13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Glad it helped Mindy :)
Next spring, pinch back all new growth (above the first leaf nodes). Each stem will throw two new shoots from these nodes. You can pinch these new shoots too - that will help to form a nice bushy Clemmie, not a 1 or 2 vine wonder. It will also stimulate the roots and maybe some new vines from the crown. If it is type 3 Clematis, do this each spring. Many type 2 Clematis response well to hard pruning too.
You are an experienced gardener and you know that you have to keep it watered well until it is established :o)
alina, i am following your lead in all things clematis!Yes, the watering, we're on it. You know alina, i think we'll be up to 60 or so varieties after we plant all these. I've kept to the smaller flowered ones about 70% because we are growing them up conifers and shrubs mostly; many obelisks and 2 trellises for the large flowered ones. I don't know if we will be successful w/ their happiness because 80% of the time, we are squeezing them into their spaces; our gardens are so packed (you can see on the website what i mean>> See No Evil= See No Dirt for us!)But we are trying to give them peach basket sized holes w/ manure and lime added. I think the ones we have lost over the years have died because of drought or lack of fertilizer, so i really want to keep on the water and monthly fertilizing programs.
As for cutting back, the really helpful woman at Donahue's, a few yrs ago, told me that ALL clems do well w/ cutting back to ground. As I have been doing the opposite these 6 yrs. since we started w/ clems, (no cutting at all!),I hope to be able to follow her advice next spring.Do you do that?
Since I'm turning this post into a Clem Overview, i will add that of my orders this yr from Garden Crossings(Midwest),Brushwood(GA), Joy Creek(OR), and Plant Delights(NC), I found GC to send the most perfect specimens (like fake they were so perfect!with about 12" of greenery on them) and brilliantly packed in a box w/ built-in cardboard cells. Brushwood was very good, and the latter 2 were just O.K. I think all of the clems had good and comparable root systems, so I'm just talking their tops here. I bought the largest number from JC because Br was sold out of most things. I know JC has a number of diff growers and maybe that accounts for the ugly/ all cut back tops. But they certainly do have a great big selection, esp of smaller flowered clems. JC, because we're in boston area, has the highest shipping costs(or, i should say, UPS has the highest shipping, from there)and GC shipping was surprisingly low for being in the midwest. Where are you alina? What's your vendor experience w clems? Oh, I have to say- the other plants i ordered from GC- carex banana boat, some agastache-- were all wicked healthy hunka plants.They really did impress me.(Oh, and they shipped almost immediately too, where the others were 1-2 wks behind them.)
thnx so much for all your helpful advice.
mindy
www.cottonarboretum.com/
I allerted the *respectable nursery* I've been dealing for many years ~ the response wass * as long as they are available from their supplier - should still be ok*. I did suggest that they should make info from the DNR available to gardeners, if they are indeed a respectable nursery & wish to protect our prairies!
FWIW
BTW Mnwsgal this is for you & anyone growing *Herman's Pride* since replacing YAL & succeeding in near 100% elimination, HP has not improved in size of clump ~ it's been over a year now! What do I do ~ he has a good size site to enjoy!!!
Your thoughts & experiences please? TIA
Phlox can also get Phlox Bugs, a tiny orange sucking insect that can cause mottled and curled leaves. They're bigger than aphids but still hard to see unless you look for them. They scurry around and will hide under the leaves or drop to the ground when you touch the plants.
Phlox bugs overwinter in the egg stage in dead phlox stems so if you do have them, cut back the foliage this fall and put it in the garbage, then hopefully the problem won't return next year. That's my plan. I've been squishing and have sprayed a couple times with some kind of organic stuff but I'm still finding a few.
I thought my phlox just had frost damage this spring so I didn't catch the problem very early. I have one patch that looks awful and not blooming like my others.
Here is a link that might be useful: Phlox Bugs
@ Ken, you're right, AY causes odd looking blossoms on coneflowers, and leaf disfigurement too, but I wasn't sure if it acts the same way in other plants as well. I have a couple of possibilities now anyway and that's what is so great about the forums
Christie, thanks for the link too, I'll be inspecting!
Deb
When I have my 'freaking phone' with my while I am gardening it
so excited.. you sent that 3 times
No...just more evidence this forum's lack of even basic customizability (I know this isnt a real word). So obvious that one should be able to delete multiple identical posts.
Yep, I guess I gave myself away as a new gardener! : ) I don't remember it going dormant last year, but it's been quite a bit hotter this summer (100+ last week, which is unheard of in the mountains). Well, I'm glad it's not sick! Thanks for the help.
The hotter, sunnier or the dryer the weather gets, the earlier celendine poppy (or wood poppy) will yellow up and go dormant. If you keep their soil moist and it doesn't hit triple digits, they may even stay green all summer in a shady spot.
This summer has been so hot and dry so early in my Maryland garden, even the wood poppies in my shadiest spots are already yellowing up.
Also, if you deadhead religously, they will continue to bloom until they go dormant.
While prolific spreaders, they are easy to rip out or move when they show up in the wrong place like the middle of a path.
KimKa
I planted Zagreb back in 2005. I've divided it once since then. The plant starts to bloom in early July and keeps blooming until frost with deadheading.
As far as deadheading goes, sinc there are literally hundreds of flowers on the plant, I find that trying to deadhead each flower individually is sheer insanity. Instead, I wait until 80-85% of the blooms are done, then I take a pruner and clip the entire plant back. Much easier.
Good drainage is the most important factor for success I've found with these plants.
You will find that experience will dictate which plants respond well to deadheading and which do not. For example, my Shasta daisies ('Silver Princess') showed no signs of producing new flowers at the lateral leaf nodes but was producing tons of basal foliage with buds, so I went ahead and cut down to the basal foliage.
Just because a plant is on the list doesn't mean your particular plant will respond -- just that those species tend to benefit from deadheading. If anything, there is an aesthetic benefit. DiSabato-Aust writes that you may improve the longevity of perennials that tend to flower themselves to death (Shasta Daisies, Gaillardias) by allowing basal foliage to develop at the expense of current growth.
at link.. 4th down .. the blurb says:
If you see split stems this is probably due to drying out followed by watering.
i always thought.. they were just growing faster than they could cope ... and considered it cosmetic..
and the solution to that problem.. is to quit sticking your head inside the plant.. and enjoy it from a little more distance.. other than to whiff the scent.. lol
nothing to worry about.. IMHO ...
ken
Here is a link that might be useful: link
I would enjoy it more now even from a distance if the yellow leaves weren't so high up the stems that they are making the plants rather unsightly [although they are flowering nicely]. Guess I'll just keep spraying with fungicide once a week. Unless you have other suggestions.
New growth on boxwoods will also appear lighter and be softer than the hardened off "old growth". If you've fertilized that corner more than the rest or shaped it by pruning you could have promoted new growth.
I have a row of twenty two 'Green Velvet' boxwoods and there can be differences in the appearances of different sections depending upon how I've pruned that spring or if I've fertilized surrounding plants. I suppose even providing supplemental water to one area could cause a variation in appearance.
Do you think that might be what's going on?
If not, I also subscribe to the different variety theory.
Pretty hedge and planting area!
Adona
This iris thing just kills me. There is a guy down the street from me who has his irises planted SO DEEP that I go nuts every time I walk by. But GUESS WHAT...... he has the biggest, most beautiful iris blooms I have ever seen every single year. And mine are planted properly on top of the soil (practically speaking) and I get nothing. He even adds compost to those irises every frigging spring. I can't stand it.
Some areas have borers, some don't. If you're lucky enough to live in an area without iris borers, your iris won't get borers regardless of when you trim the foliage or how deeply you plant the rhizomes. My soil is heavy clay. If I buried iris rhizomes, they would absolutely rot in winter. Since our winters are wet, I remove the foliage in autumn along with any fallen leaves that have blown into the beds. Still, I get a couple of borers each year.
Patann, I wonder if you have sandy soil. In sandy soil, fertilizing iris with compost or another organic once a year would be a good idea.
Dianthus do like moist but well-drained soil. What do you mean by "none doing well"? Are they dying, not blooming, leaves brown? I would try to solve the horticultural issue before abandoning the plant genus altogether, but that is just me.
Alternatives might be something like Armeria maritima, but they have pretty much the same cultural requirements as dianthus and perhaps require/desire less moisture than dianthus. But, it is a good substitute looks-wise.
had dianthus coconut punch and Telstar scarlet. All shrank in size and barely bloomed. I have dianthus doing just fine in drier locations.