13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
My Brunnera is not completely up as large as it should be but it's blooming already. Tonight, though, we are to go down to 26. My plant is next to the house, in a protected area so it should be all right. We did cover the Maiden's Blush lilac that is already starting to bloom. I hope it will make it without cold damage.
Linda
If planted early enough, columbines will bloom their first year from seed. Typically, established plants will self-seed freely and produce flowering plants the next season. Since they tend not to be a very long-lived perennial, that's a good thing as they continually produce replacements if you do not deadhead. The plants are quite promiscuous however and will cross pollinate with each other wildly so be prepared to to enjoy offspring that do not necessarily resemble their parents.
Not sure if anyone is at all intersted in the outcome but...it lived!!! I am thrilled. I looked out last week and there was nothing, looked again yesterday and pink buds are welling up!
I actually DID end up moving the plant to the wine barrel planter behind the shed, where it is shady and cool. The last leaf died off soon after, but I decided to let it be and see if it would retun in fall or spring. So pleased it did! I wish I had a spot in the garden it would like, but at least it is living where it is- hopefully it won't mind life in a pot.
I will be interested to see if it goes thru the same die-back process come summer. Maybe that is the norm with this plant...
CMK
I was horrified at how much they had spread and pulled out most but left a few. But those few were so welcome at the end of August I was glad I had left them. They made the whole garden, they were so cool and sparkly. I am now looking forward to planting the soft pink alium Summer Beauty to make a similar effect as soon as it gets affordable.. Saw it at the Lurie Garden in Chicago -- it was splendid and hopefully it will be more manageable. Meantime I'll pull up as many Chinese chives as I can this spring but leave a few for August.
Terrene,
I'm glad you mentioned recent transplanting. We had big rain all day Friday and thunderstorm during the night. The
first lawnmowing is due Monday and I have about 10 clumps of gh which have meandered out into the grass. Usually I
bring them all back in the beds when they grow foliage in the early fall, but I'm going to emulate you and try it now. We're zone 5 also and have been having very warm weather until today when it's back in the low 60s.
Grandma Chris
Grandma, I started transplanting around the first day of Spring, bulbs and mostly perennials that are in beds around the foundation of the house, where it warms up fastest.
This year I actually planted 2 Amaryllis bulbs on the south side of the house even before Spring started! I was annoyed with them because they sent up only foliage this winter, and so they were banished outside, about 6 inches away from the foundation. With a little organic bulb fertilizer. I am not worried about frost because the foundation is warm and prevents frost from reaching that close to the house. They are actually doing quite well, but it's been dry, so I water them pretty regularly. Maybe I can bring them in and they will bloom next winter.
I got my tabernaemontana from a deserted neglected planting
whose owner had planted them out by the road on an easement
and when she died no one but me knew they belonged with the
"back house". After identifying and watching them for about 3 years I asked permission and came digging. The roots were very huge, warty and tuberous. I nearly destroyed them and myself digging them out! However they
survived and when they came up the second year I divided
the clump but I haven't looked underground since. If I
do, I'll send you an e-mail. I love that plant and I always get attention with it because no one seems to know
it around here.
grandma Chris
put this in your newbie head
the bigger the flower.. the more sun it needs ..
so comparing the little plain old red to the big foo foo. hybrid.. well
want to take a wild guess.. which one will need a little more oomph .. or sun???
if the genetic starting point .. the species ... which i thought the red one was ... grows in shade.. they will all tolerate shade ... its just when you start crossing genes in the seed pool ... and select for bigger flowers ... the logic would dictate.. they need more sun.. more energy production ...
and this is not specific to columbine.. and that is why i am taking the time to splain it lucy ...
the bigger the flower .... the more sun it will enjoy ...
ken
Here is a link that might be useful: link
Ken the state flower of Colorado is Aquilegia caerulea, Rocky Mountain columbine. My absolute favorite in the genus!
I am growing A. caerulea in mixed colors, the Origami mix, as well as McKana's Giants and A. canadensis, the eastern native. Most are doing well in mostly shade, but it's not heavy shade all day long. A few are in sunnier spots.
Weislaw, most Columbine does seem to be a short-lived perennial, but I've got 2 A. canadensis plants started from seed in 2008 and they are up and doing well this Spring, so they are in their 5th season.
Very nicely done. The round bed in the front is the focal point. The Ninebark is a secondary point. I would grow a clem on a trellis on that wall, but grow two of them together. Plant a white like Huldine and a red/maroon like Warsaw Nike to play off the color of the Ninebark.
Steve
that darn dog always ends up in the picture.. whats it like.. to be a god.. to a canine.. lol ...
espalier???
or did someone already suggest that??
wonder if you could do such with strobus pendula??? or larix diana??? or decidua/kaempheri pendula???
ken
Here is a link that might be useful: link
I have to agree with the soil amendment, I skipped that part when I was a newbie trying to save money and had to replant the whole bed. It will make you life so much easier later and your plants will grow really well.
As Ken said don't be afraid to try things, most of us change the plants around every now or then or even yank some out if they don't perform well. It's part of the fun of being a gardener!
Why am I getting the idea we are being kept in the dark about something major? Like this hedge is in the desert, and the real question is what isn't going to require continual watering.
If that's the case, then may I suggest gravel.
It isn't something any sane person would use around here, because our biggest maintenance problem is weeds. So what has been discussed here is the problem establishing a dense enough groundcover that weeds can't compete. In an area where small rodents go around deliberately planting aggressive tree seeds, this is a difficult problem. In areas where few plants can grow without irrigation, it's much easier.
This link explains some of the confusion about why there can seemingly be frost at air temps above 32 degrees.
If you are only scheduled to have surface temps of 37, I would say it is unlikely that you see frost, especially if there is any sort of wind going on.
Here is a link that might be useful: Frost
ahhhh
if garden could so simply be reduced to scientific certainties ....
IMHO .. there are too many variables to come to any answer with specificity ...
temp is not the only variable ... you must add .. cloud cover .. wind.. micro climate .. and elevation ... and suburbia ...
e.g. .. across my 500 foot wide lot.. which is 8 feet lower in the center 100 feet.. cold air pools as it move from high to low.. since warm air rises.. and many springs.. the forsythia/yoshino cherry ... down there do not bloom in bad years ... due to frost or freezes
so if the forecast is bad.. you have to either go zen.. ala doris day .... what will be will be ...
or you take action.. if you wish ....
but your decision can NOT be made on some precise forecasted temp ... NEVER FORGET ... mother nature is a cruel mistress ... and it brings her supreme delight to mess with our heads ...
ken
Here is a link that might be useful: link