exceptions in this regard. In general, however, they are seen to best advantage against walls, around verandahs, over fences or as pillars on wooden or metal supports. Under these conditions they may be pruned to keep them within bounds at any time of year. However my experience with these plants is such that it would seem unwise of me to be dogmatic. I suspect, though, that two or three light prunings during the growing season may lead to greater floriferousness than a severe cutting back in autumn or winter.'
Aunt Dee is a W. macrostachya (macrostachya means 'long spikes') so is of the kind he's saying would be suitable for a pergola. It is generally said that the long-racemed types display best on pergolas or grown as 'trees' with tall trunks so the flowers have space to dangle freely - how tall is your pergola? Could someone pass under it when the wisteria is in bloom without brushing through the flower racemes? (bees love the flowers!)
Checking information on various US Extension university sites, pruning after the spring flowering is generally recommended. From my experience with wisterias, I'd say wait until spring flowering is over and them prune the whippy, curly new growth back into the desired framework as often as needed during the growing season to keep it neat and promote flowering. I suspect that even these 'new wood' flowering wisterias may develop the short woody spurs that bear a lot of the flowers. Pruning the new growth back regularly certainly promotes the development of those growths in the Asian wisterias so I'd guess that it would be good for the American ones too.
The other thing I'd be sure to do is to remove and seed pods that you see after the leaves fall and the pods become visible. You really don't want them to seed themselves around. That is probably as true for the American ones as it is for the Asian ones - and perhaps even more so as the American ones are said to be hardier and, one would assume, therefore more likely to germinate well from seed!
I bought Morden Sunset for my mother for her zone 3 garden. When she moved she took it with her as a container rose in zone 4. They always had good snow cover though.... still those 5 to 10 nights a year that it gets down to about 30 below are going to be brutal for some roses.
Victorian Memory (aka Isabella Skinner)- I've heard much about this rose. Does she climb for you? How far down do you need to prune?
Every so often someone wants a cold hardy climber and there is much discussion as to wether she can really climb in such cold climates. (She's a rebloomer!)
It sounds like you have done very well with your roses in zone 3!
My Victorian Memory might climb, I am not sure, I have never really tried to get her to do it. I do have to say that most years the most of the canes freeze out. I just trimmed her yesterday, there are only 2 canes that would be long enough to consider training. And of course they are on the wrong side, away from the tower. I usually mulch her too, but I don't get the tall canes! This last winter she suffered from a lot of rodent damage, which could be another reason they died.
I have to say though I love that rose! The scent is awesome, I just wish I had planted her in an area that was easier to access to smell her! I am going experiment this summer, and see if I can propagate some cuttings from her.
I have about 6 in front now. I purchased three new ones and plant in one area in the front. I had three in back that I moved and planted with the new three. This was in early summer probably. The new 3 did great last year where as the 3 I moved from the back yard just looked okay. They laid flatter on the ground and the flowers shot out in all directions (when they flowered finally). I moved them all AGAIN in the fall where they are today. They all look wonderful now and I even have seedlings springing up in the various places these plants had traveled to in the yard last year. Love it!
So.... my inclination would be that they'll bloom next year if they don't this year. Sometimes splitting and transplanting can hinder blooming for a season.
slugs eat the crap out of my salvia.
Put out saucers of beer and they will drown themselves in it --if they are the culprits.
Another trick I recently heard is to put the rind of half a cantaloupe in the dirt nearby (upside down, like a hut? ) and check it every day- apparently they will go hide there. (this advice was given by someone in a very very dry climate..... possibly won't work in normal humid gardens).
dig it back up.. put it back in the pot.. and put it in full shade for a few weeks.. and see if you can save it???
a top dressing of mulch.. will defeat the dryness of the surface of your soil .. the inherent blackness of the soil is retaining heat.. and on some level.. perhaps.. cooking the plants
why just this one.. i dont know.. because i didnt see its root mass at planting ...
ken
Looks like sedum kamtschaticum it behaves For me in bone dry soil. Given any moister look out I've had it root just throwing it on top of the ground. Still have it in a place or two. I don't let it flower any more and keep it trim. My vote is more weed than plant.
You are right 'funn' i.e. this will be the first summer of these two being in full sun.
(The picture below shows 2 SE alternating with 3 Campanula "Freya" (along the front very sunny edge))
This post was edited by rouge21 on Tue, May 28, 13 at 18:01
Thanks 'Patty'. The original picture I think you are referring to is part of a very small quite narrow garden plot. I think it is maybe 18" wide by about 12 feet. And yet I really love this area of our property. It really is possible to make an appealing selection and grouping of plants in a surprisingly small area.
Rainwashed green out there this morning. I love this time of year - everything just sparkles!
(Mind you, the tree peonies were just starting to open yesterday in the front garden.... always a recipe for rain to come and trash the flowers!)
How about some pictures? My favorites I got in trades, so only know the name of one. I have a lovely rich pink blooming right now. Never floppy. I've had it for maybe 3 years and it is almost 2 feet wide! One with a really unique flower form is Lily Lowell. The rationale of the cranebill name is obvious on that even while the flower is just starting.
Used to have Brookside in back of a semi circle of coreopteris the dark purple blue blooms of brookside would fall into the silvery foliage of the coreopteris. Geez that was gorgeous. The geranium made it appear as thou the bush bloomed all season. There were also three tall slender Indian Sioux grass behind. After about three years the coreopteris couldn't take the moisture any more. Now I do as another poster and plant the sprawlers with rose bushes. A plus during JB season when the geranium is blooming in the rose bush.
Slugs or snails? If you aren't seeing pests in the daytime, go out after dark with a flashlight and look, then you will know which pest you are targeting and what the appropriate product would be. Please don't guess, and spray first, identify later - it's best to know what you are dealing with before buying and applying a product.
I am one happy camper! Blooming has begun. They are purple and white. Really really pretty. Re-seeding is a wonderful thing.
Yep it is a wonderful thing. My purple ones come back every year and they seed in the pots next to them under them and around them.