13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Patty -
There's an explanation of how to load more than one photo at a time into a message in the FAQ on the New England forum that dates from before there was to option to load a single photo into a thread. As others have said, though, you need to first upload your photos onto a web hosting site like Photobucket or Picasaweb and then copy and past the code from one to the other. I find it useful if I expect I will use a photo more than once.
Here is a link that might be useful: How to post photos in a thread FAQ
In late June/early July I planted a grouping of five on the other side of a Japanese maple - not directly underneath it - and under the shade canopy of a large, established sugar maple (about 10' from the trunk), which is the area I mentioned above. The soil is not great and on the drier side, but I do have sprinklers which hit the bed, so they did get supplemental water from the sprinklers, and I did hand-water occasionally just to be sure. I was going to go with three shrubs, but a grouping of five looked better.
Most of them seem to have done fairly well this season except one. I think the problem with that one is I may not have planted it deeply enough because of the way the sprinkler lines run (and I want it in JUST the right spot goshdarnit!), and it seemed to be slowly petering out over the season, losing leaves little by little.
Really, though, it's too early to tell how they will perform in that location, it's only the first season.
Deep shade is not good. You wont see the variegation develop to it's full potential. Here in California I grow it out in the full sun. On the east coast where I first developed the plant I tested it from North Florida to Upstate New York in full sun. The variegation might not develop well in cool spring but it will surprise you when the heat starts. It likes the heat and really shows off it's colors in warm bright places. It becomes too leggy in shade. It is hard to forget the dogma (no offense to garden writer) that Diervilla is just for the shade. It may tolerate it but in order for it to look it's absolute best. Take it from someone who has literally grown thousands of plants. SUN SUN SUN.......
#3 looks like it could be Dame's Rocket - often mistaken for Phlox. It seeds around like mad and is considered a weed. It has colonized along several highways near here, looking very pretty when it blooms.
Here is a link that might be useful: Dame's Rocket
Don't abandon gardening in front of your house, just because of perceived problems. Check out this website, as well as many others on the net to give you some good tips. The key to front yard gardening, including boulevard planting, is choosing the right plants. Don't plant anything expensive (at least in the beginning) until you see what sort of damage you might get. To discourage people picking the flowers, make them less tempting. Plant some grasses, low sedums, low bulbs such as crocus, etc. I have good luck with daylilies, narcissus, and many, many other plants.
Here is a link that might be useful: boulevard gardens
Sorry your question hasn't been answered....
I have zero knowledge of this plant or when to harvest seed. Looking at a picture of the seedhead online, I would think that as soon as the prickly "burrs" turn brown and fall off/are easily removed from the stem when you try they are ready.
What is your zone/climate? Cuz' the seeds won't likely be viable if they have been frosted or sitting in the snow and wet for any period of time.
Hopefully someone with knowledge of this plant will come along to help. I thought I would take at least a stab at it since your question has been unanswered for so long ;-) You could also re-post this question on one of the seed forums here on GW, they might have more info.
Ps. not sure if you are intersted, but the link below provides great seed germinating info. Your Acaena is at the top...
CMK
Here is a link that might be useful: Tom Clothier
My GArrow does really well with very little direct sun....let's call it filtered sunlight. (In fact I had a couple in a location receiving 4 hours of direct afternoon sun and they wilted badly.)
This particular persicaria is very well behaved i.e. non spreading and say 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet.
The bright foliage just lights up a darker corner of a garden. I know I have posted (too) many pictures of a large clump of mine on GW...I just don't recall which thread. In any event see below for probably the same picture taken in August from this past season (2 plants).
Wisteria is a common subject of bonsai - try doing a Google image search on that. There are some amazing wisteria bonsais out there!
A couple of other pieces of advice:
They need very sturdy support. Both of ours needed additional support at the five year point. Not long after the Japanese wisteria bloomed this spring we got a windstorm that broke the wooden support pole off at ground level! The wisteria is now supported between two angle-iron posts painted dark olive green and connected together with metal tie rods that also run through the remains of the wooden post (which can't be removed as it it tightly gripped by the twining stems!) The Chinese wisteria was originally supported between two lighter metal posts but also needed an angle-iron support as a sort of third leg at the five year point. The regular pruning makes for a dense, bushy plant that gives the wind a lot to push on! I recommend that you use one or more sturdy angle-iron supposts when you plant a wisteria. I'm a member of the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society in the UK) and I remember reading an article on wisteria in the member magazine that said almost all Victorian-era surviving wisteria trees have an iron stake in the middle of their trunks (i.e. the tree has engulfed the stake - so one needs to take care if sawing down an old wisteria tree!)
The other piece of advice - always remove any seedpods you see - easiest to see after the leaves drop... Otherwise in the first warm days of spring the pods will open explosiively and fire seeds around! So you'd then have seedlings to contend with. (I did a germination test on the first seeds the Chinese one produced - I got 25-30% germination after the pods had spent the winter on the tree....) So now I make sure that I remove all seedpods.
It sounds like you have a good background for pruning and training a wisteria. Good luck....
After the windstorm:
Standing up again:
Same advice as others have already put out there, just wanted to add that transplanting shouldn't be a problem. I moved mine sometime really late in the year (november?), it ended up being bare-root when most of the soil fell off, next spring a late freeze killed every last flower and foliage sprout, it resprouted in June and then went on to flower in July.... and I never did water, even with a very dry spring. I guess you can see how it becomes invasive!
Unless I'm trying to gain some height or width I usually trim back every sprout to about 3-4 buds during the summer. This needs doing about once every 2-3 weeks :) I never prune in the winter even though most sources recommend it.
Here's my shrubby tree last summer after its winter transplant ordeal. Please ignore my unmown "wildflower meadow"
This thread has been great fun to read! Those covers would be toast in any winter where we might get 3-4' of snow or an ice storm. And to think they now come with christmas lights built in to draw even more attention to them.
There are many shrubs that I've "thought" about purchasing knowing they would need some protection. I do suffer from a fairly bad case of zone envy every now and then, but more often than not, I put the idea out of my head and admire the shrubs in catalogs, online or in someone else's southern garden.
Now, if there were in fact a chocolate tree (mswngal, love that idea!)that could sprout a supply of Dove Dark all season, I would sign up for that and baby it year round no matter what it took!
As for those horrid burlap-wrapped shrubs, we just watched A Nightmare Before Christmas and those things look like the boogeyman in that movie!
I grew it from seed via winter sowing a couple years ago & it came up the last two growing seasons. Germination from seed was prolific. I liked it for the delicate, lacy flowers + foliage--made a nice contrast with bigger-leafed perennials. I don't normally water my garden except for things that really need extra moisture beyond what Ma Nature provides and it never showed signs of needing a helping hand to thrive.
Re loosetrife: purple loosetrife is an agressive, invasive plant that colonizes wet areas and is no longer available from legitimate nurseries. Gooseneck loostrife, an entirely different plant, is very agressive in your garden, but will not take over the wild. And which do you have?
Hi lacyvail - there's been quite a discussion on the id of this 'Loosestrife'. We still don't have a definitive id.
Here is a link that might be useful: Which 'Loosestrife'?
I have grown the common one that was in my mother's yard when I was growing up. It blooms about the end of June here and is then sporatic on and off for a month or so. As mentioned, it seeds everywhere and has become such a nuisance in my yard that I have been trying to get rid of it. It has very long tap roots and so it seems by the time I see a seedling, the roots have already reached down so far that it is hard to pull and get the whole thing. I think if a piece is left in the ground it grows again.
When it grows it tangles up in my other plants and can be very annoying to try and control the vines. Just not worth the hassle for me anyway.
Lots of other plants to choose from--just be careful of those too. lol! I love morning glories, but they are also trying to take over my yard. :-)
Thanks to both of you for your comments. It sounds like this is one I'll stay away from. I'll keep looking.