13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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.
I saw it at my favorite garden center and it looks similar to black eye susans but is large flowers..I have the double sun-gold rudbeckia..that I rec'd the seeds in the Wintersowing swap one year and it has double layers of petals on top of each other and large brown eye..It has done so well and I would love to find some more like it. The Tiger's eye were smaller than the one I have. I definately will be saving the seeds from it. When it first started putting out buds, Bambi had a midnight snack and I thought I'd be doomed for flowers but it rebounded and it has lots of flowers and it has been a favorite perennial this year with the exception of my daylilies that I just planted Sept. 2011 that I rec'd at plant swap.
Rudbeckia's will last a long time, and can tolerate drought conditions..easy to grow.
miclino: They bloom for a long period without deadheading so it isn't essential, but deadheading can tidy them up, improve the rebloom somewhat, and produce larger lateral flowerheads. The seedheads are often food sources for birds during winter, so I leave some for them but not too many because Echinacea reseed prolifically.
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