13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Gardenweed, I would love to have that list. I have been meaning to put one together but have not gotten around to doing it as yet so your list will be a big help.

Thanks!

Ken_Adrian, how do I admit to DH that he was right in saying that the the tree has to go? LOL.

==>>> just give it to him.. i am sure he loses most other arguments ... why is YOU WERE RIGHT.. the hardest 3 words for married couples.. lol ... and.. since it was his idea.. ask him to remove it.. with malice .. lol ... there is a downside to being right.. lol ...

i am not happy to see a giant maple there ... that tree is going to be the bane of your gardening happiness no matter what you do ...

roses are probably not going to work with the maple.. and the lack of full sun ...

i am happy .. to have focused you on the right way to do it ... i will leave it to those more inclined to design.. to take it from here ...

ken

ps: do you still need the private property sign on the maple????

OMG, the chipmunks wreaked havoc last year! I had no less than 3 yellow jacket nests in chipmunk holes last year, maybe more in back where I don't go, as well as 2 holes burrowing against the foundation. They can indeed enter your house and cause major damage, just as mice and other rodents can. I got stung by yellow jackets 3 times last year while mowing the lawn, kept forgetting one of the friggin' nest holes was in the middle of the front lawn!

This year the chipmunks are scarce. :)

As for voles, I just went and exchanged the 1/2 inch HW cloth for 1/4 today. It was a bit more expensive, but I already have some 1/2 inch anyway. I want to protect the special Echinacea seedlings I started last spring and have over-wintered very well (Pow wow wild berry, Bravado, and Primadonna white). Think I'll go down 6 inches with the wire.

There is still a vole hitting a plant here and there in the front garden. Discovered most of my Phlox 'David' in the decimated! Ugh! At least I have other 'David' plants, including a small clump from last year's swap, some seedlings from 2 years ago, and some sprouts from this year.

PM2 the squirrel/raccoon baffles I have on the feeder poles also keep off chipmunks. I enjoy watching squirrels or chipmunks go up a pole, up under the baffle, and a minute later, come back back down the pole. The baffle probably "baffles" them!

Oh and so far the voles have not touched the Peonies or Foxglove - of course, probably NOTHING eats Foxglove. Another totally poisonous plant. So one can always have a garden made up of daffodils and Foxglove and nothing will touch it.

I'm always amazed at how many times I think something is dead and it shows up later than I expected. This year, it was Hydrangea 'Incrediball'. I bought a very small pot from Bluestone last year and it sat around for a couple of months in late summer, forgot to water it a few times, finally threw the whole pot into the vegetable bed in November and it looked half dead. Sure enough, this spring, it looked dead. I could also see that it was a quarter of the way out of the ground too. Sure enough yesterday I noticed that it is pushing up new stems. Very happy about that.

Same thing with Weigela 'Midnight Wine' Same situation as the Hydrangea. No sign of life then noticed today one that looked dead last week, is now covered in leaf buds. The other still looks dead. But like Babs, I will probably wait until June before deciding something is dead.

Some things are actually easy to declare dead, and in such a case there is no reason to wait to June. If you put your finger into the place where the plant is supposed to be, and everything is rotten, it will not resurect just because June has come.

Be careful on how much shade. I planted several plants in a shade area, heuchera appears to be the only one that died. They definitely need more like than Hostas.

I generally see it grown in full sun or partial sun in my area.

Paul

Sun versus shade depends on the type/coloring of the heuchera in question. Most are going to be happiest in quite a lot of sun, although part shade is generally fine. The darkest colored purple/maroon/black colored ones like pretty much full sun - they fade out in much shade. Those that have very golden or light chartreuse foliage appreciate at least some shade in the hot afternoon or they scorch.

I'm not sure how these got such a reputation as a shade plant - just like hellebores, who share that same reputation, they are shade tolerant; not necessarily shade lovers.

Thanks! Is it too late to move these clumps this year?

I do not think it is too late. Just dig them up with a clump of soil, so that they do not notice being moved.

ok, it's a cloudy day so I've just been surfing and found this old thread. All I can say is "so that's what's wrong with my coneflowers!" When I first saw them several years ago, I bought them from an expensive nursery, was fascinated by the colors and had them order more for me. I don't believe they were from Stacy. Lo and behold over the years the plants have stayed miniscule amongst several old purple variety that a friend gave me. The petals always look shriveled and I was thinking maybe I was killing them even tho, the purple were fabulous. Thanks for posting these opinions as this spring I will just rip them out and put in something else.

I have to laugh now when I read this thread. I learned so much from this experience. The main thing I learned is just to plant Gaillardia if I want yellow, orange, or red. If you must go the Echinacea route, stick to the Pink or White. LOL.

ditto what terrene said - Garlic Mustard is what I thought as soon as I saw the picture in your link gg - now THAT is a nasty plant because it is allelopathic, seeds like mad, and has a very long life as seeds in the soil !

I stupidly planted sweet woodruff, muscari and lily of the valley in the same bed.....fifteen years ago and I'm still trying to rip them out.

It looks like a variety of Bleeding Heart (maybe dicentra spectabilis?). It looks for sure to be one of the old-fashioned varieties. Hope this helps!

The flowering one is indeed, Lamprocapnos spectabilis (formerly Dicentra spectabilis; old-fashioned bleeding-heart!

I think the plant I was sent might be Adenophora confusa. That sounds like the right name.

Thank you to everyone for your help and comments.
Linda

I have one of these in the garden. Not sure if it is the Adenophora or Campanula. Whatever it is, it was here when we moved in over 30 years ago and I am still trying to get rid of it. Digging it out, seems entirely useless, because every little bit of root will resprout. I've tried smothering it with layers of cardboard and bark mulch and it grows right under it and actually 'lifts' the cardboard. I have some growing in a crack at the base of a set of cement steps and last year I tried cutting all the foliage to the ground and must have repeated that about 10 times over the summer and it is still there, just as vigorous as ever.

Ditto above.

A few years ago, I walked out the door with my arms filled with everything I needed for work, got into the car, and put my seat belt on. It wasn't until then that I noticed that I was missing my blouse.

Wow, gorgeous, are you going to try a cutting, I would :).

Annette

It's a stem on a seedling I found in the driveway. These are seeding all over the place. I like them so I don't mind. It looks like the blooms are going to be a different color on that side too.

I'm going to root a cutting of it and see what I can make out of it. This kind of thing isn't stable so it'll probably just make solid yellowish foliage and/or solid purple.