13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
The deer must be reading this forum because after I posted that I don't spray my hostas, for the first time ever I too was greeted by the sad sight of a bundle of naked stems where a beautiful hosta had been. I've never seen that before and it was quite shocking!
We have deer always, but not particularly hungry deer - not much in the way of snow cover ever and plenty of natural feed for them too.
They are more opportunistic browsers in my garden but will always go to the roses. Next trip they may try something odd, like ornamental allium. One year only, they ate the azaleas.
If I will spray every 6 weeks or so (not affected by rain but you do have to watch that new growth taking place on roses and protect that), Bobbex Deer Repellent takes care of preventing any damage. And there's the IF, if it gets put into the sprayer and used :)
I picked up some Bobbex at the garden supply yesterday, literally had it out and on my deck and spraying was going to be my next chore, when I walked around the house and realized I'd had 'company' the night before. They beat me to the roses by a few hours (and it was my fault, I was lax), pruned 3 down to the nubbins for me.
I did see on a gardening program once where deer are a more constant problem, alternating more than one repellent may be more effective, use one with a good reputation one spray period, switch to something else effective the next and don't rely on the same product each time. I haven't had to to try it, just need someone to inspire me to be more consistent with the one I've got :)
I have observed that this plant goes dormant very early, especially if stressed by drought or heat.
To the OP, are you sure your plants are dead, and not just dormant. If you haven't thrown the pots out yet, I would gently probe down in the soil and see if see live roots and any small dormant buds (which I seem to recall are sort of pink/purple in color and slightly pointed, similar to a peony dormant bud in appearance).
I think it's quite possible your "dead" plants are just dormant for the season.
Cmk... Thanks.. I will email you. I will try to grow again next year and keep more in the shade.. Maybe bring them in if we get another heat wave like this year. Hopefully if the plant can grow out a bit more without the stress... It could take it the following year.
And about the dormancy... I had read about how they will loose leaves in the height of summer but then come back... So I did check the root stock and they all were mush.
Does T. Splendide seed around? I currently have a nice lavender flowered Thalictrum (have long ago lost the record of its name) that seeds quite a bit though not invasively. It's tough to remove the flower stalks without shattering the seeds, so one that didn't need deadheading within a short time period would suit me better.
I'm never "done" - every season I find some spot that needs tinkering with for whatever reason.
we can sit together on this bench... :-)
I plant very much for foliage height & character. The blooms are fleeting, the foliage is there all season. I'm always messing with placement for height & contrast
How about dwarf daylilies in an interesting variety so your entranceway looks different and special? Many colors available. Maybe very small dwarf zinnias to fill in, in front and between, until the daylilies get lush, dwarf zinnias in shades to contrast with daylily color. Buy plants so you can see sizes together, harvest your zinnia seed so you get the right height and color in the future. Dwarf modern daylilies that rebloom and rebloom. I grow old fashion daylilies so I cannot be of help with variety.
Divide daylilies every other year; fill in empty areas to create lush look then forget about zinnias. Later divisions of daylilies can be used as front of the border plants in other areas to create a coordinated look to your garden. Attract butterflies to your front door and your guests will be impressed. If you hate the idea, that's fine, no prob!
Powdery mildew is most often stimulated by a discrepancy in humidity compared to soil moisture. Warm, damp air (high dew point) and dry soils. Lack of good air circulation is also a contributor. The pathogen is actually sensitive to water (rain, irrigation), which will kill off the spores.
If it's July, something in my garden has powder mildew. gardengal has it, this dry combined with high humidity has turned my monarda white with it. If it gets to the point of threatening the life of a perennial I use Bordeaux mixture. Annuals are on their own.
Ken is correct, of course, about the timing. If you can wait until cooler autumn weather, it will aid the plant. But, this stuff is tough, hard to kill, so if you must do now, it will survive. I often pull mine out of planters in the fall, cut the tops, and let them sit dry and dark in the basement until about February, then start watering and give light. They have many white, fleshy water storage roots, and are designed for survival.
My HF Young looks good (type 2) and my texensis hybrids like Gravetye Beauty and Princess Diana. I have several of the little bells that are type 3 pruning, both species like pitcheri, crispa, and viorna and the hybrids like Fascination and they all look fine
My integrifolias all look good: Durandii, alba, Arabella, etc.
Like wieslaw59, my viticellas are in good shape and include Betty Corning, Emila Plater, Ville de Lyon, Venosa Violacea, and Viola to name a few favorites.
Mrs Robert Brydon (non vining) is in great shape with healthy foliage and buds just beginning to open, but you need a lot of room for her.
My alpina and macropetalas look good, particularly 'Stolwijk Gold' which has gold to chartreuse foliage and very pretty seedheads when the springtime blue flowers have faded.
You might want to post this on the clematis forum as well.
Hi a2zmom,
Beautiful pictures. Thank you very much. I'm in Warren county not to far from you. The echinacea is very enticing, I currently have two varieties and if I can find one that can tolerate partial sun and not under perform then I may go with it. How much sun does your spot get? Thinking for yesterday I was throwing the idea around of using annuals there. Maybe some coleus and something else. I have a few coleus around and they are pretty awesome, colorful, tall enough, so who knows.
One last question, do you know of any nursery's that have a selection of clematis? Or any other nursery's in your area that has a nice selection? I'm also interested new places, and I don't have many around me that have any new or interesting things, besides Well Sweep of course.
All of those plants you see get partial sun. There is a large birch tree behind everything and the branches overhang the garden at that point. In fact, I find the echinacea has better color if it doesn't get full sun.
As far as clematis, since it's a spring bloomer, it's not really in stock in most nurseries at the moment.
Nurseries! I know lots. Do you visit Donaldson's? That's in Hackettstown and they often have some unusual stock. Plus they have "perennial fest" every year. Have you ever gone to that? Lots of good speakers. At the moment though, they are pretty cleaned out.
Near me is Morris County Farms which is a huge wholesale/retail operation. Love going there. Further afield, near where I work (I work in Florham Park), there is the Farm at Green Village and also Great Swamp Nursery. Also Plant Detectives, which is probably a bit closer for you, often has some interesting plants, although I find them very over priced.
Of course Well Sweep is in a class by itself.
I also do a lot of mail order, especially if I'm looking for a particular cultivar.
I have been buying wholesale bulbs in the UK for a number of years - it is the only way to go. For the same price as 7-10 retail bulbs, I expect 25 wholesale - and buying bulbs in quantity is also much better than a few scattered little plantings.
Also the tulip debate will rumble on - I have excellent results at naturalising tulips, and not just Darwins or species either. If you can provide well drained soil with a summer baking and a winter chilling, many tulips will be reliably perennial. Some species, such as Batalini and clusiana are also showy and delightful.
The biggest enemies of bulbs tend to be animal digging and munching and winter wet. Make this year a trial year before committing great wads of cash - in gardening, there is always next year.
Check for voles anyway. Although almost any catalog will tell you that Alliums are deer and vole proof, they are not. I lost a bed of over 100 Globemasters a few years back to voles during the winter. The bed was completely tunneled through, and there was even a nest down in there. So, apparently, at least some voles do develop a taste for alliums.
There was a thread here earlier this spring re.the very poor showing of alliums in many areas - mine grew but didn't bloom, except for a few volunteers that have escaped the 'patch'. Several other posters had the same experience. Probably the really bizarre weather this spring. I imagine mine will be back next year.
Jan
groundcovers I've found to be "civilized" (won't strangle other plants): sweet woodruff (May bloom, part shade), Irish moss (it's neither Irish nor moss - full sun), Platt's Black (sun or part shade), iceplant (full sun, dry & hot)
Like laceyvail, I plant with height & foliage type in mind.
I've had good luck with these keeping good foliage through the season, although some look untidy if they aren't deadheaded: sea thrift, dwarf monarda, germander, thymes, meadowsweet, lavender, iceplants, heather, chrysanthemums, and artemisias. All available in the bloom colours you want.
HTH!
I like using sedum with different colored foliage for a long lasting effect - some of my favorites are Xenox, September Charm, Class Act, and Purple Emperor. Purple Emperor needs to be cut back by at least half in late May/early June to keep in compact and avoid sprawl.