13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

having lived in metro detroit.. of which livonia is..

my personal theory on the z6 that flanks the river and lake st clair..

is all the cement and black top ... retaining winter heat.. and adding just a degree or two in winter.. so that min winter temp is JUST SLIGHTLY higher than z5 ..

plus.. the lack of the prairie like winds i now get in the country.. out adrian way ...

in the city.. you can make and maintain little pockets of micro climate.. which i simply cant do.. do to all the wide open spaces ...

ken

lol I may have the zone wrong I am no expert by far - the map I looked at on the weather channel listed my area of Oakland county as zone 6a, but it might be far from the best authority on zones.

N

In my experience with evergreen Euphorbias, if when I cut out the flowered/spent stems and there is no new growth coming up from the base, then it's shot. But, that's how it's worked for me in my climate/garden/conditions/soil etc. I hope you get lucky.

I'm a huge fan of Ascot Rainbow and First Blush. They don't reseed for me. I like Chocolate quite a lot, but it does reseed quite a lot. If I'm on top of my deadheading game (not usually) then it's not a problem. Otherwise, it reseeds in different parts of my property even, but not too vigorously.

I'm trying out Rudolph this year. We'll see how it goes.

Best of luck to you!

I'd agree with both 'Ascot Rainbow' and 'Rudolph' for color - and they are xmartinii hybrids so not inclined to self-seed. 'Ruby Glow' is another one that offers a lot of color but like Blackbird, not one I'd consider a good bet for the long haul. That intensity of color seems to have diminishing effect on vigor in my experience.

Self-seeding euphorbias can be an enormous PITA in climates where they are so inclined......to the point where some species are borderline invasive. That is a problem with most of the selections of E. characias (like Humpty Dumpty) but I love the intensity and boldness of wulfenii so much, I am willing to put up with yanking out extraneous seedlings.

I haven't gotten it yet, but it's on my list. I haven't had a bad nepeta yet so I'm very hopeful.

Given that it is quite new the only 4 pictures I can see are courtesy of the grower TERRA NOVA. But from those it doesn't appear to be as floriferous as other nepetas?

Give it time and you will have lots and lots of veronica. I rip up big patches each year to keep it in check. I dump wheelbarrows of that stuff. All from 2 small pots.

Veronica 'Blue Reflections' and 'Waterperry' are nice too. But they are not in bloom for all that long. I don't know of anything that is. Maybe the iceplant, but it doesn't grow well in my clay soil. If you are looking for full sun? I have Veronica in both full sun and part sun and I was very surprised how quickly the full sun Veronica filled in. The part sun has stayed in place for a few years

Do any of you grow gaura 'Dauphin'? I'm hunting it and have been for several years. What varieties of gaura do you grow? It is a beautiful sun plant. I love it with my roses. Thanks, Lou

lou_texas - The one in my photo & garden is Gaura lindheimeri 'The Bride.' I've never heard of 'Dauphin.'

These Heuchera babies (and other plants) look lovely! Hope you are happy with order from Garden Crossings. I remember that I was able to divide the Heuchera I received from them into 3 separate plants when received it. Clematis had better roots than those I got from famous Clematis-only nurseries.

My small Hydrangea and roses I received from them this spring look great. We will have 90F this week - a good test for baby plants with transplanting shock.

Thank you alina, We are suppose to be hot this week also but rain all week so that will give everything a good start.

The Hercs are not that big. They look good but they are not big. I am happy they look healthy but I have told my friends to not get anymore gift certificates from them. For the price and size I have done better.

The Bloomerang Lilac was a little seedling. I saw them at Costco for less and they were huge. These are liners they got and did not grow them out long enough. I put it in the nursery bed and will hope for the best.

The clematis are the best of the lot.

If they are going to go smaller they need to throw in a thank you plant like some of the other vendors I have dealt with. Greed will get you less in the long run. Word gets around.

NEVER fertilize a stressed plant ...

do you force feed sick kids???

let it do its thing.. before you love it to death ...

ken

that's why I'll feed it very lightly next month, after the thermal cycling stresses are done, & not heavily right now. :-) If it still looks sick I'll forgo the feed.

I checked.. nothing seems to be wrong with the roots: no grubs, other nibblers, or mushiness.

Well, as long as you put it THAT way, Ken. ((LOL))

I agree with mollydog's recommendations. "Sheffield" is rock-hardy here. I view all of the potted mums sold in fall in this area as annuals, especially if there is no growth visible at the base of the plant.

Last year I decided to give seed-grown Korean mums another try, and I have good-sized clumps this spring (true, it was a mild winter here). I'll be trimming them back in a couple of weeks which will give me material for cuttings and should result in more bushy, well-rounded plants.

my globemaster are multiplying and standing straight up at attention, here in MT. Bizarre they grow an inch a day...expect to bloom in 2 weeks.

oh...I should say, I believe this is their third or fourth year. However, I have the small white ones with beautiful foliage...I just don't like them.

Well, I'll let my pictures do the talking:

Gunsmoke--improved greatly after I moved it from underneath a dogwood tree to a new bed free of tree roots

Sweet Tea--gets bigger and better every year

Brass Lanterns--need I say anything?

Solar Power--new last year, growing well this year

Karen

Shoutout to Redstone Falls. Survived a very little snow here in Zon 3/4. Doing nicely.