13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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?
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.
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.
Also the Beans, Peas & Other Legumes forum, there's a few threads on peanuts there.
Here is a link that might be useful: Beans, Peas & Other Legume forum
you can probably dig it up now.. and leave it on the driveway.. until the new spot is ready ...
it might not be pretty.. but you are going to be hard pressed to kill it.. so dont worry about it ...
when it come time to move it.. do it on a rainy day.. or a cloudy day.. for reduced stress ...
ken
nhbabs had some good suggestions. I searched high and low for an old thread of mine, which I can't find, which asked pretty much the same question you do. Large area, part shade, has standing water for long periods (especially in wet years) but not consistently standing water, although for the most part consistently moist. I think my area may get a touch more sun than you describe.
This is what I have planted in the area:
Ilex verticillata (with a pollinator)
clethra
itea
caltha palustris
chelone
bog rosemary
lobelia cardinalis
lobelia syphilitica
siberian, louisiana, and japanese iris
swamp azalea
hibiscus
ligularia
cephalanthus
cimicifuga
viburnum
cornus alba
Already in the bed before expansion were hostas, peonies, astilbes, bleeding hearts, and some kind of bluebells (these surprised me - I believe they are Spanish, which are bulbs, which I didn't think would survive the wetness).
There are also ferns, which I think were not planted but grow there naturally, as well as native asters, which do very well there.
Unfortunately the skunk cabbage, that nasty wild raspberry (I think that's what it is) and even poison ivy do well here too!
Some of these plants are experimental - the garden was expanded about two or three years ago and we tried a few things not knowing if it would be too wet or too shady. The ilex (for sun reasons) and the dogwood (for moisture reasons) are the two biggest "ifs" and so far so good, although the holly is not up to what I had hoped so far. We'll see.
Everything else is really doing quite well - itea, irises, ligularia, caltha and lobelia especially. And from the original planting the peonies and astilbes are doing very well.
Oh, and how could I forget? The two biggest things - two willows, salix hakuro nishiki. They LOVE it here. As a matter of fact I was looking at them last week and I'm beginning to nervously think about that (for me) four-letter word "prune". I kept seeing things like "don't overwater" in care instructions, but they are in the deepest part of the standing water and are thriving.
Hope this helps! This can be a really fun area to garden in if you work with it! (Well, maybe not fun to actually work in - have gotten shoes sucked right off my feet and stuck in the mud, lol) but the results can be beautiful!
Dee
at the old house.. i had a large area.. low spot.. that was underwater for a week or two.. on snow melt.. but the soil frozen ...
and also.. after heavy rain.. could be under water.. for a few days ...
and that is what i call TEMPORARY water ...
dormant plants didnt care in spring .. nothing failed for such ... and nothing i planted was specific to seasonal damp ... and in fact.. most stuff did supremely
i am not sure you need 'special' plants for the area ...
and i am not sure there is enough water.. for those that REQUIRE [rather than tolerate] a lot of water ...
so your presumption of a lot of water.. may have been the failure of the plant .. or not.. who knows...
as you are learning.. you plant.. you experiment.. and what works works.. regardless of our theories...
ken
I have posted several (too many ;)) times re the superb performance of "Cosmic Eye" in my garden this past year (its first year in my garden). Its blooms are striking, it is *upright* i.e no flop and much less tall than many other coreopsis (including moonbeam).
It appears to have survived its first winter with me but if it hadnt I would have treated it as an annual and planted more.
my understanding.. right or wrong.. is that an F1 .. is a specific cross.. between a specific mom ... and a specific dad .. to get a specific result ... all is controlled to get the specific end plant ...
once you throw open pollination onto an F1 ... there is no specificity ..
so the result.. is variable ... who knows what you will get ...
but of course.. that should not stop you from trying.. there is always the chance.. you will get something better.. but most likely you will get some mom.. some dad.. and some weirdo children.. lol ... and maybe even what you started with ...
thats my basic genetics lesson for the day.. hope i am close to reality .. lol
ken
Hi Ken, in this case, my Camelot Lavender seeds would have resulted from cross pollinated with each other. The Lavender plants were the only ones that were blooming at the time the flowers were open and they were in a separate part of the yard. (There was a Camelot White that started to bloom part way through).
I winter-sowed a container of these seeds already and have gotten lots of nice germination. I expect these plants to be lavender, but not really sure. Find out when they flower!
The first year I lived in my house, I treated the property with milky spore AND put up the traps. The sky practically turned black as the little buggers rushed to their death in the traps! Since that first couple of years (20 years later) I've never had a big problem with Japanese Beetles. Not sure which approach did the trick (if either), but neither one is harmful to the environment or to humans. I do know I see a lot fewer grubs in the soil now than I did then.
I'm in North Carolina and they are a horrible problem here. I have a couple of thoughts. I have had the time to kill thousands of them a week and I 'hope' that is doing some good. No one has mentioned that the way to do this is to have them fall into mildly soapy water. Their defense mechanism is to fall away from harm. I put one drop of detergent in a sauce pan of water and while it is still cool weather (they fly away when hot), place the pot below a clump of beetles and place my hand above them. The shadow or the hand or physical contact, scares them and they tumble off the leaf/leaves and fall into the pot. They drown after 15 minutes.
It appears that one beetle draws others, creating the clumping. This probably explains the changing variety of plants eaten. Roses always seem to be a favorite, but depending what else happens to be growing the best at the moment will be attacked.
I believe the best thing to do with traps is to convince ALL of your neighbors to use them and draw them away from YOUR garden, heh heh.
Virginia Waterleaf a/k/a Eastern Waterleaf, Hydrophyllum virginianum. A native wildflower, generally grows in open woodlands in rich, moist soil. Makes a nice groundcover in semi-shade, but tends to go dormant early, like July/August, especially if the soil gets dry.
Here is a link that might be useful: PLANTS profile for this species
Karen, that was a good idea to try that forum. carol23 identified it as a Hydrophyllum.
denninmi, thanks for that ID! On my side of the country, I think it's capitatum instead of virginianum, but everything else matches up. It's a native perennial to the western US and Canada. It sounds like a nice wildflower so I'm going to let it be.
I've been gardening ever since we got our house 11 years ago, and I still make big mistakes all the time!
===>>>
you guys got it all wrong.. its the 'attitude' that matters ...
you call it a mistake.. in hindsight..
i call it an EXPERIMENT.. in hindsight ...
no new knowledge is ever discovered w/o an experiment ..
so quit beating yourselves up.. and never fear the experiment ...
it is said.. you are not real gardener.. until you kill every plant 3 times ... and we can only accomplish that.. thru experimentation ... NEVER ADMIT ERROR ... or if you do.. kill them.. so they wont tell it to others.. lol
ken
I know everyone hates the Big Sky series, but I have Sundown-I think it was from that series-that I've had about 4 years & have seen seedlings from it. All but one have looked just like the parent plant, & the parent plants have all come back each year. I have Harvest Moon too, its seedlings came up purple though.
"Buying the seeds won't be worth the time and effort for their cost."
Seeds are definitely the way to go for plenty of plants... i have 4 trays of various plants in growth now.. but i am only referring to the original poster's note about trying out the seed of the newer fancy varieties of echinacea.
There was a thread with a similar inquiry last fall.
Based upon that discussion I am going to plant several of Little Goldstar this spring/summer.
Here is a link that might be useful: Alternative to GOLDSTURM
HEY ERIC_OH, was the seed package labeled 'Viette's Little Suzy'? Just curious. I'm glad to hear that your plants didn't get over 24 inches. That height would be just about perfect because I have the Salvia 'May Night' in back of my new 'Suzys'. I'm being very enthusiastic about this plant, so I sure hope I'm not disappointed. Say, how big were the flowers on your Little Suzy's?? I'd imagine they're smaller since the plant is smaller. I'll let Mark Viette know how well his 'Little Suzys' are doing for you.
And ROUGE21, thanks for the info on 'Little Goldstar'. I'm wondering if it's the same height as 'Little Suzy". In my search for an alternate to Goldstrum, 'Little Goldstar' was one variety I wrote down to check on. I just happened to find 'Viette's Little Suzy' locally so never searched for your plant. Nice of you to leave the link to Goldstrum alternatives.
Happy Gardening,
Summer
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.