13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

I wouldn't cut them to the ground - not here anyway since we have a shorter growing season than you. I do cut them back anywhere reasonable below the old bloom and get a healthy second flush of flowering. Once established, they're pretty resiliant plants.

I would probably not cut foliage back all the way, as it might weaken the plants to defoliate them like that. Although maybe it would work? Mine always look great with the first flush of blooms, but have never gotten a decent rebloom, whether I sheared it, carefully deadheaded, or left the seedheads on (I actually kinda like the look of the seed heads on some perennial salvia, including this one). Also the foliage always looks ratty by the end of the summer.

It is a durable perennial, because I bought mine in 2005 and they are still going strong. Also the voles haven't touched it, while they decimated the Phlox, Sedum, Echinacea, etc. around them. That is a plus!

Bowles Golden Grass - milium effusum is a gorgeous grass which is quite short but has long delicate flower heads. Blue oat grass (heliotrichon), festuca glauca or stipa tenuissima (in fact there are several smaller stipas such as S.barbata which might work) are all mannerly. Calamagrosis Karl Foerster is a terrific upright grass which will make a narrow clump. For an unreal pale turquoise blue, Elymus magellanicus is a lovely grass (not to be confused with blue lyme grass, Elymus arennarius - a rhizomatous monster). Finally, I grow a small molinia, Edith Dudzsus (purple moor grass) which is a neat, tufted grass which looks delightful with organum and tritoma (My current favourite grass). All of these are well-behaved clump formers with no running roots. Please forgive dodgy spellings.

Thanks!
While on the topic, any lighter colored grasses that will do well in partial sun just outside the dripline of a sentry crimson maple tree (which means only couple feet from base of tree)

Sounds like all good advice here, but I'd like to drop a bit of advice when it comes time to plant your lavender into their permanent places. I've successfully grown the same beautiful lavender plants for the last 10 years in the same place by doing the following:

Don't plant in the shade. They absolutely love full sun and thrive in the heat. I live in zone 7 and seldom water them in summer. Just remember they come from the Mediterranean region of the world: Southern France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc. Hot, sunny, and dry.

Plant in very well-drained soil. My husband put in shovel loads of sand into the lavender bed we made. They absolutely HATE wet clay soil, so amend it if that's what you have. Make sure you buy the type of sand to use with plants! I forget what type of sand its called.

Prune them back each spring or you'll have thin, straggly lavender. Cutting them back will encourage really bushy, thick plants that have lots of flower spikes. Heavenly to see and smell!

And you can get a second flush of flowers if you cut off all old flower spikes when they're done. Simply cut off the top six or eight inches and you'll get a second bloom! I use sharp hedge shears.

Watch for spider mites in the heat of summer. Simple spraying every 10 days works.

And last, but not least, they WILL reseed for you. You'll find lots of baby lavender growing around the parent plants when Fall comes around! I grow the variety called Hidcote.

Good luck!

Thats for the good advice, everyone. I have them in small clear plastic cups right now so I will be able to check their root development to a certain extent. I will also start giving them diluted fertilizer and get them outside in a sheltered spot out of the sun.

And yep I have horrible clay soil. I have learned to raise the soil level and amend everything. I think the sand is builders sand if I am not mistaken. I used quite a bit of it not too long ago to help build a raised bed for a work in progress butterfly garden.

Thanks again everyone!

I bought 2 candytufts in July last year well after they would have flowered. It was clear from their growth that by August they were well established in my garden but were looking kind of 'ratty'. At that point I trimmed them severely and now this their first full year in my garden they are doing superbly i.e well over 2 feet across and covered in blooms for now over a month.

Here is picture of one plant 3 weeks ago.

(Since the time of this picture it has had more and fuller blooms...a mass of white now. I am impressed with Candytuft in that it blooms for at least 5 weeks starting in April for my location and seems to be a pretty tough plant).

I've sheared mine for years with no problems. They do get ratty if you don't.

Thanks, purple! I will let it be for now. I have decided columbine is bordering weed for me. After trying to control it in a smaller box (half of 7 or so feet by 2 or so feet), I pulled it all out today. I put it on top of my dog's grave (who died 5 years ago today)...I hope it likes it there, so it can be free!

You're welcome. I hope so too!

I think I will give it a good drink of water today and see. I've never had issues with this plant in the 5 years it's been in the same spot. We've had a dry spring with major temp. fluctuations. - 80's in March and 40's in May. It's in dry sandy soil and I do water it, but maybe it needs more. It's in partial shade, but it's been there for several years. I might check to see if there is something going on with the stems that I can't see from the surface.

I actually bought 2 of these with yellow foliage called 'Gold Heart' this year. I wonder how you tell if they are sick. Hmmmm.

wiselaw wrote:

Plants Nouveau advertises a new selection called Freya, which is supposed to be non-invasive, but personally I do not believe in such things before I see them with my own eyes.

FWIW I have recently planted a front border this spring alternating between "Freya" and "Gaillardia Arizona Apricot". I actually made contact with the developer of this plant and he stated quite clearly that it was a compact non spreader.

Of course Campanula does not necessarily equate to 'spreader'. I have the Campanula "Summertime Blues" and it plays very nice with others around it. I am sure there are lots of other examples.

Thank you, everyone. I'm not sure what to do with the plants. They're in small pots, and I didn't spend that much money on them, but I hate to toss such healthy-looking plants. However, I've already had to deal with goutweed, wild violets, and scilla, and I don't really need another invasive plant. Even if they aren't that invasive where I plant them, I hate to waste precious space on something that will look shabby after it finishes blooming.

I swear these plants have gotten bigger in their pots since I bought them five days ago. That might be a bad sign.

I've lived in Houston, TX; Nashville, TN; Orlando, FL; Los Angeles, Fresno and now Sonoma county, California, and I'd definitely prefer any California climate over anything in the SE. I used to be very interested in tropicals, but got over that after a bad freeze in Orlando wiped out practically my entire garden. It's weird, temps in Orlando that would wipe out a lot of plants (like Citrus) can happen in California and they are untouched. I think it has to do with the gradual cooldown typical in California compared to the SE, where weather fluctuates too much.

The weather here is the best I've ever had, overall, for growing plants, though I'd prefer it rained a bit more and stayed cooler (our nights are cool, but some days get warmer than I like). I think around Eureka and Ferndale might be closer to what I'd like.

I never want to live in a hot humid climate again, summers are just too miserable, and none of the perennials I like survive there.

--Ron

I am curious as to whether or not you moved somewhere. I too commuted once to NYCX, where I worked 5 years. I went back to Ky, about 120 miles north of the Asheville area that manyh of these people recommend. I like Ky. a little beter than NC because, when I lived in NC, it sometimes got unbelievably humid. In Ky., there is a temperate zone -- it is compared to San Francisco sometimes. Land costs tens times more around Asheville, and it is more biodiverse n the woods here. Just not as muh culture.
If I meet the right friend(s), I would share land with them. I am trying to farm more than I can handle.

Just replace these with some yellow Gaillardia. They bloom longer and look fuller.

Rouge - I've not had to put "hoops" around the 'Star Cluster' for support, but I do use hoops for the taller 'Redshift'

Cameron

I was thinking silver dragon as wel.

I agree, Liriope spicata 'Silver Dragon' (formerly, Ophiopogen spicatus).

It has a tendency to spread more than it's variegated cousins. In my garden (mod moisture, rich well-drained soil, full-sun/part-shade) I found it sent out runners that popped up 1 to 1.5 feet from the main plant.

They are tough as nails. Even grow in the cracks in my driveway.

tj

Thank you! Wonder why so many sites make them seem so tempermental

the link, which I lifted from an earlier epi. post, is
http://home.earthlink.net/~darrellpro/
I think that email address listed must get to the new owner, as well. She worked with Darrell for years, and clearly has some sort of on going arrangement.
idabean

I will include another great epimedium source - Naylor Creek Nursery here in WA state. A superior shade plant mail order source (very highly rated by the "Other Place") with an excellent selection of some pretty uncommon epis as well as a full selection of the standbys. And a whole bunch of other neat shade stuff!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Naylor Creek Nursery