13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Thank you all for your responses. The day I posted the question to you guys, I had just sprayed the bed with Bayer Advanced because just about everything in it was being devoured by baby grasshoppers. After some comments on the oil, I decided to skip that, as the plants that have these things are still young and small. I had also emailed my county extension office and he recommended using malathion. He said they looked like scales to him. I bought some malathion but have not used it yet, as it is my understanding that if they are scales and past the "crawling" stage that chemical treatment will not work anyways, am I correct? I will try the experiment suggested about trying to root a cutting of the monarda. The root thing does kind of make sense to me because some of the ones lower on the plant do look longer and sort of like roots. But the ones on the top, are just bumps like in the picture.
Yes, weed killers have been used in the immediate area. My husband is fighting a long battle with lawn weeds this year. We live in a neighborhood where many people grow weeds in their front yard for the pretty flowers (so they don't have to buy any at Lowe's) and are too lazy to mow and our HOA's sole purpose is to be loved, respected, and appreciated by most. So all those weed seeds continuously blow into our yard. The bed where the monardas and lilies does not get "treated" for weeds but it is in our front lawn so it is possible they did get some of the weed killer in them. None of those plants seem to be dying, though, they are still very green. They just refuse to "grow". My volunteer petunias and basil (re-seeded from last year's) seem to be growing just fine with no bumps, as are the daylilies, salvia, and various other herbs.
Hormone weedkillers (the kind used on lawns) can cause all sorts of distortions short of death including the formation of adventitious roots. With your further information I suspect the weedkiller is the culprit and jeanne001a was right all along. Read the para under 'Symptoms' at the link.
Here is a link that might be useful: Weedkiller effects
This is a year of surprises for sure. My Mums are blooming. Still getting used to gardening in the south, but I'm pretty sure it was well into June when they started last year. I don't like to be too dictatorial to my plants, more of a caring observer, just enjoying the show. Pass the popcorn!
Mums can be affected by weird weather. Last year my mums were fully budded in June. I contacted the grower and they told me to cut them back hard - don't just pinch the buds off. Did that and they bloomed when they were suppose to - in autumn. I don't like plants blooming out of season. It messes with my head.
Kevin
Congratulations, I have never had that happen, despite always leaving the plants intact over the winter. I guess it is a question of how much effort it would be? If you have the space to let them grow to flowering size where they are, and you could use more mums, it would at the least be a fun experiment.
I'd like to hear about these extremely aggressive, even in zone 4, bamboos, please.
Years ago, I decided that it made no sense to worry about both a plant overrunning everything, and the same plant dying out. With bamboo, my experience has been the only side worth worrying about is the dying out side. Between the lawnmower and the climate, the poor thing barely stands a chance. Even after this winter, it looks like it was hit with a blowtorch.
I tried coreopsis 'Star Cluster' last year. It is among the "Big Bang" series, but this one is much shorter than 'Redshift' (which I also have). The 'Star Cluster' plants were tiny last year, but bloomed all summer long (zone 7b) until frost. The height was just under 2 feet and it is hardy to zone 5.
This year, the foliage tripled in width! These plants are the hardiest coreopsis that I've seen. Mine are planted in good soil in my cottage garden, but didn't flop last year.
The yellow is pale, not gold and it develops the burgundy "eye" as the weather cools. I have that first grouping planted with salvia 'Victoria Blue' and echinacea 'Pow Wow Wild Berry'.
I added another grouping with eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy' to echo the eye color and that group is backed by penstemon 'Husker's Red' with more echinacea to one side that is backed by monarda 'Raspberry Wine'.
Cameron
Cameron,
That combination sounds wonderful. You seem to have a knack to know what to put together. When the right plants share the same space, everything just pops! I am interested in the Big Bang series of coreopsis for myself, and I appreciate the feedback about the one that you tried.
I can report success - my friend called me from a gardening center today and when I told her about the Gaillardia, she was able to find some and she loved the blooms. They sound like they may be the regular Blanket Flower, and are nice, big hefty blooming plants. I know she is going to like these. Thank all of you for your help.
Linda
Nice suggestions folks!
Not sure what direction I really want to go. All I know is it has to be something that offers a different texture than the mini conifers.
Eitherway the three of you offered some nice suggestions worth considering.
Any particular mounding sedum with good purple foilage?
Calamintha nepeta 'Montrose White' is another one I just thought of.
How about any dwarf grasses that offer attractive plumes and or fall color?
You're right so many choices!
Yes, I love Delosperma, but haven't tried it in years...
Well Kevin, this is the spring/summer to try again. It seems every nursery is (over)hyping this new entry 'Fire Spinner':
Here is a link that might be useful: FIRE SPINNER
why do you use the term PLUG ...
in the greenhouse world.. that means a one centimeter square plug .. in trays of 100 to 250.. or whatever..
and they are PLUGGED into cell packs ... and grown in the greenhouse for a month or two .. until they are ready for retail ...
those can NOT go in the ground..as they are probably less than a half inch tall ...
if you are talking large cell pack plants... your concern.. is planting 4 to 6 weeks before the real heat of summer hits...
if you pot them.. then they would remain potted until fall .. cool nights.. for planting in the ground ...
ergo.. the issue is.. how long do you want to fool around with pots..
this quandary is another good reason to have a small HOLDING BED [critical care unit, in a hospital] ... where small things can get the extra TLC.. but you dont have to mess with pots.. which eventually get forgotten in my world.. lol ...
plugs or cell packs???
ken
Since I am not that best at keeping pots evenly watered during the heat of summer, i typically plant out my seedlings direct in the garden. They are just in the standard 2x2 peat pots. If you are talking about true nursery plugs... i would pot them up for a bit.
The few things i do to help the transition is to minimally tear off the top portion of the peat pot so that the rim doesn't protrude from the soil. If the peat pot is exposed to the air... it can act as a wick for water.. which then can dry out the roots more quickly compared to the surrounding soil. Depending on the plant, i may or may not break up the rest of the peat pot that ends up below the surface of the soil.
I also make sure that i add on some fine soil on top to completely cover the soilless mix that the seedling was grown in... again.. i don't want the air to quickly dry out the soilless mix.
We are entertaining guests tomorrow with photos of Haiti by DS and by his friend from Madagascar. Food should be easy BBQ stuff.
The garden is still exciting with spring things popping up. I hope to be able to plant things in about 3 weeks, but we'll have to wait and see. Still plenty of weeds to be pulled and then vegetables to start. My plant sitters did an excellent job...so nothing was lost.
We have Phoebe back home and she seems sleepy after her ride home. She also ate grass and threw up! (Joy!) She loves being outdoors and watching us prepare things for tomorrow.
Our DD's brother-in-law found a tiny foal on his property. The vet hopes it will survive, but that is not yet certain. The good news is that he seems stronger each day and is starting to drink milk. Ivy has enjoyed him as part of her birthday present. She's officially 3 now. The foal is probably from a wild horse and therefore the vet says BIL can legally keep it as he has the space and the desire to do so. I'm not able to post photos right now but will try to share them tomorrow.
I'll leave you with the following link showing some photos of the Haitian school where we spent much of our 2 week stay.
Here is a link that might be useful: Buildingaschool, May5-2012
I think mxk3 has the answer to my problem only I don't think I have to worry about it reseeding because I use Preen. Maybe I can try shaking the trimmings over a pan of potting soil to see if they'll germinate. Wonder how long it will take them?
Thanks to all who replied. GW has so many wonderful, helpful people.
I did research what Sevin is affective for, and with such broad coverage it was disappointing to see more destruction.
Sorry I didn't describe the issues better---Small 'holes' are all over the Hostas, but on the Echinacea large areas of leaves are totally gone, and the Helianthus are down to just stems, much the same as the Marigolds. We've had quite a bit of rain since the Sevin dust was applied, so I'm thinking that its affectiveness has probably washed away, since we put it on 2 weeks ago.
Got new batteries in the flashlight and I'll go out sleuthing tonight. Don't know if leafhoppers and grasshoppers are active in the dark, but it's sure worth taking a look. Thanks for the suggestions!
Anytime, up to mid-July sounds about right. As an aside, I used to take my cuttings when I pruned and dip them in rooting hormone, and keep under lights and mist regularly...now I literally poke into the soil somewhere in my garden with my finger, put in the cutting, firm around it and water. About 75% of the time, I have a new plant. This gets harder as it gets hotter, of course, but even then some temporary shade and watching to ensure they don't dry out for a couple of weeks and still almost always a new plant.
Glad I peeped at this thread- I only have my 3 original sedum and now I know how to make more! (By the way, I lost several- seems they are not as dry and heat hardy as their reputation claims. Thanks, Brandy