13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Hi carpathia, I am in Pittsburgh also and doing a hillside. I know the conditions you are dealing with and you will probably not have to terrace it to have plants survive and have a beautiful area.
I did throw all my fall leaves up there every Fall and it made the soil rich and that really helped to make the soil retain even more moisture.
I am using a lot of bushes. I will fill in as I go with some other plants but a large hillside I felt like it needed something more substantial than a bunch of little plants. I am using vinca as the ground cover.
I have so far....
Buddleia
Caryopteris
Cornus Arctic Fire
Hydrangea (hopeful with this because the deer love it)
Physocarpus Coppertina
Sambucus Black Lace
Sambucus Sutherland Gold
Weigela My Monet
Rose of Sharon
Check out Lowes Clearance rack in the back of the store. They have some awesome sales. I picked up a lot of bushes for 3.00 last fall for the hillside.
Hi Marquest, Thank you for the suggestions!! Where did you find the Sambucus Sutherland Gold? That one looks great. My only concern is if it will grow too tall. I may have to stay on top of pruning that one. I did pick up an azalea bush in clearance at Home Depot the other day for 3.50 and put it on the sunnier side of the hillside. Once I put it in, I was also thinking a few more shrubs would look nice. Which Lowes has the clearance in the back? I was at the one in Bridgeville the other day and didn't see it. Also, if you buy the bushes in the Fall do you put them right into the ground or keep them inside until the spring?
I have seen Immacule mentioned as non-flopping another place. Duchesse de Nemours is always mentioned as flopping.
Flame was the first peony ever that I tossed into the garbage bin and slammed the lid down. The whole clump was blooming for 2 days (two, in case you think it was a typo), losing the petals to a slight breeze and 3 drops of rain. Whoever released it on the market should be ashamed and put into the pillory for public view.
I guess it also depends on what you consider "too floppy". I think most peonies will bend somewhat without staking, but I don't mind that at all. I've learned to live with it because I really don't like the look of caged peonies. Yes, those that bend all the way over to the ground are difficult to live with, but a little bending isn't bad.
'Better Times' (on the left) has been a good one for me.
Kevin
Richter's in Ontario has one they call 'Carpet' and list it as M. p. 'Nanum' Would that work for you? They also have one called 'Spice Ball' that appears to be a creeper, but don't give much info on it.
They also have some other pennyroyals. And, they do ship to the U.S.
Here is a link that might be useful: 'Carpet' Pennyroyal at Richter's
For the downspout you can go to Home Depot and get the rusty wire panels that are to reinforce concrete. They are cheap and you can bend around the downspout. Yes, you can buy commercial trellises for this but the DIY way is less than half the cost.
Clematis are not the best vines at gripping their supports. I have them flop down or out all the time especially since Portland is so rainy and windy. They don't tuck in well either because they break off. They climb thin wires better than thicker lattice/trellises. They do climb rebar really well too. I've seen towers made of rebar that they do great on.
888 and woodyoak, so glad you are still posting- how helpful you always are! 888, how does that rusty stuff compare w/ what we have been using- panels of hardware cloth w/ 2" openings- nailed to our wooden fence? is it denser or does it have larger openings?
w oak, def will use that north side idea. i have a new blue clem i'll grow through a philadelphus aurea; great!
i think your point about sheets of flowers is a good one.
linnea, plse look at this and tell me if it looks like your polish spirit!
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/peren/msg0615475621365.html
thx to all of you,
mindy
There are no mutants in tissue culture??? You should definitely post it on the Hosta Forum!!! Where do you think all the distorted plants come from then? Yes, he can travel the world with the money he owns me and millions of other people who've been ripped off. As far as nice persons go: nearly all the serial killers were the sweetest neighbors.
This is actually a bulbous anemone, aka windflower, that typically is planted in fall at the same time other spring blooming bulbs are planted. Once the spring bloom season is over, the foliage does tend to yellow and wither away as the plant goes dormant during the summer months. It should be hardy to -30F but unlike some of the more common spring bulbs (like daffs and crocuses), is not a reliable returner.
pbl - :) I need a relatively fast-growing, thick evergreen plant that will stay leafy on a trellis year round. The goal is to block my neighbor's view into my yard, as they enjoy banging on their window and yelling at me when they see me outside. I know ivy can get out of hand and I intend to keep a very close eye on it.
Ken - I'm not really sure what ivy would work best in this situation, which is why I haven't looked at specific cultivars yet. I can get common English ivy from my local nursery, though I'm not adverse to ordering something else via mail.
So, if I wanted to grow common English ivy in a container, what size container and what type of media would give them plant the best chance of surviving the winter?
The Profusion Zinnias are wonderful. I bought just a few of them this year, but the darn critters ate them all. Now I can't find them except at Steins, and too expensive for a tiny 3-pack. They really ARE blooming machines. Has anyone seen them at the discount chains? I want to replace them.
I'm in 2b and it's an aggressive spreader here, so the cold won't stop it. I find that you can control it to a certain degree, but it's when you want to totally eradicate it where you will run into trouble. It's almost impossible to do unless you go after it for YEARS.
I agree that it is pretty but I will never, ever plant it again nor advise anyone else to.
Here in the PNW it is very invasive, I've seen it jump from cement containers (retaining wall built in planter) at my brother's, take over a friends entire back yard smothering hostas and ferns and also it jumped a sidewalk by sending runners under it at the house I rented before buying our current house.
I thought it was pretty and introduced it to friends and relatives as I had just moved here from Arizona and wasn't familiar with it's habit. Twenty years later they are still fighting it. I moved....
Thanks! I agree that's what it is.
That baby's coming out to be replaced by a Heucherea Midnight Rose that's eagerly awaiting its new home.
Wow, what is that heuchera? What a gorgeous color!
Dee
Oh yeah, the weed, lol - I don't know what it is, but I've got it everywhere!