13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
If you have the time to uncover them for morning sun (at night, I suppose) then I would let them have some sun in the early morning hours- then cover them by 9 or 10. You'll want to water them daily probably anyway- so the paper needs to come off for that.
I agree about watering the whole bed--- the surrounding dry soil will suck the water away from your plants otherwise.
This post was edited by lola-lemon on Wed, May 1, 13 at 22:46
Those are all great ideas everyone! I did make some shade out of some tomato cages and fabric. I have watered them pretty good too. They seem to be coming back for me. I think it's supposed to be overcast here the next few days, so we'll see how they continue to do. I will keep everyone updated.
My thoughts were similar to Kevin's. In particular, climbing hydrangea (which is a great plant) can get 30 or 40 feet tall and would definitely cause problems with any wires.
There is a variegated vine, Silvervein creeper, Parthenocissus henryana, related to but not as vigorous as Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia. It is only hardy to zone 6, and I am not sure how that compares to Canadian zones.
Major Wheeler, a selection of the native honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens, is really nice, but is a stem twiner, not like Parthenocisus and Hydrangea which have sort of suction cups, so I am not sure how it would work with your arbor. It is fully hardy here.
Do you mean literally sold by Amazon or sold by a third party through Amazon? I don't think Amazon sells plants straight from them, but I could be wrong. It's probably a third-party seller, which means Amazon is just the middle man.
I've purchased plants from Amazon with success, although I know most are leary about it. The main rule of thumb is to make sure the seller has LOTS of good feedback, then I would be comfortable with the transaction. The hidden gem with Amazon that most people overlook is that they have the best customer service on the planet. Customer is always right with them, they will back you all the way. That makes me feel better when dealing with a third-party seller, knowing Amazon will take good care of me if there is an issue.
I just bought Glow Girl Spireas and Annie's Magic Ball Arborvitaes from Amazon with a third-party seller in January. Plants are doing great, all except one Glow Girl, who has been listless since breaking dormancy. I sent the seller a pic, they immediately refunded me and told me to process a new purchase so that they could get a replacement plant out to me. I was pleasantly surprised, b/c this seller didn't have such great reviews, but I took a chance b/c I couldn't find glow girls anywhere else for anywhere near that price. I felt safe doing that with Amazon, though. I could have purchased straight from the seller's website, they are an online nursery, but I wanted that extra coverage since their feedback was average.
Hope that helps!
CMK, I didn't realize it had dark foliage too, it is very attractive! Thanks for the photo of it.
On that epimedium link I posted, at the top of the page, it has a link to Darrell Probst for more info. If you click on it you will see an email pop up addressed to Karen Perkins, Garden Vision Epimediums. I know that is a little confusing, but they were once married and then divorced and he now does coreopsis breeding and she kept the epimedium business. If you email her, you can either order off that page, or she will send you a catalog.
They have some expensive plants, but also some very reasonable prices. Have no idea about the shipping to the West Coast though. They are in New England. I just ordered herbs from Oregon and the shipping was $13. Brother. I don't do that often, I hate to pay shipping too.
Good luck!
"...After all it'll be a mason who lays the stone not a landscaper...."
I wouldn't rely on that assumption if I were using a landscaper. Obviously, it depends on the company you hire and any reputable landscaping company should indeed have a mason doing the work, but again, I wouldn't just assume that.
we worked as landscapers for 10 years but my partner was a time-served builder so yes, I agree, there are many 'landscapers who are either fencers, designers, slab-layers or pergola and arch installers, even just basic garden maintenance - things such as paths are basically not that difficult, but diggerdee is absolutely right, structural things such as retaining walls, steps, (and, I would argue having seen the 5 dabs of mortar method too many times) patio or hard-standing areas require someone who really knows what they are about and will offer a 5 year guarantee.
We would call these people bricklayers in the UK and many are subcontracted by reputable landscapers unless they have the skills to take this on.
Thanks Linda for the update and good for you.. My BBush is still not showing :(. And of the 6 AApricot there *might* be 2 that show some very small leaves at the base. I say "might" as this planting is part of a natural setting ie lots of weeds and grasses all around.so I might be seeing spring growth of weeds.
I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for you, rouge21. It is still early. I remember one year that a butterfly bush did not put out any new growth until late in May. I had given up hope but it came through for me. I hope to read soon that you have new leaves on both plants. Good Luck,
Linda
Ha ha! Thanks Danny. I've moved on from Preen, and now I'm stressing over putting mulch on my garden before all of the plants have poked their noses up. It takes forever for my mallow, my balloon flowers, and my speedwell to show up, and I'm afraid I'll smother them if I mulch them now. So instead I'm dumping compost on them.
I think too many people are over sensitive. I think of the forums as a conversation not as a classroom where one only gets the answer to a question without the comments individuals make from their experiences and according to their personalities. All of these make for a more interesting interaction. That said, I see nothing wrong with Ken's postings.
Preen, I've occasionally considered using it but for all the above reasons I do not. Shredded leaves are my preferred mulch because leaves are plentiful for me. After the first year it is simply a mater of adding to the mulch as needed. There are still a few weeds here and there in unmulched areas which I pull whenever I see them as I am taking my stroll amongst the flower beds and doing deadheading.
This looks to be a variety of (or the same) cut-leafed Hibiscus acetosella that's been around for a long time.
H. acetosella is a great foliage accent plant (flowers are inconspicuous and may appear too late in the season for northern growers), amenable to pruning to maintain size and shape and easily reproducible from cuttings. Give it full sun (I don't know about water culture) and it's easy to grow.
I was wondering the same about heucherella. My heuchera heave in the winter--even young plants and start off in the spring looking quite mangled. I try to reposition as best as possible.. Palace Purple does better than the caramel colored ones I have tried. I have some heuchera with fairly non descript leaves but long lasting red flowers that also grow better than the varieties with highly colored foliage. Tiarella, on the other hand, starts off looking great in early spring and goes on to provide a long spring display of the foamy white flowers which tend to look good with red tulips (tulips were eaten by deer this year though do I need to rethink that. I was wondering if the heucherella combined the clumping growth habit if Tiarella with the foliage coloration of heuchera.
Most of the hardy hibiscus I find around here gets 8-10 feet tall and has a woody stem. And the poor people at Lowes who are buying them just think they look pretty and will probably plant them six inches off the foundation of their houses. At least that's the impression I get from watching them :)
I finally found some Lunas at a farmer's market, and even the woman there who I inquired to they had no idea what I was talking about - that any hardy hibiscus could only be 2.5 ft. tall. I'm with you - I don't understand why nobody seems to know about them. I got two - a swirl and a red. They were only a dollar each, and about six inches tall but growing fast. I'm sure they will be lovely. They did get a bit chewed up when I first put them in the ground, and I had to break out a little bit of sevin, but all is well now. I haven't tried the disco belles, but so far I think the Lunas are great!
I do wish they'd figure out a Luna (or any smaller, hardy variety, in a bright yellow, though!
Well what was left of the 1 Sunrise has been eaten by voles. 2 of the 3 original Summer Sky are hanging on, but I am again dismayed at how quickly they fade out.
It is true Linlily, that these plants have done okay for a few people, and that there is a long list of other species' fancy cultivars that have failed for me too. IMO, the rate of failure of the new Echinaceas is too high to justify the expense. I don't plan on buying any more of them until (maybe) they have proven their staying power.
In the meantime, my seedlings of Echinacea Pow Wow Wild Berry, Primadonna White, and Bravado are overall doing very well. We'll see how they do - it's kind of an experiment, but a lot less expensive one than buying plants.
Thanks much!
-Molie, I think that is 'Marmalade' Heuchera behind the Tiarella- it's the longest lived one I've tried, along with Palace Purple. I planted the tulips/muscari/iris combo because I love blues, whites, and yellows together. Had no idea the base of the tulip would match the iris so well though!
-Ech, I lost the tag to those Iris years ago, but I'm fairly sure they are I. pallida 'Variegata'. I'm not sure about the difference between the white vs. yellow variegation either. Half the pics online of the variegated pallida show more white-ish while the others are more yellow. I seem to recall mine start out more yellow and then turn creamy toward summer.
-fun, I LOVE that lavender/golden conifer combo. I'm a bit envious that you can grow Spanish lavender perennially. It is so much more attractive than the L. angustifolia types imo...
CMK
funnthsun, I like that story. I purchased a BS last year because I am putting together a dead zone garden. Everything I put in that bed dies. I have put homemade compost, lots of Fall leaves for 2 years but everything seemed to die.
It is next to the driveway and I think it is the salt that is being shoveled into that bed. But what comes back is old Hosta Lancifolia and the blood sorrel. I am Okay with that at least something is coming up with color. LOL