13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

I love them too although I seem to kill a few off every year but that doesn't stop me from trying.

Ann

I just read it was approved :)

I have a fair bit of success rooting soft cuttings, taken just after flowering.

I am curious if shearing and dividing right after flowering works well with these; that is also what I am thinking of doing :).

I also started some cuttings in a soiless mix a few days ago, with a bit of root hormone (which might have been overkill with phlox since bits of it seem to root all over anyway).

I love that it grows down over my stone wall, but I need to keep it at the front of the garden-- not strangling the echinacea three feet back! :)

Plus I am looking to divide so I can use the same species in other areas of my garden to increase continuity, which is a focus in this my third year of gardening at this house. Repeating colors (silver and lime foliage, purple and blue blooms, spots of apricot and orange color), and now looking to propagate and divide so things are more repeated and uniform. [Rather paradoxically, I'm trying a lot of new species from seed at the same time, haha.]

Whoops way off topic now -- anyway, I'll be dividing mine as soon as they fade! Good luck.

how deep did you plant them???

there is no way i would predict failure of 100 bulbs ... especially allium ...

so the only option.. is that perhaps you went a bit deep.. and they are just needing some time to get up ..

december is pretty late.. considering they should have been planted in early october.. but crimminey.. they are allium ... lol ..

ken

Just wanted to give an update. My Allium karataviense were indeed late to emerge. Almost all are up now, but a few stragglers are still pushing up noses through the soil. I think about 95 out of 100 bulbs are now up. The foliage looks beautiful. I can't wait for them to bloom! :-)

I don't dig mine up at all. I just wiggle the side stems back and forth and they come right up with roots on them. I was able to do both the same. "Double Trouble" is a more robust plant than "Mardi Gras" but the process was the same for both. I guess it just depends on what you're comfortable with doing to your plant. I like that these are so easy to multiply. I have found that I can do the same process with Coreopsis, Amsonias, and Echinaceas as well.

um, there is some difference in vigour - for example, autumnale is much more vigorous than Sahin's Early....but, they are all amenable to regular division - at least every three years and even more frequently. Also, like asters and rudbeckias...in fact, most later flowering perennials, I never divide and plant in the autumn but wait till the following spring.

C racemosa smells pretty rank to me.

I also think this plant (A. simplex 'Atropurpurea') smells terrible in bloom. To me it is like something rotting in the drain, lol!
CMK

Since I love the way the bush looks I am considering looking around at local nursery's for a 3-5 gallon plant to use for the front yard so that it fills in quicker and use my small plant in the backyard since I will be the only one witnessing its growth back there (and enjoy that). I appreciate everyone's input!

They are super-easy to grow from seed via winter sowing. I grew lots of them in 2010 and planted at least one in every bed in my garden. They all grew to full size and bloomed the second year.

According to their Facebook page, still open and very active.

This is not a big operation and given the shortness of the PNW growing season, April and May tend to be jam packed with activity. I'd guess they are moving so fast and furious they don't even have time to think. I can barely keep up with the phone here at an area retail nursery/garden center....I'd hate to think what would happen if I were drawing from a nationwide customer base!! Mail order is a hugely labor intensive selling operation.

I understand the issue of being swamped and of course some patience is in order, but if a business did not answer the phone or return voice messages in a reasonable amount of time nor respond to multiple e-mails, I would not do business with that establishment.

I have boxwood and love them. They like more acidic soil. I use Miracid twice a summer on them. Otherwise, I'm not an evergreen person. My favorite shrubs are Smoke Bush, Bridal Wreath Spirea and Dogwood (which has variegated leaves). Never tried a Rhodie. Azalea failed to thrive so it got pitched. Sounds like you've got good sun. Have you considered a rose or two?

Oh that Smoke Bush is cool! I had completely forgotten about holly. I'm off to research. I remember hearing about the male/female thing.

My 'Luxuriant' does not go dormant. None do for me except spectabilis. The bigger old fashioned Bleeding Heart.

A friend gave me a seedling from her plants and I bought the Luxuriant but I think it was that one that didn't survive. What survived is the one that my friend gave me but I don't think it is in great soil and there are a lot of fiberous roots from shrubs and trees there. I probably could put it on the side where they hydrangeas are located and it would be great for it. It may be about 4 in. if that tall and it's a few years old.

I had a very mature monarda that did not return from winter. We had a mild winter, a bit on the dry side. I'm very surprised, & of course it was my favorite deep red monarda.

We had a mild dry winter here. Local weather reports that we had an 8 inch precipitation deficit before yesterday's rain. Although it was mild, because of no snow cover, I wasn't sure how everything would fare.

Agastache 'Golden Jubilee',and rupestris, that were started from seed last year and 'Purple Pygmy' that was in it's second year did not come back. But Agastache 'Honey Bee Blue' that I've had for years, came back strong and I even have growth on 'Ava' which is a western hybrid from High Country. Anthemis 'Moonlight' in it's second year did not show up. Some of our Asparagus plants did not come up. 'Ghost' fern, is now showing up, but is a fraction of the size it usually is. Some of the daffodils were sparse this year and I lost Galanthus nivalis. Some Dicentra are half the size they were last year. Lunaria bloomed at one foot instead of 3 feet. I lost Euphorbia 'Blackbird'. One woodland phlox that was just planted last year didn't show up. Most of our hens and chicks are nowhere to be seen. Lilac 'Avalanche' has blooms half their usual size and very little fragrance. I lost most of our Verbascum. Weigela 'Midnight Wine' very small purchases from Bluestone last year, surprised me and started leafing out, after looking quite dead until last weekend. The only thing I'm not sure of at this point, is hardy Hibiscus, which it's too early to see growth from.

All and all, I feel fortunate that so many plants tolerated all the crazy weather we've been having.

yes they do but at the home depot some few said perennial

Home Depot isn't necessarily a good source of information about plants, either the tags or the staff IME. If you plan to buy there, be sure to take a resource (a smart phone will let you look up plants online) or write a list of what's available, and go home to research before you return to buy.

The photo is a bit out of focus. Can you take close-ups (does your camera have a macro setting or lens?) My questions would be:
Is the stem hairy?
Do the stems or leaves have little sharp spines?
Is the stem square in cross-section?
Are the leaf stems sort of transparent and "juicy" looking?

Do the leaves have a scent when crushed? Almost looks like Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum).

tj

my children.. liked to pick the dandy-lions.. and then walk to my favorite plants.. and while enjoying my faves .. blow the seeds into it..

idiots

ken

It has always been one of my complaints, and yes I know I have many, that weeds often choose to grow right at the base of my favorite plants. I don't know how many times I have taken out a plant trying to get rid of a weed.

You have some contrary children, Ken :) Gave me a good laugh - til I noticed you used past tense. I assume they are still around, just older now? Gulp!

:)

Agreed, BB's should be left alone until you see new growth in the spring.

Yours looks fantastic! Great job! Those pieces on the ground each want to grow a new bush for you... (enable, enable...)

Mine were green all winter and one of them has buds that should open in the next few days. It's wild how early everything is happening in most places. I swear when I lived in OH (5b), it was the norm for BB's to just start showing leaves about this time, mid-April. Am I remembering correctly?

Since BB's produce buds on old and new growth, and they do it rapidly all summer, there shouldn't be any fear about removing buds or delaying flowering, especially in this, the year without a winter. Even mid-summer when I'm deadheading, I'm very generous with the cuts when I see weaker, smaller buds in front of a much more robust node, and usually remove that inferior set. Once the branches get too long, they seem to lose their oomph. Still end up with a bush that's taller than me.

I cut mine and transplanted a few days ago - cut it WAY back, and mine is not as mature as yours.

So far so good, and I expect it to bloom this year (but high expectations), we'll see!

Yellow Gaillardia from seeds cannot be beat. If you want yellow they are the way to go. I'm.

Although I only bought it last year, I like G. Mesa Yellow very much. So far it hasn't sent up any new growth this year which I'm hoping doesn't mean it got pounded to death in the October snow storm. I harvested seeds from it and winter sowed them so at least I can replace it if it turns out to be a goner.