13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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.
Thanks mxk3. I think I have it located in the perfect location in terms of light and richness of soil.
But did you see that picture of SILVER HEART? I am looking forward to getting a couple of these this spring for our new very much shade garden.
There are several silvery/mottled Asarums. PDN likely have a few that would make it in your zone (I intend to get A. splendens myself...someday, lol). Should do fine in dryish conditions.
Might look too similar to Heuchera, but Tellima grandiflora 'Forest Frost' is perfect for dry shade and much easier to grow. I don't have that cultivar, but LOVE the species.
There are some Polygonatums with silver. 'Silver Striped Selections' (rather $$ I imagine) and I think silver-burnished 'Silver Wings'.
Actaea pachypoda 'Misty Blue' has silvery-ish foliage. Wasn't all impressed with it at the nursery, but it would likely look much nicer in an actual garden setting.
Probably not what you were looking for since they go summer dormant, but Cyclamen herifolium and coum can have nice silver/mottled foliage.
Don't grow this myself but...Leucosceptrum 'Silver Angel'. Does best in moist soil, but I have heard some grow these in dryish areas okay.
CMK
This post was edited by christinmk on Thu, Feb 28, 13 at 15:19
Ken, Wiki has an excellent primer on variegation.
Bugs arn't a huge issue for me. Some trees here need chemicals to get rid of them (especially in bad years), but for the most part I don't worry about them on plants.
Disease is my worst enemy. Maybe it is the climate- seems ever couple years some plant is "comming down" with some weird-as* disease I have to figure out. Virticillium wilt on Aconitum and what I am almost certain was an unusual case of anthracnose on a Eupatorum/Conoclinium were my latest. I really liked both them, but there isn't any sence in keeping an infected plant around that is likely to spread it to othes ;-P
I usually give a plant a second season to see if it was "faking" illness or if it is something real before chucking it out.
CMK
pattyw5 wrote: Montrose White was about 18" h but a good 3ft. wide.
That is disappointing. I was excited about using this flowerifeous well behaved plant with the often 'advertised' size of around 1 ft by 1.5 ft; much more compact as compared to other Calamints.
But 3 feet in spread is too big for what I have in mind.
If you're talking about some species of Carex, be warned! Not all are well behaved. The unknown species I had (variegated) started out very nice, but after a few years it really started to get out of control and was spreading everywhere. Not only did it spread by short underground runners, it self-sowed. I finally decided to dig it out and a shovel would not penetrate the root mass. I ended up using a hatchet to chop it out of the ground in pieces. After sifting through the soil to remove any pieces of root, I thought I was done with it. Not so. For at least a couple of years, small plants would reappear in the spring as well as the self-sown seedlings.
I doubt you're going to have problems dividing your plant. These things are tough.
Kevin
Not all Japanese sedge - Carex morrowii ctvs. - are created equal :-) 'Ice Dance' is definitely a runner (politely labled rhizomatous) and can expand to a significant planting in not much more than a season two. 'Variegata', 'Aureovariegata', 'Gold Band' or 'Gilt' all tend to be much more clumping in habit. The lesser know Japanese sedges - C. oshimensis and dolichostacya - also tend to be clumpers as well.
FWIW, these are all considered "cool season" grasses, producing the bulk of their growth in spring and fall, even to some degree through winter in mild climates like mine. Dividing should be done as early in the year as possible.
I wish the Chipmunks would go away. Every year there are more and more and more. A master gardener friend told me to put gumballs out for them. They love them but cannot disest them............. I can't bring myself to drowned them.
I put milky spore down -broadcast- about 1 acre. It made a HUGE difference in the population. I can't say that there have been other environmental issues that would have had a great impact on them. -I put it down about 5-6 years ago, backyard only (cost/test). -All my plants are pretty much in the backyard. Even though it is pricey, one application lasts for so many years/
GC
Well, last year the Japanese Beetles came late -- I thought maybe they forgot about us like the mosquitoes did but they did arrive in late July. I sprayed them with 'Bug Stop' by Spectricide and I never saw such a good result with any other killer! I only had to spray them once and didn't see them again.
We had no rain, however to wash it off the leaves but my perennial Hibiscus was not bothered and neither were the fruit trees.
I have at least five or six different lamiums. Everything from Pink Pewter to Lemon Frost for the shade and Anne Greenway for the Heucheras. As stated above tear them up and keep them moist until they root. A little goes a long way as long as you don't want instant gratification. All they need is time.
I have lots also and divide them to get extras every spring. They are so easy to root. I especially love 'Whlite Nancy" and mine are all in full sun. I think the taller perennials give them all the shade they need.
IMHO this is the ideal ground cover!!!!
Even by tissue culture, propagation is a slow process; hence the higher prices. BUT you should be able to pick up gallons anywhere from $12-$20 depending on variety and nursery. Of course, dark-leaved varieties are slower growing.
General info:
The plants formerly known as Cimicifuga are typically later bloomers, get huge, and have seed pods as opposed to berries. They like some afternoon shade, but should be in a bright location with some direct morning or evening sun. They are typically woodland edge/savana plants. They don't want to be dry, but I don't find them to be water hogs once they're established either. Treat them like most plants and the'll be fine. They can tolerate full sun with extra water. I highly recommend A. 'Black Negligee' as it has been the fastest growing dark-leaved variety I've tried.
Actaea pachypoda, rubra, and a few others are the baneberries. I often see 'Misty Blue' being listed without its species name; it is a form of A. pachypoda. A. pachypoda gets white berries in summer. A rubra gets red berries, though there are white-berried populations. A. nigra is european and gets black berries. They are spring blooming woodland plants and tolerate shade very well. They all have white flowers followed by berries, either red, white, or black. All berries are poisonous. I find them growing here in maple/beech forests, which tend to be very dark. They get 2-3' tall depending on species and variety. A. pachypoda tends to be taller and more upright @ 2'-3', A. rubra is more bushy and shorter and closer to 18"-24". Best bet for success is rich soil with lots of organic matter and even moisture. Some morning sun is good for vigor, especially with A. rubra, but afternoon sun should be avoided. Currently the only one I'm aware of being vegetatively produced with any regularity is 'Misty Blue'. The rest are either seed grown (and fairly expensive- it takes up to 2 year to germinate the seed and another 5-7 years to be a salable plant) or wild collected. Wild collected material should be avoided unless you can certify it came from a construction site rescue. Plant to pay $10 or more for 4.5" quart pots for A. rubra, somewhat less for A. pachypoda as it's a bit faster growing.
Both groups are easy to grow, but require some patience.
The Plant Geek
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Good drainage and crumbly, well aerated, really good woodland soil is best. Too soggy/wet in winter and spring can rot them if they aren't yet established, and soaking wet around the crowns in summer can rot them too. Better to let them wilt a little before watering, but then again, too much water makes them wilt quickly too as the roots have rotted and they can't take up moisture again. They also won't tolerate really compacted soil which may cause them to not flower.
I grow both Cimicifuga (I refuse to call them Actaea quite yet) and Actaea and they both seed about a lot. Atropurpurea is my tallest at 6 to 7 feet with amazing flowers in the fall. White Pearl flowered too late for me to enjoy before a hard freeze. The dark leaf varieties color best in bright sunlight up until noon, but also grow fine in the shade. My soil has a lot of organic matter so it drains well, and I don't water these but once or twice a week through the summer.
Chris
This post was edited by ctopher_mi on Sun, Feb 24, 13 at 17:20
hey Gal ....
discussing ambient moisture.. as you know is very hard ...
in my mind.. the greatest difference between the PNW.. and MI ... is that after rain.. in july/august.. i go back near 90 degrees ... whereas.. IN MY HEAD ... i picture the PNW.. staying cloudy and much cooler ... i sear i have had rain counted in inches.. and a day or two later.. the and is bone dry ...
its not always about volume or water dropped ..... but how long the moisture .. lets say.. hangs around ... there is nothing like a nice rain.. followed by many hours of bright clouds but no water sucking direct sun.. IF that makes any sense .... it give plants the time to access what was provided ....
then the polar opposite would be .. the cold of winter.. but arent talking about that ...
i would hazard a guess.. our spring/fall are pretty close ... its just that you are much more temperate.. and within that definition.. is the fact.. that the extremes of your seasons.. are NOTHING like the extremes of my seasons ..
i mean really ... isnt much of the PNW actually north of me [near toledo OH ]... yet you are zones higher than us.. whats that all about.. darn heat sink of a puddle.. lol.. the ocean ......
so many questions.. so little thyme.. lol.. see what i did there. ...
ken
Here is a link that might be useful: 
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.