13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Funnthsun,
Just recently my husband was telling me about some rainbow leukothoe that he saw that were very colorful and beautiful, so that's definitely something to look into. Last year I planted 3 brookside geraniums to the left of the giant bush we are considering moving. I will be interested to see how they do this year. Is there a difference in shade tolerance between the brookside and cranesbill?

Thank you both for the help!

Brookside and Rozanne are similar in most respects, including shade tolerance. The main difference is zone. You and I are both in 7b and that is the edge of Brookside, but Rozanne is rated to 8b, so a little more room there. I would say if Brookside doesn't come back for you or doesn't show enough heat tolerance, you may want to give Rozanne a go.

Rouge, regarding 'Phenomenal' --- it looks like just the sort of plant anyone would want/need if they had a large open field or back garden with lots of sun, kind of like your original photo. That certainly is a "WOW" plant!

Well, that is great to hear! Hopefully, my regular Anouk will do as well as the Silver, then. Perfect. Now, to find a great big spot for the Phenomenal...I wonder if the neighbor will notice the new rather large plant straddling the property line? :)

I know I am in the minority here but last year was it's third year in my garden and so far I've been seriously underwhelmed by it. I'm hoping it shows me some reason to keep it this summer. I'm starting to think it should have been called Emperors New Clothes.

I may not have a photo of it. I will look though.

Compost: homemade, spread everywhere it will cover, veggie patch and very new beds are priority.

I never fertilize perennials.

Hi CMK, I think it's pretty widely accepted that hot composting is better than cold. It doesn't kill any nutrients (not sure where you'd get that idea) though it does kill pathogens and weed seeds, especially if you can get it good and hot for a good long time. It also is a much faster process, so you can make a lot more compost in the same amount of space. It does help to have a strong back to turn it, but turning it will make and keep your back strong. :)

I use a bit of organic fert here and there, for veggies and annuals, in potted plants, on my tiny bits of lawn, and often when I transplant. But mainly I topdress with compost several times a year. It keeps down weeds and feeds the soil. After many years of this, my soil is very rich and my plants get huge. I make most of the compost that I need, but I supplement it with the occasional pick up truck load, which I haul myself and costs about $15 for a half cubic yard.

Molie, I am curious as to how high up your "Rebecca" reaches on your wonderful arbor.

@Rouge: by October Rebecca made it to the top of the lattice and Candid reached the top piece of the arbor.

Actually, looking again at this photo again, I can see the tiny Wisteria we planted on the right --- kind of on a tripod of sticks. By late fall it had crossed over a few feet onto the top piece. So hopefully the Clematis and Wisteria will meet this year.

And a later closeup

This post was edited by boday on Sun, Mar 3, 13 at 9:40

I second the coleus suggestion. They come in hundreds of varieties with fabulous colors that are even more beautiful than some flowers. And they last all season with no dead heading. Can be grown in containers or the ground. And I'm finding them very easy to over winter as simple cuttings in water. Good luck.

Martha

You described me exactly. I always say I am going to change but it hasn't happened yet.

So true...and very funny/clever. :)

I have a New Bradford pear and don't have any trouble growing anything under it. Maples are a different story, but can be a success story. Have posted many times about planting under maples - and no, removing the tree was NOT the solution... Board search should yield lots of posts re: planting under trees. :0)

An occasional foliar feed for the understory plants would help them compete with the pear tree.

Hi Folks: Just jumped in to many forums to break up the winter boring days. Storm here today. I have not tried winter sowing, but was wondering how successful is this technique as to the fact that do the plants started from seeds bloom true to the plants they were collected from. I was told before that in order to have a success in getting more plants that will bloom true you really need to take plant divisions form the original plant. Does anyone know which plants will come back true from seed?

Some will, some will be close but most won't. But it sure is lots of fun and just think, you could get something much better than the mother plant! Well, you could! So it sure can't hurt to try this method. Or, you could buy hybrid seeds and start them with this method if you want to be sure of getting something that looks just like the package.

Excellent boday!

GW member scottyboipdx also has wonderful Astrantia.

(Btw, it appears that your "Roma" is part of a quite large garden plot? How big is this garden?)

Vanishing Astrantia, Monarda Raspberry,Filipendula Venusta, sans Echs, Eupatorium

Hi there! I just came across this discussion because I have a similar problem with an unsightly fence -- and more - next door. In my case, I need something tall and broadleaf to block a view that the douglas firs we planted will eventually block... in about five or six years! I'm thinking of using a hardy Southern Magnolia. If you are right about the abutter having the right to plant a vine on a neighbor's chain link fence, I may consider a Major Wheeler honeysuckle which stays evergreen in zone 6.

I wanted to mention, since the subject of invasive plants has been raised, that in the case of Burning Bush or other invasive plants, what makes them invasive is not necessarily that they will sprout up elsewhere on your own property. Many aggressive plants that are also native will do that but they are not considered invasive. What happens with invasive plants, e.g. non-native escapees, is they sprout up in nearby woodlands and roadsides where no one is around to weed them and so they reproduce without any natural controls on them. I have three haggard looking winged eunonymous shrubs growing in my wooded backyard along with escaped Japanese honeysuckle, wineberry, Oriental Bittersweet and mulitiflora rose. There are a couple of Japanese barberry and a Japanese holly back there too. In recent months, I've also been fighting an English Ivy invasion. These invasions are all the result of seeds that either traveled by wind or bird poop into our yard from neighbors' houses in the past twenty years. I intend to weed them all out, but I'm dealing with the worst first: the honeysuckle. Japanese honeysuckle happens to be allelopathic and actively prevents other plants from growing with it. It will also grow in deep shade! By the way, what grows from seed is not the beautiful cultivated variety of the plants I mentioned, it's the weedier looking species variety! If you ever take a walk around the Six Mile Run Reservoir area in NJ in the fall, you'll see pale pink winged euonymous shrubs growing all over the place in the woods, displacing native plants. We can't always see the harm we are doing by planting invasive plants in our gardens. But others get to see it, and the natural environment suffers. Just thought I'd bring it up. I live in a part of NJ that suffers greatly from invasives and it's so hard to keep fighting the good fight. I just found out the arctic kiwi vines I planted last fall are invasive in NJ so now I have to rip them out. How I hate to take the life of a plant : (

I would 2nd the Arborvitae 'Emerald Green' - I have a row of them separating the view from my kitchen window and the next door neighbor's porch and back yard where they are quite active. They make an excellent, tall narrow privacy screen. In my experience, they don't grow particularly fast though.

I am developing mixed borders, roughly 15-20 feet wide along both borderlines of my yard. They are a mix of evergreen and deciduous plants, mostly native shrubs and small trees, but a few are large trees too.

I would be happiest if I didn't see or hear the neighbors at all! I fantasize about a big fence down both sides. That's just not going to happen, so this is the best option until I can move to a more remote location.

Lamium grows well in zone 3 depending on snow cover. Once established, it'll come back quickly from any winter kill. I'm ankle deep with five or six varieties. Any perennials need a bit of nurture their first year - moisture for root development. After that Lamium can be ignored and enjoyed.

Have several different lamiums in my gardens in partial shade and they do well year after year. I even have to pull many to contain them. Don't know about this Spring since we have had little snow cover.