13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Sorry, but in my book 3 feet tall for a plant that may be 15 feet tall after ten years is not even approximate, lol! Obviously, it may not be possible to pinpoint an exact size of a plant due to several circumstances, but they sure could be a lot more accurate in their info. (or geez, at least get together and all print the same wrong info, lol!)

Gardengal, that article was dead on! Since the first day I stuck a trowel in the ground, I have been frustrated by the variations on tags/descriptions. Again, it's not that I believe them and expect those exact results (never have from day one), it's the fact that you can read three (or thirty) different tags and get three (or thirty!) different descriptions. Oy!

And people wonder why I'm afraid to plant shrubs or trees ...or conifers. I don't want to plant the wrong thing in the wrong place.

"... this from a woman who posted a conifer question in the perennial forum and wondered if the shrub forum would be better ... rotflmbo ... "

Hmmm, maybe I should get a job writing plant-tag descriptions....

:)
Dee

mine below.. verified by the name gurus in the conifer forum ...

planted 9.2001.. maybe 1.5 feet tall at the time ...

the DAS [the green one on either side] .. are bout 6 foot for reference. ...

i dont know what to tell you about your book

ken

would have been a heck of a pic.. had i not cut the tip off.. lol ...

They are a great reasonable online nursery. You do not find many of them these days. We have a lot of over priced places to shop online but for fair price and good plants I have to add my vote for Santa Rosa also.

I have ordered from them at least six times in the last five years. I highly recommend them as well. Have never had any problems even with clearance plants.

Chills, I do not know what you've read, but they are much worse than mosquito bites. But their leaves are actually edible when young after being soaked in water or cooked, very rich in vitamine C.

Oh I know how you feel....When I tripped and fell backward on a patch of oputina....

I got prongs and removed the oputinas to a area that will never have to be moved again. It is so hot and dry in the area weeds dry up and get brown. It is perfect and I can still enjoy the pretty flowers. At a safe distance... I have tried to collect different color blooms. They are so pretty.

Yes stumps are attractive to termites, but there's not much you can do about that. The way I figure, better the termites have something to eat out there than be attracted to my house.

Last year I watched a Pileated woodpecker chip away at one of my rotting stumps in the back garden and feast on the termites for a good 10 minutes.

As for planting into the stump, I have no idea if plants will grow well under such conditions. Gardening is sometimes an experiment and that sounds like a good one!

You're right, ken. Who cares what the knaves think? Both stumps drain very fast. I am going to try it. Like terrene said, it would be a good experiment. I may plant some annuals to see if they will grow before I invest in perennials. And, yes, I will post photos.

Mollydog: :)

Which clematis would work best in this situation? Shade and stays relatively small

The majority of grape growers here in the Napa Valley use roundup for the in row weeds around the vines, where mechanical weeding is difficult. Anyone ready to give up wine, just in case? Al

one thing i meant to tell you..

the stuff will last.. in mixed form.. in the garage.. for at least a week ...

so when you start to lose focus.. just put it away ... and with the babe.. release the pressure ...

also ... instead of trying to go anal.. and doing it all... simply target one half... do the rest the next day ... or later ...

you know i speak of my pastures.. north.. south.. middle ... i just target one pasture for any given tank ... do the edges fast.. and hit the big stuff ... and work at speed ... and let it go for a few days.. until i start to see the dullness ... or yellowing ...

then the next day .... do a different pasture ...

in the mean time.. the tiny stuff.. grows a bit.. so next week.. when i head back to the original pasture.. its take less concentration to hit the closer stuff.. and because i got rid of the great mass.. i can work slower.. with higher concentration ...

ken

in my world.. grass is the most invasive weed in the universe ...

nothing will kill it ... in a bed.. [and no .. the lasagna system will not within a bed .. IMHO]

either remove it by hand..

or use a grass killer ...

proper edging is a great way to start ...

ken

I agree, get in there and pull that grass out, get the roots, before it really gets going. The amount of compost you would have to put on grass to ensure its' death would be a waste of compost.

If the compost not too fine to pick up with a pitchfork, that is a lot easier than a shovel. The lifting is the same but the jab to load the fork is easier than the dig to load the shovel.

You can load some on a tarp, fold it, then use it like the chute on the back of a cement mixer, raising one end and using the low end to drop little piles or rows, leaving less spreading to be done. Works best with 2 people.

I have a varigated weigela in my flower garden and I have trimmed it down the last two years. The last few years the leaves are getting all green and I am losing the varigated look. What can I do.

I've heard cutting out the green leaf branches and let the varigated ones grow. Is there some fertilizer or something I can use to bring back the variegated leaves?

I have been growing Weigela as a hedge for 5 years with just one issue: pill bugs feeding on the bark during winter. Planted in the autumn, the first plants bloomed the next spring and have been blooming ever since. Weigela will root directly from stems. Just cut off a branch and stick it deep (remove any bottom leaves, if necessary) in well-moistened soil during the growing season or at least 6 weeks before winter and the plant will bloom the next spring if the the soil moisture is maintained. For issues with blooming, make a winter feed topdressing using 1-cup each of alfalfa meal, bonemeal, and greensand and gently work a half-cup into the top soil near the plant in late autumn; water it in. Alfalfa meal can be created from the pellets (rabbit food) or, alternatively, made into a tea by putting a cup of pellets into a 5-gallon bucket to seep for about 3 days and use this water with the bonemeal and greensand. The vitamins and active ingredients in alfalfa meal (phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, carotene and other minerals) helps to turn on a plant's biological timer, leading to a healthier blooming plant.

A very common double clematis Multi Blue is just a sport from just as common The President. Soil chemistry(or other unknown factors ) can change colour on some Azaleas. I bought Azalea Gibraltar 3 times, with flowers on them, only because they were distinctly orange. In my garden they are all distinctly red.

Here it is on the right. When I bought it, it had the same colour as the orange eye of the yellow one.

Thanks guys. I did notice today...the third bloom is the right color...so who knows????. It wasn't fading...the first two looked different right off the bat. And no cold snaps here. Unseasonably warm winter.

Whatever the case...I'm hoping the rest will keep in line with this third bloom.

Does anyone have any experience with the "Dark Knight" variety? I'm wondering if it's hardy in zone 5. Also, do you know of a good reputable source for this plant? Thanks much for any advice/suggestions.

None of mine die to the ground. They all come back along the stems. I cut them back hard, but not to the ground.

Hi Keith, sorry to hear about your bushes and hope they make a comeback. We also had freezing temps in Minnesota 3 nights in a row. I have five butterfly bushes and just put pots over them each night. I wasn't sure how much protection a 'pot' would offer but they all looked good yesterday. Hopefully the freezes are finished! Tony

I agree with most of the posters. I have two butterfly bushes that popped up a little early this year with all the warm weather, then wilted with the cold snaps we had last week. I saw something similar happen with them last year, except the wilting was caused by a considerably higher than normal rainfall all spring. Both bushes seemed to be smaller than usual and produce fewer flowers than usual during the summer, but I think that was caused by the excessive spring rain AND excessive summer heat. The long and short of it is that you shouldn't worry too much. I'd be willing to bet that they will return healthily when the time is right. Good luck!