13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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.
Buyorsell, thank you so much! Wonderful information. Also thanks for the amazon link. It never occurred to me that the same stuff they give you in packets comes in a large size.
I'm having a hard time finding the article I read but i know I'm not crazy. I expect it was likely more to do with the foliage than the flower. I'll keep looking.
I appreciate everyone's help!
I believe that I have read that when you have a very young peony, it is not good to cut the flowers, probably because you will also remove too much of the foliage, which the young plant needs to grow bigger. However, with a mature plant, or at least one that is a few years old, it should not be an issue.
In my climate, it's wonderful - evergold, happy in part shade and liking our typically moist soils.Not sure it would perform the same in all climates and may not look its best at the lower part of its range, especially after winter or a long, hot & dry summer.
Well I have never much gotten into Pansies, but I was out yesterday and passed a public planting with the prettiest pastel pansies - pale yellow, pink, and lavender. I am used to the much stronger colors in Pansies? But I'm a sucker for pastels - and decided on the spot that I MUST check the local nursery for some of these pastel pansies.
Do Pansies reseed? I know that Johnny Jump ups will spread around.
I knew he would ask....
The tree on the right is a Ginkgo, one of a pair I found languishing in the back lot of a local nursery a couple of years ago on discount. They are flanking the walkway as shown in the attached picture. The two bare spots on the lawn are pink peonies.
The gravel is the parking area beside the roadway, and the roadway is in sorry shape because they have been replacing the sewers across the street. Next year the road gets repaved.
As for the light, the pole is set in concrete and nice and straight, but maybe 6' to the very tip of the spire. My plan is to raise it so the light is about 8' off, build a special mount, and replace it with the two pictured in the next post once I refinish them. They match the lights already on the house, but are a bit fancier, which I think will fit the house better. Eh?
Thanks!
vince
Hosta 'Gold Edger' 'Heavenly Tiara' 'Grand Tiara' 'Lemon Lime' the list of hostas that are all yellow or yellow variegated is pretty long....
Geranium 'Ann Folkard'
Dicentra 'Spring Gold' or 'Gold Heart'
Golden creeping Jenny though this can be aggressive
Scotch Moss
Sagina subulata 'Aurea'
Centaurea 'Gold Bullion' perennial bachelor's buttons
Bergenia 'Lunar Glow'
Brunnera 'Diane's Gold'
Corydalis 'Berry Exciting'
A word on Ann Folkard: I also live in zone 5a/6, tried AF twice (at least 4 plants in different gardening seasons) and she did not survive. Although word is she's hardy here, she didn't get the message and just peters out in two seasons.
Thanks, everyone. If you happen to have pictures that would be helpful as well.
Your ideas for blues reminded me I have three colbalt blue pots of different sizes. I fell asleep thinking about them filled with "Sweet Tea" . Maybe edged with black Mondo Grass.
What could I use for height?
One reason for my failure of imagination is that it is still "mid-early" spring here in E. MA and there really isn't anything flowering but bulbs.and emerging foliage. Placed on the still mostly bare ground the foliage is blinding.
I have about 8 h."Caramel" which also came through the winter beautifully. But there's enough browns and softer tints that they are easier on the eye.
Idabean.
Been there done that. And wouldn't do it again with the exception of very expensive plants, plants that are quite difficult to find, or plants that have sentimental value.
I have one (one!) plant left from all the plants I moved from my other house years ago. The conditions at my other house were different that the conditions here - exposures, type of soil. Plus, I realized that by taking stuff with me I was limiting my creativity - I think it's better to start with a clean slate and design a garden with anything I want to instead of being limited by guilt because I already have it.
So, for me it just isn't worth the labor and aggravation, although I would take a few items that had sentimental value or hard to find or very expensive, as I mentioned above. Common plants aren't that expensive and are readily available in my area.
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.