13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Lisanti thanks for the ID.

Ken,

In general these aren't doing that great. They don't look as good as even some of the mediocre photos I've seen online.

I don't fertilize them frequently and when I do it's usually with Plant Tone (5-3-3). Next year I'm going to also be using either Flower-Tone (3-4-6) or Garden-Tone (3-4-4) for the flowering plants. I'll probably put down some shortly and again in the spring. In the future I won't fertilize as much but this bed has been neglected a bit. Sounds good?

The picture above was taken before applying fertilizer. The foliage grew quite a bit after fertilizer. It's about 2' tall now. The others are shorter and have worse PM.

I'm doing some work on the lawn and was planning to widen that bed a bit in a couple of weeks.

What's a pip?

The pips are the buds for next year's growth; take a look at the first picture in the link below - the little pink/red things are the pips, and they should be just barely below ground level.

Peonies are heavy feeders, and should be fed a couple of times during the year; I like Plant-Tone myself, but every so often I give mine a shot of non-organic 10-10-10.

Here is a link that might be useful: look at first picture

Hi ctopher

My plant does look very compact and is about 10 years old.
Should I divide it now or wait till the Spring?

It wouldn't make sense for it to be an exposure issue if it bloomed fine in previous years in the same location. Something else has to be causing the stress such as nutrient deficiency or excess, soil too dry, etc. Or maybe it is going to bloom, but later than usual. This can happen in dry summers.

I take the dried seedpods and shake them all over the place (I live in a clearing in the woods). The plants self seed, too, and grow where they are comfortable, usually at the edge of the woods or a building/wall, facing a light area. I pull out the ones that I don't want...very easy to do. I love the pink color in spring when not much else is blooming. Lovely.

Plant the seeds now, I don't know if they will get big enough to bloom next year but sometimes even very small seedllings of money plant will flower come springtime. You can wait until winter or spring and they will sprout fine then, but theres no chance they will bloom that year and they'll just sit there taking up space till next spring.

They won't get the variegation until next year but they should seed true as long as there aren't any plain green ones nearby to cross with.

i thought air also ...

with the caveat.. that you ALWAYS do a full fall cleanup with such plants..

which means.. not leaving any of the mildewed leaves to winter-over.. on top of the soil ...

but i am too lazy to google it this afternoon

ken

My understanding is that it's the mildew (fungi) themselves that overwinter on plant material, whether the plant material is not cut back, left lying on the surface or allowed to get into the soil.
It's not their spores.

As Ken says then, it's plant hygiene which is relevant; namely, in a garden, cut down and remove dead plant material in the fall, or before.

Good to hear! I did a little digging and it seems folks are fairly happy with this plant.

That is good to know. I posted earlier this season asking about lime green or chartreuse varieties that could withstand full sun. I had Miracle which could not handle it, and I have been leery about replacing it. But this Heuchera Marmalade looks like a color that could also work.

In full sun, doing well, I also have Obsidian and Stormy Seas.

Now having had "Golden Arrow" for a couple of seasons its good performance in pretty significant shade was something I wasn't expecting and so does open up lots of potential areas for planting this particular persicaria. Having said this it is not readily available for purchase.

The 'peachy' one is an annual...a "Fusion Gold Exotic Impatiens".

The clem flower is one of not very many remaining from a nearby "Polish Spirit".

Here is a link that might be useful: cool impatiens

Take an iPad or cell phone with browsing capacity so that you can look things up when you are at the nursery rather than relying on the tags. For shrubs I also have an app from Michael Dirr who is a shrub guru, formerly a prof at U of GA. Having the references available helps keep me from buying too much that is impractical.

Have a great time!

SunnyBorders -- You'll just have to come to Annapolis for breakfast. Poached eggs over softshell crabs on cornbread. And then we'll head to the nursery.

And nhbabs recommends we go with ipad in hand. I've got us covered!

All are welcome! To bad we can't do a virtual fieldtrip with the ability to taste (the softshells) and smell the roses.

Fantastic! I have two areas that might work. Decisions, decisions. As I get all these plants in the ground, the gardens are feeling smaller and smaller. And it is making me far more particular about what goes in. But Wolf Eyes looks like a real beauty.

I have a Hedgerow Gold in such a location and it is spectacular, lights up the area in the summer and beautiful structure after leaf drop. Al

I think you're right - thanks so much. Calling it "the blue flower that grew by Mom's air conditioner" just didn't have the right ring. If anyone is in central FL and would like cuttings, it's available. Mine is on the SE side of the house in mostly sand, but grows extremely well.

This has been a really good year for Salvia guaranitica (it helped that the winter was mild enough to give overwintered plants a head start). My newly established varieties of Caryopteris (including a chartreuse-leafed one - "Jason", I think) have also performed well.

best advice given so far was to store at a friend's garden. In the ground is much easier on the plants, then you can dig & take to your new place when you're ready. Unless of course the distance is prohibitive. The extra assurance of divisions at a friend's home makes sense. Then there are plants in 2 places. Of course, don't divide those perennials that don't divide easily.

Alternatively you could take cuttings or layer some depending on the type. Layerings might be the easiest way unless you need the new plants right away. Then next spring dig & move.

Julie,
Welcome to our province, whenever you make your move. A bit of advice regarding your perennials....make sure they will survive this zone before digging them up and preparing them for their journey West. I have lost more perennials than I can count, but gardeners are an optimistic bunch...good luck!

the beauty of fall in z5 .. is that warm days.. keep the soil warm for some fall root growth ... and usually the days are not hot enough to suck all the moisture out of the ground .... and the cool nights allow a recovery period period before the next warmish day ...

and its not really that the plants 'grab hold' .. its that the soil will settle enough to hold the plant in the ground.. of course it depends on how big the pieces are. and whether there is soil attached to weigh them in ...

you ask nice simple questions.. that everyone who reads them.. can learn from ... and that is why i take the time to answer them as best i can ...

ken

Thanks so much Ken. I certainly appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions and everyone else on the various forums that take their time to answer the questions. Amazing how helpful everyone is. What I have learned from you folks is unbelievable! No amount of book reading could help as much as you folks do. What we get here is true experience!

not really.. ken is a motivator for other to act..

in my garden.. nothing ever seems to get done... lol

ken

ps: mostly cuz i waste too much time on this infernal machine.. lol ...

I just moved a bunch myself this week that were still looking beautiful and flowering. I'm in zone 6 CT. Usually I cut back perennials when I move them if they are in flower but I didn't this time bc I got lazy. The coreopsis did not skip a beat. They still look wonderful. Some of the easiest plants I have ever seen. I have 6 different kinds. I'd have to look up the tags to remember exactly which though.

I have old-fashioned plain blue Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium reptans) which grows in quite a bit of shade and gets buried in red maple and Halesia tetraptera leaves each fall. Actaea racemosa AKA Cimicifuga racemosa (black cohosh or black bugbane) won't be bothered by leaves IME.

To some degree, the type of leaves matter. I find that oak leaves (pin, northern red, and white) tend to not rot, but pack down in thick masses that are difficult for most plants to grow through. I don't have that issue with other leaf types. Also, IME most maple seeds sprouting are pretty difficult to discourage. I can't think of a plant that would do much to discourage them.

Hello there, thanks for your answers. (Funny, somehow the notification-thingy didn't work, the mails weren't forwarded directly).
So, it shouldn't be Hostas, as there are enough in other areas. Hellebores are not dense enough in my opinion. But I will definitely go for Brunneras.
--------
The trees are a Tilia (Linden tree) and a Acer pseudoplatanus (Norwegan Maple?), and I think the stuff will break down and rott completely. And I hope that a thick layer of old foliage and perennial leaves will reduce the number of seedling, we will see.
The ferns and Aruncus should help as well .
Well, have a great autumn and a good planting season,

bye, Lin