13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

my C wander about ... with underground stems ... making me think.. they might not be good pot plants ...

mine are also .. in the ground.. sand ... and after the year of planting.. never watered nor fert'd .... and in near full bright shade ...

on some level.. you may be loving it to death ...

no option of planting it in mother earth??? .. though this might not be the best time to do that ..

ken

I'm a renter and can not make changes to the outside landscape, so no Ken, I can not put it outside. I will try re-potting.

Wasn't the Cosmic series introduced by Daryll Probst and supposed to do better in zone 5 than the previous generation of disasters (whose name I forget but many people lost them in a season)

I thought "Ill believe when other people see it"

Interesting that idea of cutting off flower production in September. Can't be any worse than them

not showing up again in May.

Mercury Rising and Star Cluster have returned successfully for me in zone 5 Ontario for the last two (brutal) winters. Just impulsively purchased Heaven's Gate which I'm finding out now might not be as lucky. I'll be sure to follow the tip given above to better its chances.

Size matters, too. Our lawn is only the equivalent of about 250sq' (10' x 25'). It takes about 15 minutes per week for maintenance, including blowing off the patios. There probably would not be a noticeable difference in cost or time if it had other plant material considering how small it is. A large lawn would probably be a different story. This patch must stay lawn to serve its purpose though--fake grass, lawn substitutes or other material really would not do the job. Unfortunately, it is looking pretty brown now due to the water restrictions.

Cost is certainly an issue - filling in a huge area of soil with plants is an expensive business, especially if, like me. the sight of vast areas of inert mulch is anathema. Having a large acreage of woodland to manage, I have been speedily removing the nettles and brambles and quickly oversowing with shady grass seed to provide an area which is accessible, usable and, more to the point, prevents all those other plants (such as yet more brambles) getting too much of a toehold. Eventually, I will remove the grass to plant understorey and native wildflowers but grass provides a chance to sit and ponder...and given any lack of attempts at rolling, fertilising, watering, mowing or the usual twice yearly aerating and scarifying, the grass is considerably easier and cheaper to manage.

Glad you were gainfully occupied and not still miffed. You know the weeds were growing while you playing that game....They are worse than trolls and cyclops

I wasn't upset--just confused. Still am. Since I clearly stated I had just returned from a vacation, I cannot figure out what "mistakes" I made, or why I earned points for my "honesty".

Too hot and dry in SoCal for even the weeds to grow. ;) I wasn't heading out much because the temps have been in the 93-98F zone. Today it was overcast, with scattered sprinkles even. So I took a hike in a nearby wilderness park.

Yes, I'm still here but never saw this. It was great to hear from you and sorry for the belated reply. I'm not adding much to my garden these days--it is packed and mostly shady so I am limited in my options. But thanks so much for thinking of me. And hello to all my longtime friends here.

I am glad to see your name again....surely you have something to tell us! A packed garden may still be full of successes or problems you can fill us in on!

Marie (idabean)

Ah right, even more reason to stop watering and actually, I really have to disagree with the fertiliser too - the plant has finished its bloom cycle and really needs to be left alone to re-establish itself in it's own time. Agapanthus enjoy the constraints of a pot (they grow in well-drained and rocky soil). Adding too much water or food will simply encourage lots of leafage and no flowers. I can only speculate that the plant was already in blooming mode when transplanted because it is very common for these to sulk for a season without initiating any new flower scapes. It may even not flower next season whilst it rebuilds a vigorous root mass. Even so, these are surprisingly tough and yours will recover with no intervention from you - they do not appreciate pampering and are much like husbands - treat them mean to keep them keen.

Sun scorch. I live in southern CA, and this happens to some agapanthus species when we get those sudden hot spells. They tend to grow out of the damage ok here.

I live in Wyoming and have just planted my first Penstemon plants in well draining pots, in full sun, by my front door. They were in full bloom when I planted them. The flowers are drooping and the leaves are starting to turn yellow. Help!

Transplant shock and maybe dryness.

Have to try to be firm when faced with "clearance sales".

At least, however, gardeners can recognize and avoid Trojan horses. A couple of year back, I was asked for advice from a person who'd apparently bought out a clearance sale with the intent of establishing a mixed perennial garden. I've never seen such a collection of trouble, the worst single thing being the goutweed for the edging.

Nah, it's all downhill from now on into winter. Once that midsummer peak was passed...It is definitely a descent into chaos at mine, when the obvious rididculousness of 'maintaining' 3 separate gardens, separated by miles, in a state of woeful delusion can no longer be held at bay by means of selective vision or wild optimism. Contemplating the blackcurrants (and feeling despair at the inevitable hours of picking (why did I need 12 bushes and how did I fail to prune them enough to prevent every branch from lying on the ground), the vast swathe of somewhat shrivelled strawberries - I failed to halt the rampaging runners last year and my neat rows are now a tangled mat of millions of (much smaller) strawberries, I had the first horrible premonition that unless the entire summer was spent on my knees furiously hand weeding, I would be wheeling out the first of many excuses for future fails, thereby ensuring I will be in this exact place and state, this time next year.

One thing to consider is what zone you live in. In hot climates, many full sun plants actually require some shade for some part of the day. If you are in a northern zone, I don't know how well they would do, but if you are in the south, 4 hours of sun should be enough. I grew pink coneflowers in nothing more than dappled shade in zone 7 Oklahoma where summers are ridiculously hot and they grew and bloomed fine - that is, until a gopher or mole dug, ate or otherwise destroyed the roots. Never tried hollyhocks.

My coneflowers bloom beautifully with about four hours of sun. Most of the light is more dappled shade to tell the truth. However, as Kez mentioned, that could be due to the hot summers here in the DC area.

I think the 'blue' is a result of a sort of waxy coating on the leaves changing how light is reflected. By mid to late summer it has usually melted/washed off and the hostas are much more of just a dark green. I planted a division of one of my big blue patio hostas at the foot of our driveway, where it gets more sun. That one has not developed the 'blue' color that the original one has. So light (and temperature...?) appears to matter. My big blue ones are supposed to be 'Elegans' and 'Bressingham Blue', although the folk on the hosta forum doubt that 'Elegans' is really 'Elegans'! I find the small hosta 'Halcyon' keep its blue the longest - in both sun and shade.

My bluest, H. sieboldiana 'elegans' 'Sum and Substance' in the background.

Annette

What a wonderful display....just reinforces my wish to have a wide variety of coneflowers in my garden. I wintersowed a few different varieties, and bought some this spring, in addition to the others that I had when I started my backyard garden project (digging up lawn, making alot of new beds!)

JUST BEAUTIFUL!

Thanks all. Katob... nice detective work on the bog and arundo stalks. I will post more photos of the garden..

I have three bogs for carnivorous plants... which during this time of year smells quite bad on a windless day. All the pitcher plants are filled with all sorts of bugs.

For the arundo... every year I cut them down... after getting halfway through just chopping them up for the compost... I think... " I should have done something with those!" ... so this year I made the arch. They become quite brittle though. One strike with the weeder and they shatter. The moon flower vines don't seem to be doing much so far... just sitting there as small sprouts at the base... so my plan to have them over the arch probably won't happen.

Thanks all for your responses and advice. On closer inspection I would tend to agree with leaf miner damage as well...I had a slight problem with it last year and looking back at pictures of my columbines it looks more like the classic squiggly line leaf miner patterns. Have trimmed off the affected foliage and removed it, may just let it finish flowering and trim the whole thing to the ground. Was so happy when it came back so strong this year and now devastation lol...oh well, it did flower beautifully

dsbirdwell, you might consider applications of neem oil, beginning early in the season. Neem won't kill the insects, but is very helpful in preventing them from laying their eggs in the first place. Neem is also an anti-feedant.

Be sure to read and follow the instructions when using neem oil, or any product.

did the yard get standing water in it before during similar rains?

I am sure the fabric isn't helping with getting some water to drain.... And I would also think that with the crushed stone under you new path that it would drain away a bit.

There's always rain gardens!!

What several have already said about digging up the plants in fall, removing the weed fabric, and adding soil/amendments as needed ... after correcting the drainage issue if necessary. Did water pool there before? If so, might there be compacted soil or a clay hardpan? You'll have to break through this to improve drainage. Also, since you're adding soil on the other side of the walk, make sure you're not going to be directing water towards your house.

Fall is actually the best time to plant. The air is cooler, the sun's rays weaker, putting less demand on the plants, but the soil is still warm, so encourages root growth.

With very few exceptions, plants (whether annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines, trees ... whatever) should always be planted at the same depth at which they had been growing. Their roots have developed at the proper depth to provide the water, oxygen and nutrients the plant needs. Changing the soil level will, at best, stress the plant, at worst, kill it. (Tomatoes are one notable exception. Since they have an abundance of adventitious buds in their stems that will produce roots, you can bury a goodly portion of the stem when planting, to encourage a larger root system.)

Maybe that's why the wasp decided on your geraniums. I'd cut open one of those galls and see if there's anything inside

1) It really doesn't look anything like the oak hedgehog gall. They are round and furry.

2) That wasp will not use geraniums as a host, no matter how close the geraniums are to the oak.

3) Looks like a gall from an erineum mite or other mite, but I can't find a picture of said galls on geranium, in particular.

I do think that these are galls, but I must say that I've never seen anything quite like it.

In Maine, I can almost set my watch by their arrival. Usually on the 4th of July, although I noted something nibbling on a rugosa rose last night, I didn't see any sign of the 'do-er'.

The devils are out there making lace out of my cherry tree.....I carry my little soapy water container whenever I go out, and flick them in. I have gotten about 15 off of the monardas, 1 or 2 off of the roses.

The butterfly is lovely!!