13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

The term thistle applies to so many different genera, it's hard to be very precise :-) Common thistles, Cirsium species, are perennials and biennials. Relying only on winter cold to kill off the plant is risky and unreliable. And most species are tap rooted as well, so digging out is a challenge.

The biennial ones spread by seed.
Assuming the frost/winter won't kill that.

Hi Karolina,
my gravel garden is actually just a rectangle about 6m x 8m. I have a few more solid shrubs such as cytisus and cistus, burnet roses and philadelphus, which form a rough outline while the general layout tends to have no real back or front as it is accessible from all sides. So, I just intersperse things such as alchemilla, dianthus, geum chiloense somewhat randomly while the taller perennials are planted in a very haphazard manner - easy to get away with because the overall effect is very light, fluid and transparent. Annual cosmos can work very well in this sort of planting, along with alliums and species tulips earlier in the year.
Mind, my garden has none of the formal harmony of WW's garden but tends to a rather jumbled mingling of flower and foliage which definately benefits from the added backlit sunlight.

Gardenweed has a couple of photos of gaura on this thread. Perhaps she also has some from farther away.

Here is a link that might be useful: full sun combos

YES! That's it! Thank you!!

In my garden it seeds around fairly prolifically, both in the lawn and in the garden, so if you don't want lots more, you might want to carefully clip off the seed heads and dispose of (not in the compost.)

I'm in zone 5b and my lindheimeri "Siskiyou pink" overwinter pretty well. I've lost a few, but any that die can easily be replaced with seedlings. But these should be transplanted young, before the taproot is too large, and you should take a good chunk of ground with them for best success.

This year is the first I've grown the white lindheimeri and I think there are already seedlings coming up.

Mine are grown at the top of and among boulders that form a low retaining wall. The setting is perfect for them, as the flower stalks lean out over the lower garden.

one might call it a scraggly plant that should be replaced by something with more umph ... for a spot that looks like it might be near your front door ... [the lack of rain under the eave???]

throw it out back in some other flower bed.. and make a statement there ...

start a new post.. pull back the pic.. and ask what plant might make a better statement there... IMHO ...

ken

ps: maybe a clematis up that post.. and another plant a foot or two out ....

Description of ranunculus asiaticus (as Aviv mixed appears to be) from Missouri Botanical Gardens, others, suggests these are not winter hardy in your zone. You'd want to wait until Spring to plant.

Here is a link that might be useful: ranunculus asiaticus

Thank You. I will wait till spring. I'm glad I didn't plant them over the weekend.

I overwintered 2 pots of Salvia B&B last winter in the garage. It worked extremely well! I forgot about them and don't remember watering them all winter, regardless, they did fine. I think I watered them when they started to send shoots up in March or so - it was much earlier than they normally would outside.

I would have potted more for the winter, except the voles ate the other three! I bought 3 more this past spring, and when I planted them in the Spring, I put wire cages made out of hardware cloth around the roots. They did great this summer and I'm going to dig up all 5 of them this fall.

I have some in pots that go in the basement. Others I dug and threw in a bag and put in the basement -they came through too. I havent had them overwinter in the ground here in Z6b. Ill try mulching though.

I realize it was only August when you put them in but might you be able to post some pictures?

I tend to be suspicious of the "sterile" adjective. Would love to know whether it really doesn't reseed. Did it produce any babies this season?

wieslaw59 your list of plants is much appreciated just hate that I had to add so many of them to my must have list. Particularly Disporum cantoniense 'Night Heron', Rodgersia (spectacular foliage) there also some great Epimedium ground covers. Just on the other side to the left there is a bed with a small collection of fragrant plants of anemone, astilbe, iris, clematis wilsonii and Ipomoea alba and because of you proabably a fragrant Corydalis.

You managed to include some of my personal favorites as well like Brunnera 'Jack frost,' Polygonatum, clematis and Trillium.

SunnyBorders, your bed looks great I think I'm going to have to get a Iris pallida 'Aureo'

the pinkish red flower is the yarrrow the geranium is directly under the hosta. sorry for the low resolution image and I agree the Cyclamen intaminatum are too way large.

better image

I was assuming the Cyclamen was C hederifolium, but the one you name is even smaller, apparently. The hardy Cyclamen are beautiful things but you need to either have a mass or be prepared to get down to their level to appreciate them. And they have a way of seeding about in places where they are even better hidden.

I'm also wondering about your vertical planter. One side will face NE and the other NW. Does that affect your thinking? And won't it shade the bed am and pm?

While anemones are aggressive once established, I found that they can take a while to get established. This bunch is growing rapidly now (in a not very plant-friendly area that is dry and rather shady), but it took at least five to seven years to get that many. Also, while anemones are fairly drought tolerant, I have found that they need water especially just before and during bloom. If they dry out, the blossoms quickly show it.

UPDATE:

I see that Monrovia in the States has the exclusive rights to "Wild Swan". (As well I see it is listed as a zone 6)

Here is a link that might be useful: Monrovia's plant

^I am not angry at them because they are nice people and I know they didn't do it on purpose. I just wish they had given me a chance to cover them. I didn't think it could have done this much damage either, but it did. I am just going to tell them that it did damage and to please let me know the next time they do it so I can cover the plants. I do think that with fall fast approaching, these leaves are going to be on the ground soon enough anyway. Surprisingly, my evergreen Rhododendron has yet to show any signs of damage...tougher leaves, perhaps?

being oct and all.. arent they all close to going dormant in your zone ???

i would just leave it all ... for fear of triggering a late flush.. which would be worse than some simple leaf damage ...

in a month.. or at fall cleanup.. get rid of the leaves ...

ken

Do you have any seed heads left on the plants? Crumble those over the new site when you put the plants in, chances are you will have plenty of seedlings next Spring.

A known plantsman said in one of his lectures - Our nursery no longer ships these, we just tell them the address where they are to go and they find their way there.

Prolific self sower in my garden, and I usually pull the seedlings as the plants develop powdery mildew in my climate...they just keep coming when I haven't grown it intentionally in many years.

If your plants don't make it, look for seedlings where you had originally planted it in Spring, move those while small.

Thanks for the advise everyone! Sorry for the delay in response! I could not move them the other day when I wanted (there is not enough time in the day) but hope to this weekend. Fingers crossed!

Unless you fill every square inch of the bed with plants of various heights, you might still consider a groundcover in bare spots to tie things together.

If you want some height in a perennial for part shade, you could try a variegated Solomon's Seal. The cream & green leaves look smashing next to the dark dense green of arborvitae. The vase-like arching shape of the overall look of VSS is unusual and a nice contrast as well & the dangly cream flowers are nice in early spring, but must be planted up close to be seen.

I have a combo of the Variegated Solomon's Seal, surrounded by Bergenia (Bressingham something or other), fronted by some purple heuchera and an almost totally silver pulmonaria and a painted fern in a similar spot to yours on the northeast corner of my house.

I like to tuck in a deep pink or red impatien here or there after I clean out the area in the spring for some summer color. The bergenia has lots of reddish color in both spring and fall (it gets smashed down by snow in winter in my climate, but always surprises me by popping its big leaves back up early each spring). The Variegated Solomon's Seal can take awhile to mature, but makes a very stately impressive planting in a few years.

Mine are not all planted. Probably would have been a good idea to know where they're all going before buying, but that's never really worked for me. I'm more of a collector than a landscaper/designer.

With the exception of the bamboos which will be potted up and kept in the garage overwinter, things are going right into the ground. I ordered some delospermas... don't know if they're going to make it, but I can gamble at this price.

Plants look exceptional for clearance prices. One wrong plant, but I wouldn't even consider complaining since I love their sales.

I will pot mine up into gallon pots until I figure out where to plant them. I'm a collector for sure and my garden beds are quite full....I could not resist their sale