13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
In my NC 7b area, my dianthus have been blooming since we put them in sometime in March and beginning of April...and they are still going very strong, despite our constant 90-100 degree temps. These are the cheap ones from the box stores. They don't seem to require a lot of water, either. I'm thinking of putting in more next year, as they are also very pretty!
Yes, it is one of the willow herbs/fireweeds, genus Epilobium. I can't begin to tell you which one, there are several hundred species. Several are used as medicinal herbs, but with the exception possibly of Fireweed, none of them are really attractive enough to use in the garden.
It will be easy to remove, just pull it, it won't grow back. BUT, be sure to do it before it goes to seed, they can be quite prolific self-seeders.
why is it potted.. they grew to 4 to 6 feet in MI ... where it is grown as an annual ...
and eventually dropped so much seed.. that it took years to kill them all ...
i hate this plant.. with the heat of a million burning suns.. or this summer.. like adrian mi heat.. lol ...
ken
ps: and it stinks to boot ... literally ....
I have to agree with Ken that it does smell bad, but personally I love the flowers. I normally mulch pretty heavily so I have never had any reseeding until last year when I got three babies this year.
There is a new cultivar which only gets 2-3 feet tall which is perfect in my garden.
who knew..
back in the day ... i bought from the local mill.. i wonder if mine is real thistle ...
go figure.. learn something new every day ...
sooooo.. where the heck do all these thistle come from.. lol ... and shouldnt it be thith-el????
ken
Thank you for your responses - well, except for yours, Kevin. ;)
I really didn't think it was poison ivy, especially in its young form, but as Eric points out, PI is so variable. I've got lots of trees that look just like Michelle's and I've got PI that is more rounded, PI that is more pointy, and PI that is more like the photos above - sometimes its hard for me to keep them all straight. (I've also got some other 3-leafed weed growing that I will have to post and ask about).
And while I didn't think this was PI, I was still not sure enough to touch it, lol.
I googled hog peanut and it does look similar. Disturbingly, so do some of the images of kudzu. But I don't think that is this far north... yet.... is it?
Thanks everyone. It will still get sprayed with the cider & salt solution, but at least I won't be so nervous to brush up against it!
Dee
Just so you know, American Hog Peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata) and Hog Peanut (Apios americana) are two separate plants that share a common name and are kind of similar in appearance.
If you just google the term "hog peanut" without the qualifier "American" you generally get links to the wrong one.
Technically, it is 6 or more hours of direct sun, with four of those hours occurring between 10:00AM and 2:00PM (strongest sun of the day). Of course, the sun is stronger the closer to the equator you get, so those farther south get more energy from the sun in the same time as those of us farther north. So, full sun in Maine is not the same as full sun in Florida. Some plants need afternoon shade in Florida but don't in Maine.
Generally speaking, I would discount the sun before 10AM at 1/2 and the sun after 5PM at 1/2, so every hour before 10 or after 5 counts as 1/2 hour of "full sun." I would not count anything within two hours of sunset/sunrise toward the total.
I grow many "full sun" plants in less than full sun conditions because I have no choice. These plants (for the most part) do fine with 4-5 hours of sun from 11AM until 4PM. It comes down to trial and error to really know what works. Places like Home Depot love to distill the requirements down to color-coded tags like 6+ hours=full sun, 3-4 hours=part sun etc., but really it isn't that simple. It does depend on your particular plant.
I have seen light measurement tools for sale for about $30 that will apparently tell you what sun exposure you have. I have no idea if they are accurate. Another thing to consider is that an area could be "half sun" in summer but nearly full shade in winter. So, if your plant flowers (or fruits) in early spring, you have to evaluate the exposure then (when it needs the energy) and not in the summer.
bobby69: I would not consider what you describe to be full sun.
First of all, where are you? Are you in a climate where they overwinter, or somewhere you need to dig. Zone 6 and warmer they generally make it with good mulching in well-drained soil.
They multiply, but they' don't really "spread" since they don't have a mechanism to move by seeding, etc. as some bulbs do (at least never have for me). So you will need to dig and redistribute if you want more clumps.
You'll get lots of little "cormlets" from each old corm, but it'll be some years before they get to blooming size.
If you're below zone 6 and have to dig and store, you can save the bigger (or all of them if you're so inclined) of the cormlets along with the new corm - but, again, it'll be years before the little ones bloom for you.
I don't always grow glads, but when I do, I never bother to save them once I dig them up in the fall. They get composted.
If you do dig - cut the fans down to 5-6", dry them well on a piece of newspaper spread on the garage floor or just upright in a clean flower pot. If you store them damp, you'll get mold for sure. When dry, a light twist of the wrist will separate the old spent corm from the new one.
I've had relatively poor results getting a second year's bloom out of a stored corm despite having perfect storage conditions. Glads are quite inexpensive and readily available so when I want them I just start over. Gives me a chance to periodically change color schemes.
Others have fine success with storage - seems to be an "it depends" situation. Maybe some luck, too.
I saw matchstick last fall and really liked it. Sometimes I think mums are too full with blooms and you lose the grace of individual flowers, they are great big globs of color (which is nice on your doorstep) but those quilled blooms just look better imo when you can appreciate them individually.
Varieties do matter. Some are more cushion like.
You could try cutting back by 1/2 water & mulch to encourage the plant to recover more quickly. Also your choice of complete fertilizer in 1/2 dosage every 2 weeks, so as not to over do it.
Here is a link that might be useful: The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques
Thanks! Yes, I'm prone to bold colors this year after such a drab display I had last year. I love how this particular color looks en masse. So I either have to spend $$ and fill it out or wait for it to spread. I'm tempted to buy a couple more.
@rouge21, I'm not sure why I thought that. I remember reading about someone else here who was sceptical and asked the question, but I've read in some places that it's hardy to zone 4. My tag says zone 5. Regardless I think I will be ok, although I lost my beloved Harvest Moon - it never came back this year.
Here it is, it was a small plant that never really grew as big as the pink ones but it stood out so gracefully from everything around it. RIP, Harvest Moon.
I planted "Red jewel" in early June, and it is now beginning to bloom. It's a very deep red with no yellow or orange whatsoever. Its almost so saturated that from across the garden it blends in. It has just popped open a few blooms so I will post pictures next week when it's in full flush. I will say that this cultivar Red jewel is sold as a vibrant fuchsia/hot pink with PURPLE centers, but mine is a dark rich burgundy with handsome brown center which I luckily like a lot. It's been extremely drought resistant for not being an established plant in full sun, especially since I've read they like generous moisture their first year. My helenium is about 3 feet tall and has an attractive compact habit. To encourage rebloom I've been advised to shear back to half stature when blooms are fading.
Wieslaw, thanks so much for that link. I wish some os those cultivarswere available here, but for some reason the selection of Helenium appears to be very limited in the US.
garcan and tupliper, I appreciate the input. Where I was thinking of planting it is in a garden that has a lot of red with blue undertones, no orange at all. Tuliper, I'd be evry curious if you could let me know if you experience the fading that garcan has experienced after a month has passed. If the plant turns orange-y, it would clash with what I currently have planted.