13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Glad I posted this as soon as I got it and thank you so much for your quick responses. I received a small cutting. pulled it out and chucked it in the trash as I have pets. The person that gave it to me didn't want it back.

Thank you so much for your quick replies!

Oleanders are poisonous but they are very widely used in subtropical and desert climates around the world. There are literally millions of them out there. Many other common plants are poisonous like ivy, Rhododendrons and daffodils...

When mine finish blooming and set seed, they always lose their color and flop, doing their daffodil imitation and go dormant . I always cut them to the ground when they do that, they always come back next year. Whether or not they go dormant depends on the weather, when it is really hot and dry they always do.

Sandy

Mine always flop.

Miclino, lily beetles is not something you chase. They are not running anywhere. The procedure is : YOU SEE IT YOU SQUASH IT(two nails is enough). It is as simple as that. There is absolutely nothing more in it. No need to rip your clothes to shreds in despair. If somebody has THAT little time , then why grow lilies in the first place? You will have to find time once you have them , or if one is THAT lazy , quit growing lilies

Thank you all so much, I am sure it is the weather now. denninmi , marquest, diggerdee, and ispahan - I agree with you all. We had the same weather in upstate NY - summer in March, 3 hard freezes in April, now drought and broiling conditions. But I'm relieved to know that the damage isn't permanent.

Also check your library or book store for books about growing perennials in your state. There are several books that cover growing perennials in Mn in our local library. Also visiting local public gardens will allow you to see how plants grow in your area and some interesting combinations.

In the long run Ken is right. Nothing beats trying something and then trying something else. You may find some things you like for now but one day you will most likely want a change, just because...

Consider adding your zone or state to your Garden Web name as it helps others respond to your questions.

That stupid zone thing just doesn't seem to stick.
I know I can add it to every post I make(like I just did), but I changed it in my profile a few times and in every post it just doesn't seem to keep...
Thanks to all! I'm going to go this weekend and look for some ideas. Like I said, this is all just the planning stage.
Thanks again! Have a great 4th!

I really like the Geranium 'Dark Reiter' series. The foliage is very beautiful and very dark - near black. It's an easy grower, and the lovely blue flowers are almost a distraction. Mine are in full sun, though I suspect, without having tested it, that this geranium would work well in shady areas too.

Tough to get purple and low because so many that I think of are taller.

Would a see through type foliage plant work such as Husker's Red Penstemon?

I really like Firecracker Lysimachia & cut foilage back because I prefer the purple leaves & skip the yellow flowers. I put them in pots near our dove cages to greet me daily when I feed them. Still it will be taller & kind of floppy, so might not be the edger you want.

One way to keep ajuga in it's place is to sink a large pot of it & keep the runners clipped. When it's above the other plants those runners don't root.

Maybe try one of the brown Carex ornamental grasses there for a neat front of border plant. I had some further back last year, but pulled them forward this year and to a corner in some beds and I like it better. The longer tips types aren't my favorite unless in containers because the tips get caught up in other foliage. I've often been tempted to snip the tails.

Many of the annual in your zone red flowered snapdragons have dark foliage or possibly darker markings on tender perennial geraniums. Many have very lovely accents.

Here is a link that might be useful: firecracker

Funny George, I thought Yellow Archangel was a lamiastrum also, but when I looked it up earlier today, I kept seeing it referred to as lamium. Hmmm.

I think way back when, when I first started gardening, I had Herman's Pride, and it did beautifully for awhile, till I managed to kill it off. That is one that I would try again - and maybe now is the time, lol! What with my l. maculatum dying out on me...

:)
Dee

I sought after lamiums after I read about them in Marianne Binetti's books as slug resistant easy care plants to let roam under shrubs and trees. She suggested to dig out clumps to put in hanging baskets or deck containers in part shade as fillers.

There is a big difference between yellow flowering ones & the pink/white ones.

I've been happy with them, but have noticed they have different levels of vigorous.

My current favorite is Aurea for it's golden foliage plus bright orchid blooms that attracts the hummingbirds in a hanging basket near our hot tub. It grows nicely outward down & up again in baskets.

My least vigorous is a white leaved purple pink flower, perhaps Red Nancy. It brightens up shady corners, but isn't liking container growing. I put some of it in the ground as well and is a slow grower as compared to white stripe green leaved bright pink flowered one, Chequers.

I favor 4-5' sweeps of them as 18" wide edgings in shady beds. In early spring I cut back any scraggly stems to make it tidy. Then I cut back again quite hard after flowering for good foliage all summer. These cuttings can easily be rooted for more plants to give away.

I've only purchased one lamium Aurea as the others were from plant swaps often in a plastic bag as bareroot clumps. They appeared almost dead, but water perks them right up especially after getting back into soil.

The best part is they're so easy care because they flower in the shade without fertilizer, water, or slug bait protection. I've tried some in sunnier beds and as long as kept moist or in part shade or away from heat reflecting pots, rocks, or garden ornaments they do better. Also, they don't need any fertilizer to bloom well.

The 2nd year in the ground growth is amazing! I wouldn't hesitate to plant them.

I ordered them Online, and when I received them they were beautiful. I havent replanted them yet because I was moving, and It seems like the new growth is void of the Mold. The seller said most of the time the mold will go away with the new growth. They said to keep them informed.... I did put them in a sunnier location and they seem to be doing better.

i see pretty active bud growth under those whompin large leaves..

personally.. i would probably just cut off the worst of the lot.. and give the energy to the new ones ...

and i would probably repot it into a larger pot.. with a better soil mix..

sedum.. in general;.. like a drink.. and high drainage .... and that potting media is not that..

the media its in .... hold a great amount of water.. for the greenhouse.. to aid in the rooting of the cutting ...

it wants to grow up now... so it needs different media ...

unless i am mistaken.. that plant can get near 2 to 3 feet round.. and you should easily conceptualize.. that that tiny pot will be insufficient in the long run ..

ken

Hmmm, I have 3 or 4 seedlings of Pow wow berry that are getting ready to bloom. They were started from seed last Spring, and a couple made buds last fall, but they didn't have time to open. Now I am dying of curiosity to see what color they'll be.

The seeds were purchased from Swallowtail. Also got Echinacea 'Primadonna White', which has started blooming and is pretty so far, and Bravado, which hasn't bloomed yet either.

I've purchased a lot of commercial seed, both species and cultivars, and by no means are the seedlings always vigorous growers nor do they always live up to the pictures and descriptions in the catalog!

Great plant. Mine were planted last year and same color as Emaniacs although my camera does not do it justice. Having said that I just saw some at Lowes that had a washed out pink color? Anyhow, very floriferous and mch more branching than other echinaceas

By miclino at 2012-07-02

It was getting on my last nerve since it is right smack in front of a large picture window

==>> i seem to recall it very shaded by the front door..

is it under some ginormous maple????

ken

It's not shady by my front door - are you thinking of someone else's door, perhaps?

The fern is in one of the back beds, facing north, shaded in the afternoon and evening but gets nice morning sun from the east.

Thanks! It's dog fennel. I don't know why it is considered a weed. It's so nice looking in my garden.

TJ

Yeah, even though it is a weed and it smells funky, it's attractive. One grower on our local farmer's market was selling it this spring in one gallons for $8 each as a foliage filler for combo pots. I don't know if she came up with this herself or found it in a catalog. I know it isn't native here in Michigan, but it is commonly seen in nursery stock imported from TN, so it tends to sprout up around new plantings of things. I've seen it quite a few times growing at the base of newly installed landscape plantings.