13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Just lovely, Daisy! Lots of reds with blues--one of my newer fave combos! Thanks for sharing!

Beautiful.

Looks like lemon balm to me. My advice - pull it out immedately and deposit in the garbage. It will re-seed like crazy and spread all over your garden - in dry soil, wet soil, sunny spots, shady spots - EVERYWHERE. And it puts down deep roots so it is not easy to pull up. I am still struggling to eradicate this pest after 10 years!

I've had a clump of it for years by the garage door. It does reseed everywhere, but not overwhelmingly so and I pull up the babies where I don't want them. I like the smell and rub the leaves on my arms and legs to discourage mosquitoes (it does seem to work). So it's worth keeping for me, but to each their own.

I planted double delight pink last year. It was OK, but short. This year it's back, taller and a blooming machine, just nuts. Same with milkshake and one that was supposed to be red, but it looks like cantaloupe.

I have tried several times with the more exotic cultivars. Whether the doubles or the orangey colors, never has a single one made it through the winter. My standard, old style pink one is over 15 years old. It must depend on your zone. If I buy any more, they must be cheap and I will call them annuals.

bigI think I can be more encouraging, but first let's look at the term "shear" which implies using blades. If you have loads of plants you might shear back after blooming.

But I believe the term you want is "pinching back" and I think you can do it now, particularly those two plants.

They will both send up new stems from the leaf nodes below the point you pinched back to. The blooms may be somewhat smaller, but more plentiful.

Just pinch off the stem about a third of the way down (I often go half way). Try not to leave a big stem or nub sticking up; that doesn't enhance the appearance of the plant.

I'm surprised your Joe Pye weed is about to bloom. usually it is much later. I think you can cut that one back by half, if you are growing the one that gets 6 feet tall.

Some plants will not rebloom or just send up one or two stems. You want to read a bit before letting yourself out side with either pruning shears or itchy fingers.

Here a book that I know will be helpful:

The Well Tended Perennial Garden by Tracy DiStabo-Aust. everything you want to know about deadheading, pinching, shearing, shaping perennials

as to the future .. a lot of us would get rid of a plant that is too large ...why set yourself up for this work.. year.. after year.. after year ...

you cant have to much of a love affair.. with a plant that you dont like its natural height ...

if you have more than one... just do whatever to one of them ... experiment ... its the best way to learn ...

and never forget ... move it to a better location if need be ...

ken

I fell for it as well. Mine is the Mona lavender variety but I think you're right they're similar. I'm planning to give it the coleus treatment where I keep a few cuttings in water on the windowsill for a few months until potting them up in march. I've done other plectranthus this way and they've been even easier than the coleus.

Do you have any idea when blooms might be expected? Mine looks like it might have a few developing but I'm not positive yet. The foliage is nice enough though.

I bring in about 5 types of Plectranthus for winter, as potted plants. Mona usually goes semi-dormant, losing foliage. Looks great again now after being back outside for a while, blooming the past 2 months, not expected to stop until brought inside. Yours will probably fare a lot less dramatically in a GH than mine in my laundry room.

Although I keep Coleus in water on windowsill for winter, have been for years, never tried any other Plectranthus that way. Glad to read Katob's testimonial. That windowsill space might as well be used for something, I'll make sure no Plectranthus stems are neglected in my save attempts this fall!

What sort of soil are they planted in? Are these the straight species E. purpurea, or are they one of the fancy cultivars?

Do you mean dying in the period after they're planted or over the winter? Just want to be clear because some varieties have real problems overwintering.

As others point out, They are prairie natives and do fine, once established, with little water. If they are newly planted....even if not.....I'd be wondering about overwatering as well as underwatering.

Have you dug one up and looked at the roots.? Curiosity and post-mortem examinations are helpful garden habits that help us grow as gardeners.

Ken - here are pictures from DH's camera - they certainly look a lot like yours, so you're probably right on the ID. It'll be interesting if the lady replies with a different name....

:-) the personal tour was rather unexpected for me! Both DH and I had, for separate reasons, been talking last week to someone in the office that is, among other issues, responsible for such things. I think the invitation resulted from that contact. I think they were also interested in getting feedback on the accessibility improvements - the lady giving the tour asked me for my opinion several times (I greatly approved, but pointed out another area - the lilac dell - that needs improvement in the path surfacing!) She also commented that I was the first disabled visitor to go through the renovated rock garden. Whatever the reason for the tour, we greatly appreciated and enjoyed it!

Ken - the lady from the tour got back to me - but only with the common name that she said was on the nursery label - 'White Silver Fir'. She said that the person who could tell her the botanical name is away at a conference and then going on vacation. I don't think she'll follow up any further so I'll have to wait until the plants have been properly labelled and the garden is open again! Next spring.... or maybe this fall if they run some public tours in the fall - that is apparently a possibility. I Googled the common name she gave but didn't get any useful results.

I am often amazed at what tags don't say! "This plant needs coddling; it is susceptible to mildew; lax stems; flower color fades in summer sun; spreads faster than you can run; invasive in 48 of 50 states" .....This might make a funny thread....

There's a chance it could have reseeded. I have not seen anything in that bed that looked like it, though it's so jam-packed I might not see it right away.

I have something else popping up in there that looks like a monarda. I planted monarda there 2 years ago, but it never bloomed. I suspect that these seedlings are a weed. They don't look anything like the Lysimachia leaves, though. From what I can recall.

Biennials are underrated in my opinion. How can you resent a plant which blooms itself to death?

I don't mind the editing at all. There are always a couple showing up in better spots than I could think of, and it's so much less work pulling extras than it is prepping beds and planting new stuff!

I would say that common foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, acts most like a "true" biennial, at least in my climate. Not always :-) Sometimes it will bloom its first year and sometimes it will come back after its second year. But the vast majority of the wilding plants in my area behave as a true biennial, producing only a rosette of foliage their first year and flowering, going to seed and dying in their second.

I think climate must play a significant role in how biennial or perennial some of these plants may actually be. In mild climates - like mine - many biennials are more perennial than not.

I forgot parsley!! I have never had parsley act as anything other than a biennial. It always flowers and goes to seed its second season. I just replaced my plants this spring :-)

Have you tried 'Brownies"? It is a villosa (probably misspelled) and so is very vigorous and the heat doesn't wear it down. I think it goes loonger without division, too. Big hearty brown/purple leaves .

I've not seen Brownies. I'll add that to the shopping list....

I'd consider one of the hardy gingers, Asarum spp. Either the native, Asarum caudatum, or the showier Chinese ginger, Asarum splendens. Excellent for dappled to heavy shade and drought tolerant (although will spread faster and look a bit lusher with some watering).

What about some autumn and spring flowering, species cyclamen? Because there are a number of evergreens amongst your trees, it makes it more difficult. The cyclamen are happy under evergreen olive trees, all over Greece, so they are worth trying.

Or any of the Sarcococcas, they are all scented, have neat, shiny, evergreen leaves and are neat little shrubs. Mine is happy in dense, year round shade.

Gosh! I have just thought what it would be like to walk out of your house in midwinter and be blown away by the scent of flowers from massed Sarcococcas. Gorgeous.

Daisy

kato,

I have firewitch before for 2 yrs then last year, it didn't show up. Today, it's there again. :)

By the way, firewitch plants have a very strong sweet scent! Are you aware of that?

I have dianthus neon star and those keep blooming for a long time when I deadhead.