13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

i did not mean to use 'invasive' within its horticultural definition ...

i simply meant.. that it spread wildly thru MY garden beds ...

the problem with such ... is that it is hard to eradicate ... bulbs ... do not react to roundup.. the way other things do ... in my garden ...

regardless.. the OP is on the right track as far as making sure she learns about such.. BEFORE simply planting them.. and as to using them as bug prevention in a pot ... or in the garden

knowledge is power.. as they say ..

BTW .. when i 'did' roses ... i had upwards of 125 hybrid T's ... and they required a monthly regimen of sprays [disease and bugs, including systemics] .. and fertilizing ... for maximum performance ... there was no way around it ... you may do the organic thing.. on a couple.. but when you decide to get carried away ... [hmmm, who would that be.. lol] .... warfare must begin ...

ken

Not all Alliums spread. I just Googled growing Alliums in Florida and got plenty of hits.

oh.. and one other thing ... in z5 .. MAYBE only half of mums sold.. are actually zone 5 hardy ...

they are basically produced and sold as ANNUALS ... in our zone..

so without an actual ID what mum it is .... there is a shot.. that no matter what you do ... it will die.. in z5 ...

back in the 90's.. i used to mail order rootlings at about a buck or two a piece in early spring.. and being a DINK ... i would buy 20 to 50 different ones .. and most died over winter in z5 ... and after a few years .. i lost interest .. and over a few more years.. what ended up remaining .. lol .. was the standard 2 or 3 plants.. i saw all over the neighborhood .... most likely.. the ones i asked neighbors for a piece of ... lol ... so much for beating the system ...

ken

From the looks of that plant, it's be in that spot for a few years (the poster made a comment about its need of division), so it's been through a few winters already and has most likely proven its winter hardiness. Of course there's always the chance of some unusual winter weather which could knock it dead, but that's the way it goes with everything.

Trim it back a bit and have faith.

Kevin

Aww, I know this is an old thread.. but I love them! I've been trying to find them and everywhere seems to be out for the season, or totally unreasonable. I guess I will have to go without.

I've never been a fan of lamb's ear. But I understand how someone might want the fuzzy texture or whitish color. I prefer Artemisia stelleriana �Silver Brocade� for those qualities. The leaf is beautiful.

and mind you ....

i KNOW these two .. know the z5 issue..

they just forget to phrase it in terms we z5'ers understand ...

in other words.. its a furnace issue.. not a greenhouse issue ...

ken

ps: enough words.. i better quit before gal starts counting words again .. lol ...

I can't disagree with any of the above comments, but one more thing you may want to check: Those leaves look very much like leaves on a plant infested with spider mites. Just for the heck of it, check the undersides of the leaves for these nasties. Also check for any webbing on the leaves or stems. Mites can be a huge problem this time of the year on indoor plants, especially any plant stressed by less then ideal growing conditions.

Kevin

I took out the peat pots 2 weeks ago from the frig and set them in the raised planting bed, I am very excited to see the seedling are peeping out.

Thanks to you all - Suzy

mine didnt germinate as well. :(

Looking forward to next Spring!

Don't go away from GW until spring! It wont be long until those interesting year end threads start up e.g. Plants on my "to buy" list for 2013 etc.

I and my back are looking forward to garden withdrawal.

I spent a few hours today doing cleanup and storing canna tubers in large pots filled with peat in the garage. The last (it's gotta be the last) potted plant was brought in. Only 10-20 hours of additional trimming/mulching/cleanup left and I can relax a few minutes until seed-starting begins.

True - others might be reading and interested in the info. Bear with me, I'm cranky lately and prone to taking things the wrong way (dealing with death does that to people...)

Well, if DH doesn't notice the tree before I haul it in the garage for the winter, I can use the old "I've had that a while" line LOL!

While I am an old pro at wintering plants in my garage and try to get them back out before they break dormancy I agree that there may be readers that need that information.

Also my garage is well insulated and stays cool even on hot summer days and does not have extreme temps in the spring. I already winter a small maple (one that may or may not be a J.Maple started from a mix of seeds given to me several years ago) which is growing well but smaller than expected as was pruned by critters last spring. Also several potted clematis, roses, and not quite hardy in MN perennials.

I appreciate others experiences as it might add another aspect to my thinking and may result in a tweaking or change in my practices.

Kato, have you tried changing the zone when making a post instead of trying to do it in your profile?

It reseeds heavily but I wouldn't call it a nuisance.
It tends to reseed only under the previous year's plants, not all over my yard. It doesn't spread by runners. It blooms a very long time. It attracts butterflies. Faults forgiven. : )
Sconticut - my great aunt was a gardener and worked in her garden until she was 100. I think it kept her young. Planting perennials gives a person something to look forward to the next summer. Gotta have something to get us through the blah winter.

I am just not sure how Rozanne would perform in "shade to part shade" aspect.

^Diminished flowering for sure, but I think it would do okay. Not sure if it would drape 1-2 feet though.

Something like Vinca minor 'illumination' would though.

Doesn't fit most of your criteria, but one of my favourite plants, for our area, is culver's root.

The picture is the cultivar Veronicastrum virginicum 'Fascination', that shows fasciation (flower spikes growing along a line rather than to a point).

One of the several things I like about this plant is the fact that the flower spikes (shape) apparently appeals to bees. Trimming off the central spike, after flowering, puts me right in the middle of the bees. They just do their thing and I do mine.

My favorites to grow from seed are digitalis, shasta,
primula,alcea (hollyhock),budlia and aquilegia...all are easy and hardy.
If any of you don't like hostas, check out Liberty, montana aureomarginata or Guardian Angel, you'll change your mind
Heather

-twrosz, impressive that it bounced back after that kind of stress!

I must admit, I do still prefer the colors of Inca Ice when it first opens and is darker. I'm thinking planting something blue or purple in background so this guy will 'pop' more for me...
CMK

rouge21, yes, the plant came from GardenImport. They informed they might be carrying more varieties from the Inca Series ... I'm especially interested in 'Inca Tropic' and hope it's one they'll be offering.

christinmk, sounds like a good idea, I'll also have to consider something blue :)

I will definitely continue to add compost each year. Does anyone bring in earthworms to help break up soil? I read about "jumpers" recommended for clay soils.

"Build it and they will come." Build a healthy soil with plenty of organic matter and earthworms will populate it. Earthworms aren't going to aerate dry compacted clay no matter how many you bury. They will high-tail it somewhere else. They want to be in soils with plenty of organic matter.

I have no experience with Jumpers but my intuition tells me that if you build healthy soil, everything else will fall into place.

Winter annuals such as chickweed etc. are germinating now.

As Ken says, it is probably too late for winter annual pre-emergents to be effective as they germinated long ago. They germinated here in mid to late August and probably even earlier in cooler zones.

Though a pre-emergent should prevent any further spread of the weeds this winter -- they usually don't do much seeding until early Spring when temps start to warm. I prefer to pull them in early Spring when I do my perennial bed cleanup.

Thanks, Wieslaw, again great pictures and great colour.

Lots of info, both what you say and in the pictures themselves (e.g. how you handle irises - not good mixed perennial bed team players).

One for the sparrows!

Thanks for all the pics, I appreciate your sharing them and your experiences with them.