13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Thanks everyone.
My mom planted the balloon flowers so I'll need to see if she's okay with me trying to transplant them. Otherwise maybe I'll try a smaller raised bed towards the back where we have open space without any of the perennials that I don't want to risk killing.
Last year I worked the soil open parts of the soil 4-5 inches with a rototiller. Then added compost and top soil and worked that in. Maybe it just wasn't enough, but the soil compacted back down again. I tried some root crops this year but none of them seemed able to grow well in that soil.
I had some success with my raised bramble bed using 1/3 peat, 1/3 top soil, and 1/3 compost. But those like acidic peaty soil.
--The kale BTW will be over by next summer anyway--
It's already 5 years old and a 3' high monster. I had to hack it back a ton earlier this year because it was crowding out the tarragon. I think it's a type of Blue Scotch. Tasty, but grows like mad.
Interesting on the kale, I was curious and googled and saw most varieties are bi-annual. This one is definitely perennial. It was labeled blue scotch, but I have my doubts on that now. It has self-seeded other plants, but the original two were there for five years if not more (I dug up all but this last one to make room last year).
Boy, I havenâÂÂt put much thought into Lily of the Valley for years, but now that the topic is open for discussion, hereâÂÂs my limited experience.
In regards to flowers for your wedding, you could always consider buying pips for forcing. I know White Flower used to sell them for that purpose. If you do it correctly, you might be able to more accurately time the blooms for your wedding.
I didnâÂÂt realize there was another new and improved variety on the market. Looks interesting. Years and years ago I did buy a variety named FortinâÂÂs Giant. From a quick Goggle search it looks like it may no longer be widely available. The flowers of that one are HUGE in comparison to the regular garden variety and was probably worth the money. I think at the time a single pip went for something like $10.
Doing a bit of searching, I came across this vendor who has a few interesting varieties.
http://www.cherrycreekdaffodils.com/page9/styled-4/rapidcart-8/index.html
Kevin
If you can get pips for forcing that may be the better option. I'm not 100% certain but somewhere in the recesses of my mind I remember a conversation with a gardener in the Atlanta GA area. He was missing the scent of L O V in spring and bemoaning the fact that he could not keep them alive in his current location due to the heat. You may want to do a little more research. You might be ok, I believe he was zone 8.
and so many hours after the pollen dries [sometimes at teh same time] .. that being the male part ... the female part will get sticky and that is when you will add the male to the female ...
how about you make the video ... what next.. you want us to come visit ... and do it for you???
and in case you dont know how to use a search engine.. the link gives 20 thousand links on topic ... ;) .. but alas.. no youtube ... whats that all about????
man for a hippie.. you sure know how to kill a happy buzz ... lol
good luck
ken
Here is a link that might be useful: link
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I live in 7B in Atlanta and have to plant this species in several parts of my garden to keep multiple hummingbirds from fighting over it. The bees go to sleep on it at night! The tubers over-winter for me reliably even when we have a cold one. I cut back all growth to 6 inches after hard frost kills the leaves. New growth emerges in April from existing tubers which multiply year over year. Easy to split in early Spring and Late fall. Original tubers only live about 2 years. I would suggest mulching heavily with pine straw or similar to insulate the ground. I think the key is making sure the tubers don't freeze and then rot. If it does over-winter I suggest you prune to 12" when first growth is 18" to create a more compact plant and increase first flush of bloom and prune again around July 4th to 2 1/2 feet. Will result in lovely flush of bloom in late summer. I pair with Plumbago Auriculata and Variegated Lantana Samantha which sadly do not repeat for me. All are most stunning together in late Summer and early Fall.
with tender stuff, drainage is very important. According to the theory you want them to sit rather dry from about August onwards. This hopefully has the effect that growth stops, the cells mature and the woody parts get rid of water inside their cells.
So prepared they can endure frost much better.
And if one applies fertilizer and waters a lot through out summer, you end up with overfed specimen. And their cells burst when it freezes.
Otherwise wonbyherwits mentioned good points.
Good luck, bye, Lin
I think it depends on the variety. I have Scabiosa Fama Blue and had Scabiosa Isaac House Hybrids, which did not return the third year. Both were grown from seed and both bloomed the second year. I had grown a couple of not hardy here varieties, a purple one, and Beaujolais Bonnets and both bloomed the same year I planted seeds but did not return.
I also started the yellow variety, ochroleuca. It bloomed the first year and was indeed the gift that keeps on giving - everywhere!
I like Fama Blue a lot. It starts blooming early and blooms until the really cold weather kills the tops. I have several buds on one of mine right now and it's still trying to open them, in spite of having gone through several freezes here already. Mine does need a support system, though, which I plan to use next year.
All that being said, Scabiosa are one of my favorite plants.
Linda
Thanks everyone! Good news! I watered the little fella on Sunday evening and the next morning it had visibly perked up! The flowers are now just tilted instead of bent over, and the leaves have uncurled - yay! i dont think its very happy in general, but i think he might just make it through winter after all. And its still flowering! Now i know - doesnt mean its a lavender that it likes being all dry... lesson learnt! Thanks again :)
This won't help for this year's mums, but there are fully hardy mums that don't need fussing over to overwinter. The two types in my garden have survived here on the edge of zone 4 for more than 10 years. Because of their location next to the front walk, they get cut back for appearance and ease of snow removal. The drainage is good and usually they are buried in snow, but we also have had virtually snow-free winters that they have survived well. I think I planted them in August. One is a short groundcover mum, C. Weyrichii, which blooms in September with simple white daisies. The other I don't know the name of by now if it even had a label when I bought it from a local fruit farm.
Fading after several nights in the low 20's. (I don't seem to have a photo of them in October when they are in full bloom.)
From November 14, 2012
I grow a sterile variety, Lambrooke Mauve which, being sterile, does not set seed and flowers continually throughout summer whereas P.caeruleum and P.carneum run to seed quickly (although they respond to deadheading). LM is a rather lovely shade of lilac.
linlily - I harvested seeds from my established Jacob's Ladder this year and will winter sow them to get more plants. I'd like to have a fairly good-sized clump of them for the impact they make in early spring.
The seedpods ripen gradually. I kept a close eye on them & harvested seeds as soon as I found the tiny pods open so I could grow more. My DIL has a nice-size established plant that got me interested in growing them.
One feature I especially like is they need ZERO attention or tending throughout the growing season. Reliably perennial + low-maintenance = my kind of perennial. Swallowtail offers seeds of a white-blooming cultivar.