13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Cutting back in fall is sort of out of vogue in the gardening world right now. But I think if it were really catastrophic for perennials, it wouldn't have survived for so long as a practice. There are certainly advantages to it, especially when it comes to preventing disease/fungus/rodents. I think it is just a matter of preference. DiSabato-Aust's recommendation to cut back heavy flowering perennials in late summer but not for winter comes from the work of Hansen and Stahl in their 1993 book Perennials and Their Garden Habitats. I do not know if they tested their theory or if it is just a theory with no data to support it.
DiSabato-Aust does caution that if you do cut back, to only cut back within 2-3" inches of the ground because some of the basal buds for next season do develop slightly above or at ground level. Not sure if this applies to Coreopsis or not.
I also grow bulbs in my perennials beds so I usually cut back in very early Spring and often before new growth comes from the perennials -- which is not exactly what is recommended -- but it hasn't caused any problems so far.
Best of luck,
Scott
Agree, Scott, it is a matter of "preference", or, perhaps should be (sure you would agree) of "informed preference".
Must say I'm a bit sensitive to anything approaching top-down pronouncements in gardening, "abhominable magenta" (viz. Gertrude Jekyll) moments!
Love the early spring bulbs. It's unfortunate that our voles/meadow mice feel the same way!
Charlie.
Does the area get almost no direct sun? One side of my house is like that - it gets a shot of sun along the edge in the early morning, and in mid-summer, when the sun is high, it gets a little more, but right by the house, there is no direct sun at all. Which is why it's full of hostas and ferns. I don't know if there would be enough sun in your corner for many of the grasses.
Your soil looks good, and you've got a spigot right there, so perhaps you could think about putting an oak-leaf hydrangea in there for your big plant, perhaps in front of the window by the corner. They are hardy in our zone 6, and are beautiful all year - my neighbor has a couple in a corner much like yours and they are gorgeous - flowers, great fall coloring, and tough - much more architectural in appearance than the macrophylla hyrangeas (you know, the Mother's Day ones). They do get large if you don't prune them back every year or so, but that would be all to the good.
If you want to avoid shrubs of any kind there, you could get some of the really big ferns, like Royal Fern or Cinnamon Fern (that's what I've got with my hostas) - they get to be 4 feet or so and look quite Jurassic - and fill out the lower bed with smaller ferns, hostas, or other small shade-tolerant plants.
Whatever you decide, I do envy you having a blank slate - have fun filling it up!
is that a dryer vent.. ??? .. whats the patio stone on the left ...
i think you need to build a retaining wall .. just a couple bricks deep ... ... to reduce the hill.. add some good soil.. make it about 5 feet out from the house and around the corner .. and then figure out what you want to do across the woodshop ..
THEN FIGURE OUT WHAT TO PLANT ....
ken ...
ps: spring will tell you if you killed the wisteria or whatever it was ...
I had a huge elephant's ear plant in a pot in my shade garden this summer. I cut off the leaves and took it out before frost, expecting it to have a tuber. (It was purchased from a garden center.) Lo and behold, just little roots! I'd like to save it for next summer, so I plopped it in a smaller pot and put it in my basement in hopes it will stay alive in a semi-dormant state. It will have a little light from a small window and I plan to water it a little every couple weeks. Does this sound like a plan for success?
Yes, those are gomphrena, I think it was qis red originally and has reseeded here and there each year. You just have to be careful to distinguish between them and young crabgass... they look similar.
They usually go till frost, mine are now looking a little worse but still ok since even when frozen the flowers keep their color.
Wow, kato, you've got some gorgeous mums there. That orange is so dense! Sorry to see you've had a fungus and lost some. I think you are probably right, that the dry hot weather over the summer stressed them.
Here are a couple of photos I took this morning. Happy to still have some color in the garden this time of year.
The notches in the leaves are from the black vine weevil. Control is difficult, so one solution is to plant things they don't prefer to eat.
Here is a link that might be useful: black vine weevil
I think you are right about it being Peacock Moss -- and I'm a big fan. I have found that most tiny leafed ground cover seems to be listed as sun/part sun. And I've got quite a bit of shade. I also wouldn't have thought to look in the terrarium -- great advice. Thank you!
I think I have finally put this to rest based on the picture below at the attached website: It does appear to be Selaginella kraussiana 'Aurea' which is the most commonly available species and cultivar in nurseries. I actually have one that I keep as a houseplant. They work outside too (reportedly evergreen in Zone 7) but have to be kept moist, which can be challenging during hot Mid-Atlantic summers, even in full shade.
Peacock Moss (Selaginella uncinata) is fairly fast-spreading, so if you have a large area to cover in the shade, it can be used as a shade lawn, though again moisture can be a challenge.
Here is a link that might be useful: Selaginella kraussiana
About 3-4 years ago, when a nursery was going out of business in October, I bought a boatload of plants. I got all of them in the ground. It was in a new bed and it was easy. Soft new earth; nothing to work around. Almost all of them made it. Of those that didn't, by spring it was like nothing had ever even been put there.
But I also think I got lucky. Lately around here, there has not been consistent snow cover in the winter. A lot of temperature variation.
I already have a big bag of bark mulch. :) I'll have curly willow leaves later: they are still hanging tight.
When even on a decent weather day this year I did not feel like working in the garden, I wondered if I had lost my interest in gardening. I did the barest necessities of maintenance, but not the grooming I normally do.
What ken said for planting, but the pot thing will work too. Don't even cut out the bottoms, just plant pot and all in the veggie garden..... No root disturbance that way. Mulch after frost. Fill pots to the rim with mulch or soil, that way if the ground is frozen water won't sit on top and drown the crown.
Plant them out in the spring when you have a permanent site ready. I do this with mums all the time since they don't seem to like late planting.
As a first year gardener, I planted everything right out of the pot... the next year I tried to carefully untangle all the roots and then cut slits on the sides...in my third year I said to heck with it and now just hack everything off that looks enmeshed.
I use this tool hand tool that has a 3" blade on one side and a forked one on the other. I always feel kinda bad going at the plant in such a violent manner, but I rarely lose anything now (provided I'm not lazy about watering).
Speaking of which I have a garage full of plants purchased from the Lowes fall clearance. It would be a nightmare if I had to untangle all those bound roots.
hey grl ....
you should have started your own post ... so replies go back to you .. rather than lin ...
anyway.. you have the key: going at the plant in such a violent manner
==>> just do it ... anything you do.. is better than NOT doing it ...
i have my secateurs with me ... hand pruners.. i open the bigger blade.. and simply splay the rootmass in 4 to 8 divisions ... and spread it wide.. and plant the things ... [dollar store butchers knife for bigger stuff .. steak knife for smaller]
i dont have anything to suggest if you fail to water, later in the year ...
JUST DO IT ...
ken
the website is in French and the garden is in Montreal. It is a remarkable place
Here is a link that might be useful: Le petit jarden oriental de Clovis
It was raining earlier today and things just seemed to 'glow'. Sumac is losing leaves helped by wind and rain. We had 5" last Sat/Sun. More than we had all total during summer. Great for going into winter. To left of sumac is ballon flower whose leaves turn redish gold. The Autumn Joy sedum has turned bronze and flopped. In front of that is a sedge and right front is Japanese blood grass.
Excuse me for second post but haven't figured out how to post multiple pictures. This is birchleaf spirea. It is green all spring and summer with white flowers in spring. But fall it when it put on its show turning shades of gold, red and purple. Picture looks a little washed out.
How much are you watering and what is your soil like? Penstemon in general like very well drained soil and want average moisture to somewhat dry conditions and not a whole lot of nutrient load. If you take a look at the list of varieties that SunnyBorders has had success with, those are varieties that are more tolerant of heavier soils with more nutrients. 'Sweet Joanne' is a x mexicali hybrid, which I've found handle more nutrient load than some other penstemon but still need well drained soil to do really well.
The Plant Geek
www.confessionsofaplantgeek.com
www.botanophilia.com
This SJ has gotten very little supplemental watering (with the seasons being warmer and drier each year I like that). But it is true that it is in a bed which is heavily amended ie lots of compost...very rich for the top 6".
It has already made it through its first winter in its present location so I can surmise that drainage is just fine
Here is a way to get some seeds by sending a SASE. She is behind right now (my Sept. 17 request is expected the beginning of November), but free is worth a wait. :)
I haven't experienced the aster yellows- yet, anyways. Although I noticed that some of the local Echinaceas at the nursery loooked a bit odd. Whereas, the recent introductions such as 'Sombrero' looked absolutely perfect condition. Last year, I had 'Kim's Red Knee High' & it was stunning. The roots I ordered last spring, simply would not grow & rotted, while the ones at the nursery looked like they'd br hard pressed to produce a single flower, so I didn't bother, not at nearly $20, anyways!
Since I've moved, I'm replacing 'Hot Papaya' as I think it's absolutely great. KRKH is mail ordered too.
I'm not all that impressed with Powow colors as they aren't as brilliant as photos I've seen in -any- catalogs. & as for white, if you want the added factor of sweet scent, go for 'Fragrant Angel', otherwise, one white isn't much different than any other..
But, alot of work & effort goes into selecting a newer Echinacea hybrid, (mainly for the flower?) & maybe they aren't suitable to growing in the considerably wide & varying conditions all across the entire U.S.A
Aster yellows is very widespread, affects a huge number of plants (really- if you look at the list you kind of want to give up gardening), and there is really no such thing as cultivars that are more or less resistant. It is spread by leafhoppers, which there was a huge population of this year. I would guess 80% of all coneflowers I've come into contact with this year were infected. Not a good situation.
As far as new varieties, they NEED very well drained soils to perform well and overwinter. (This is inherited from the E. paradoxa parent- it likes rocky alpine conditions) Also keep in mind that E. purpurea (one of the parents of most of these hybrids) is not a very long lived plant and that has been passed on to these varieties. 3-5 years is a common lifespan for E. purpurea and it's hybrids.
Hybridizing work continues, and improvements in lifespan are being made through use of other species. I highly recommend E. 'Firebird' as it has E. pallida (a long lived species) in its bloodline. This one has performed very well for me, even in slightly heavier soils. E. 'Phoenix' and E. 'Flamethrower' have performed well also. I'm looking forward to E. 'Sunbird' as it also has E. pallida in the bloodline. The sombrero series is performing well in botanic gardens, I haven't grown them personally but having seen them I can recommend them. Pow Wow are ok, they perform well & I see some color improvement in the strain over what I was seeing in trial gardens, but I'll take Pixie Meadowbrite over it any day.
The Plant Geek
www.confessionsofaplantgeek.com
www.botanophilia.com
You will find that the garden plants you really need to worry about are aggressive ones that spread via rhizome, not stolon. Rhizomes are (often deep) underground rootstocks. Plants like Liriope spicata and Gooseneck Loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) send out vigorous rootstocks deep underground that can be hard to eliminate.
why bother posting.. if you are going to answer your own question.. lol
see link ..
yes.. they are all over the place.. pretty cool.. in my book ... often wondered.. as i obliterated one with the riding lawnmower.. if breathing the dust in.. would kill me.. rhiz???
ken
ps: dont need no stinkin camera ...
Here is a link that might be useful: link
Most puffball mushrooms are completely edible......and are considered very tasty. Obviously, if harvesting for food you want to gather them before they start sporing, but the spores are harmless also. No fears, Ken!!
FYI, they tend to produce spores in abundance - the giant puffball mushroom is alledged to contain 7 trillion spores in each puffball.