13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

It'll still be zone 5 for you even if it gets down below -20F, as zones are determined by average low winter temperatures (which you probably know, but some people aren't aware of how zones are determined).

Not true eric_oh...at least not in Canada. There are many more factors that are taken into consideration in determining plant hardiness zones (Canada). And I quote from the AGRICULTURE CANADA website:

Agriculture Canada scientists created a plant hardiness map using Canadian plant survival data and a wider range of climatic variables, including minimum winter temperatures, length of the frost-free period, summer rainfall, maximum temperatures, snow cover, January rainfall and maximum wind speed.

And right now with these cold winter temperatures there is an unusual lack of snow cover.

Yeah, it is not uncommon for shoots to appear in late autumn. No problem, the leaves are hardy. The flowers do OK, at least with the smaller narcissus such as February Gold and Hawera - have had them poking up out of the snow.

Mine haven't had issues when they have done this in previous years, and I'm also in NH.

Blazing Star is liatris, not a lythrum, not a lysimachia :)

Similar in appearance and also easy to confuse could be Verbena hastata: blue vervain, and Epilobium: fireweed. If going by memory, you may need a photo of your plants when growth begins for accurate ID.

And here I very much like my "Yellow Loosestrife" (Lysimachia punctata). For sure the foliage is nothing to write home about but in bloom there are tons of flowers (actually quite unique i.e. little yellow star like blooms with a light orange centre) lasting 3 to 4 weeks. I have it in a small 'medallion' garden surrounded by interlock so it does not spread. Here is a picture of it from June 2011.

This post was edited by rouge21 on Sun, Jan 20, 13 at 6:04

Yes, Wellspring, I have definitely been a path dreamer for awhile now. And I still have a good portion of the garden that needs a new pathway, but it's on the back burner for now.

I did find a photo of our pathway when we finished it. It's pretty simple and we used rocks to create a little bed there that simply has ferns and other shade perennials in it for now. I have thoughts of adding something vertical there, but who knows when. Another thing I like about the path is that it is under a high canopy of a large Maple tree and near some full grown spruce in the neighbor's yard, so we get a nice layer of needles and that layer of pollen that falls off the tree in the late spring, and it then makes the bark mulch look very natural and part of the landscape. You can see it is easy to navigate with a four foot wide gate that allows for the wheelbarrel etc. I couldn't find a photo of the pavers on the other side of the gate yet, but I'll look again. I need to catch up with my photo labeling.

My question is, does this path get enough traffic to rule out grass? Or is the situation too shady to rule out grass? I have some grass paths, with garden beds on either side. It takes about 15 seconds with the lawn mower to maintain them.

Hi, purple. Thanks for the help on both posts. I don't know that I did smell number four? Is it good or bad? This thread has been immensely helpful for me because a few of those plants (especially the lilac) really puzzled me last summer. I have two other lilac trees and they are so wildly different from this one. I thought it might be some weird variety of crepe myrtle. The lilacs all smell divine. As do the peonies of course.
The viburnum smells great also. I'm glad to know its name so that I can learn how to prune it. It grows in a strange pattern.
I'm wishing that I had better pictures of the beds and not just the individual plants. Our garden is really neat.

Oh yes, #4 should smell good, there are very few that don't. That particular one looks like it smells especially good, similar to carnation probably, but better. Worth getting your tush up in the air for, I hope, predict.

Totally agree, you've got a great yard! The plants pictured all look great to me, even the grass.

LOL campanula re the acanthus comment!

QE rose - We love the flower shape, color, scent, disease resistance, and hardiness. But it is a leggy thing that is only attractive on the top! That's why I'm going to see if I can try to make it grow as a tree-form. I planted a 'Little Henry' Itea shrub beside/under it last fall. If the rose pruning works, the Itea should hide the stem of the rose (except in the winter) and add more flowers lower down, plus fall color. We'll see how it goes.... If it doesn't work QE will probably leave the garden.

If you like wildlings, campanula, have you ever tried growing the Angel roses from seed? They're supposed to be Rosa sinensis minima according to the source I got the seeds from (I think it's usually spelled chinensis - but that's not how the place where I got the seeds spelled it....) Most of the flowers on mine are small singles in shades of pink but the bloom is profuse and it blooms for months. And then they have vivid red hips for winter. They quickly form a hedge. Nothing seems to bother them and they're quite hardy. Sometimes there's a bit of tip die-back over winter that needs trimming off but doesn't cause any serious damage. They are prickly little devils though! This picture from the end of October shows both the flowers and hips:

yes.. yes ... i was speaking of hybrid T's .... there are more bulletproof shrub type roses ... but again ... not in sand ...

ken

veronica.... next time.. start your own post ...

anyway ... keep it properly watered.. but NOT sodden.. and see if it rebuds..

lets hope it just went dormant from lack of water ...

only time will tell..

ken

ps: and next time.. leave it with a friend... lol.. that hindsight is always 20/20

Thanks Ken. Let's hope you are right.
Don't you think that if it was only lack of water it would react when I watered it?

I am sorry if I did not start a new post. I thought it was more adequate this way.
Veronica

Yea, yea - I never got around to potting them up over the holiday. Like I said, somebody has time management issues...

How late I was getting to your place - an hour or two or three?

This post was edited by mxk3 on Mon, Jan 14, 13 at 20:21

I avoided that time management struggle this year, and as an added bonus, I saved money. I didn't buy bulbs! (g)

No problem, people are glad to help. I was just anticipating the semi-annual thread about how annoying Latin/botanical names are and how gardeners who use them are just showing off. :)

To any one interested. I placed a few of my seeds in a damp paper towel inside a plastic bag on top of the frig. In three days little roots were shooting so have now planted them in a pot and will move them to the green house. Perhaps it is much too early and they may get large and spindly, but I have many other seeds thanks to a friendly gardener from Oklahoma. No expense, so I can experiment. Love those gardening friends.

I had to refresh the page to see that...yeah!
Thanks. Just signed up for the email list.

Awesome!! I've ordered from them twice and been very happy!
Yay, as I wanted the yellow and Brakelights red yucca and haven't been able to find them anywhere else.

Thanks ontnative for the heads up!

Rena'

One I heard last summer, "that grass needs some water."
OK, I'll water it and you'll come by and mow it in a week, right?

Could you divide that for me? (pointing to an unusual plant that you grew from seed and have waited 10 years for it to look good)

Hi,
I'm so glad you posted this. I used to be a member of this plant society, but I stopped receiving the newsletters. Woody was president at that time, so this was awhile ago. I'll definitely have to go on FB and like your page. Looking forward to the spring plant sale.

Ken: Lily was my aunt. She was so sociable, she had a whole Society named for her (and I really did have an aunt named Lily...at is more, she was an avid gardener). I'm fine: busy sending out art fair applications.

Bellarosa: Welcome back! Woody is still president. Maybe because no one else has stepped forward! :) I will be posting future events on the FB page, including the bulb sale. This year there will be some satellite bulb sale locations, which is really exciting.

Hi I am going to a herb farm come spring for Salvias and Geraniums and wanted to bring this thread back to get more opinions on some of your favorite hardy geraniums. Maybe a couple of years later to see if you still like the ones you did before or any new ones you have tried. Thanks...If you want to browse the nursery I am going to it is http://www.sandymushherbs.com/download/Handbook9.pdf

bobbygil, climate is one of the deciding factors for choosing geraniums to grow in your garden. The ones that grow well (or NOT so well) for me may not be the same as for you. Try to get the advice of people in a similar climate, soil, heat, summer humidity, winter hardiness, etc. Most geraniums do not like extremes of any kind. Good luck. They are a wonderful family of plants.

You all seem to have the sedum grown in pots, can these be planted out? I bought some seeds, but I know nothing about the plant except for the visual. Do they have to be kept in pots?

Marie,
I was like you, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my sedums. So, some were planted in the ground, some in pots were brought indoors and some are in a cool room in the house. I also took about 50 cutting, which I hope will survive. The last I am not thinking was a good idea. But I think they are fine.