13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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: 
72 hours of twitchy, half-blind paranoid hallucinatory anxiety.
==>> sounds like my teenager.. on a NORMAL day ... lol
well campy.. that story gets the gold star of the day ...
sounds like it sums up that old Grateful Dead mantra: what a long, strange trip its been
all the things you peeps are talking about are annuals in MI ...
ken
Here is a link that might be useful: Sometimes the lights all shinin on me; Other times I can barely see. Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip its been.
Hippie druggies not withstanding (haha), moonflower is usually grown as an annual. Datura could be also. Doubt very much if it was brugmansia, tho that could be grown in a greenhouse and brought out in the summer. One point: datura flowers are upright, while brugs hang down. Moonflower is also upright, and opens up in the evening. On a cloudy day, they could be open until nearly noon.
Never tried jimson weed myself. The idea scared hell out of me, pretty toxic. Ha never smoked pot either. I missed that whole hippie free love thing. I was busy raising kids while that was going on.
Sandy
hmmm, named varieties of aquilegies, apart from the species and oddities such as the Barlow varieties are always on a doomed trip to general cross-pollinated randomness. They are so promiscuous, unless you go to all that bagging and isolating business, most special types will soon interbreed and lose their specific charms.
Too many busy bees (keeping foxgloves white - another doomed attempt at control).
hmmm, named varieties of aquilegies, apart from the species and oddities such as the Barlow varieties are always on a doomed trip to general cross-pollinated randomness. They are so promiscuous, unless you go to all that bagging and isolating business, most special types will soon interbreed and lose their specific charms.
Too many busy bees (keeping foxgloves white - another doomed attempt at control).
Actually there are very few dark leaved plants that are truly for the shade. Heuchera, Actaea, Rodgersia, etc all will lose color without some sun. They shadier it is, the greener they will be. Also, most of the darker-leaved plants will lose vigor in shade as well.
And as stated already, there is the color contrast thing. Want to make a yellow Hosta pop? Back it with blue-green (Kirengeshoma comes to mind), plant something fine textured and dark or medium green to the sides (maybe Chasmanthium latifolium), and front it with dark-leaved Heuchera (obsidian, gotham, etc). That one yellow hosta will nearly hurt your eyes.
The Plant Geek
www.confessionsofaplantgeek.com
www.botanophilia.com
www.facebook.com/botanophilia
I suspect that the tall variety you have is hardy ageratum, Eupatorium coelestinum, and its arrival in your yard doesn't have anything to do with having planted annual ageratum.
In my garden hardy ageratum spreads/reseeds some, but the excess is easy to remove. I see complaints from deep South gardeners about its invasiveness, so apparently it can behave more aggressively there.
There's a few streets in my area lined with Bauhinia purpea. They look amazing for a month or so, especially in the wet years, but (like redbud) are rather nondescript otherwise. Still, a very well behaved street tree -- no sidewalk cracking, massive pollen loads, bug infestations or rampant invasiveness.
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