13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Never got around to taking the rosa glauca out. I like the idea of Dutchess of Albany, esp since it appears the clem bit the dust.

Thanks.
mt

Finally, r.glauca has matured into a lovely specimen. Unfortunately, the winter moth larvae mature just as it leafs and they chew up the leaves badly.

Apparently, I did not hit the clem/rose balance. The clem's been climbing but has never bloomed. Careless gardener that I am, I don't remember which one I planted. If I could get just one bloom, I'd know!

Experimenting with a bit more fertilization of the plants, hoping to encourage the clem to bloom.

In the mean while, has anyone else experimented with success?

Marie

Kato - the compost folks would toss the stick from your ice cream bar into the compost pile, and the wrapper.
So - no guilt for eating one eh?
Jan

Tried the turning, watering, monitoring temp routine. No time for that and no energy! I just throw it in the bins and when I think it's done, it's done. Plain and simple. I don't screen, water, turn, or monitor. It's all good. It's all organic.

Of course! Why didn't I think of that?!

Dee

So hope it's not the dreaded groundhog! Best to you, cj

I have a lot of astilbes because I have a lot of shade. I have tried many times to grow them in a site with afternoon sun with no luck at all. The soil is deep and rich and moist. But they hate that afternoon sun no matter how moist the soil. And forget full sun, again with moist soil.

cheleinri wrote:

I think some things just need to be tried as every zone, climate, & even microclimate is different. I'm always amazed at how well some "sun" plants do in my dappled shade too.

I so agree.

I have very successful plants designated as requiring "full sun" that probably only see 4 hours of the stuff.

It can be such fun to experiment with a plant i.e. putting it in a location that might be less than what the tag states i.e. light aspect and or hardinesss zone.

urk, the continual rain over the last three months has been severely limiting on garden work time, while naturally, the weeds and general garden growth has roared into overdrive, flopping hideously, twice normal size (water is much more of a limiting factor in dry East Anglia). Basically, it means staying out until my vest is breached and my boots are leaking Good for planting salad leaves and spinach but hopeless for tomatoes. At least, the work at this time of year is fairly mimsy, pulling and snipping, pruning and sowing - no digging, heaving, dividing or trenching. Enragingly, I still have to do watering in the dozens of pots. Even so, I still have a garden. Many areas of the UK have been suffering catastrophic flooding - a dreadful conflation of underinvestment in privatised water companies, creeping urbanisation and concrete laying (run-off is a nightmare now), rampant developement on flood plains and a truculent Jetstream - in many more areas of the UK, annual flooding is a dreary reality.

I do some gardening almost every day - sometimes it will only be a few visits and pulling a few weeds or snapping a few photos. Sometimes I will garden for a total of 4-8 hours in a day.

I have a good sized parcel (1.25 acres), have created large gardens, and add or expand beds every year. However, I've got to stop and "finish" what's here because I plan to be moving within the next 2 years.

I spend almost all my free time gardening or doing something related to gardening - bird watching, butterfly rearing, winter-sowing, nature-walking, surfing gardening or plant-related websites, editing photos, etc. There is hardly anything in the world I'd rather be doing. In fact, I am really starting to resent the tedious responsibilities of life that get in the way! Haha

Even though Barberry is pretty, it is invasive in natural areas (to the point that barberry has been banned in some states) so I would avoid planting it. Actually I pulled the ones that the former homeowner had planted at my house when I moved here for that reason.

If you want a colorful shrub, consider Fothergilla or Sweetspire 'Little Henry' - both will produce beautiful color during Fall! They also produce fragrant flowers. Additionally, they are native to America so they are already suited to grow here.

Balloon Flower is a great perennial. It's very easy to grow, long-lived, and it flowers for a long time.

I would suggest baptisia as another very pretty long-lived plant.

I am a big fan of Echinaceas. Just do research on the specific variety before you buy (look on this forum for threads about echinacea) because some of the new fancy varieties are duds. Others are great though. I have had Echinacea 'Magnus' for years and it does well. I just planted 'Pow wow Wildberry', 'Hot Summer' and 'Hot Papaya' this year.
Coreopsis 'Zagreb' is a good grower and would be easy too.
I am also trying out Coreopsis 'Sienna Sunset' and 'Red Shift' this year.

oh.....well too late on the Barberry.....I planted 3 tonight as suggested by one poster.....I also put Buzz Butterfly Bush in the far right/left corners....it says they get about 4ft tall, which would be just tall enough to slightly peak over the porch....they smelled great too! My only problem now is that the Barberry is really close to the Gallardia and Salvia now....I may have to dig them up and move them closer to the front of the bed for better spacing. I ran out of time tonight to do any more.

this is defly the short platycodon;likely Sent'l Blue. nice and bushy.

If you choose not to deadhead it, and you'd like more plants, it will reseed itself. Watch in the spring for babies at its feet. They can be lifted when small and transplanted to wherever you'd like more of them.

lida -- i think i would not use Over the Top in your situation. see link: http://www.epinions.com/review/Ferti_lome_Over_The_Top_Weed_Grass_Killer_10454_epi/content_436224364164?sb=1

A lot can happen in a year, especially with rhizomatous grass. Apparently there has been a border failure, load of seeds found its' way in, something. Knowing what it was would be paramount to preventing it from happening again or your eradication efforts may be in vain by next year.

Could be Jackmanii.

Deanna

This is not Jackmanii - the form of the petals is different.

Mindy, I have 60+ Clematis and I am in MD, zone 6/7 :)

Our lot is small, so Clematis are everywhere, LOL. I have about 20 of them planted around a small 10' gazebo, next to many shrubs, along the fence, etc.

I do not fertilize my Clematis every month. In spring, I throw some Tomato-tone or Rose-tone and add compost and/or mulch. After first flush of blooming is over, I cut them back and add more fertilizer - I learned this trick on Clematis forum long time ago. This gives a second and sometimes a third flushes during growing season. More sparse than the first one, but still a bonus...

As for that chart, no, I do not agree with many ratings. Most of my type 3 Clematis are terrific performers, so 'fair' rating for them sounds unfair :)

Still think that Romantika is a better guess than Viola. Viola is still rare and seems to have wider petals.

Mindy, did you find companions for this Clemmie? My 'Negritjanka' is planted with 'Huldine'. They bloom at the same time and the contrast is really beautiful. Just an idea :)

You were all absolutely right to question the location. I made a wrong assumption (She's an online friend) so welcome to 2012 where you don't really know where your friends live :)

She is not in Alaska.. she is in Ireland. I am very sorry to lead you all astray!!

WHEW! i was gonna say, i was suckered into buying a few of these lithodora after seeing them in a New England Flower Show exhibit(morally apprehensible)10 yrs ago. NOT z.5 hardy!

gardengal wrote: What am I missing?? How hard is it to follow a thread, making the assumption you remember the thread title?

There are so many topics in this very diverse and rich GW forum which one may find of interest even if one isn't the 'originator' of the thread....and there is no way I can keep track of *all* of them....and there is no other forum that I participate in that doesn't allow for simple tracking of ones interests i.e. the ability to subscribe to a thread.

And so I ask "how hard is it for the iVillage to implement a few simple changes which many of us would find useful?" The key is customization. If you choose to use your brainpower to juggle all the threads you find useful gardengal then all the power to you but now that I am older I reserve my brain power for more important things ;).

dowbright of course you are right and you aren't asking for much. This topic has been discussed even more recently:

Here is a link that might be useful: come on and update this forum's software