13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
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.
I agree with ken. The later in the year you buy packaged plants, the more of the plants energy will have been used to grow foliage and the less is available to get the roots established. Do as he says and pot them up and keep in the shade as it will take several weeks for the roots to be able to supply nutrients to feed the foliage already grown. Don't be tempted to "pour the fertilizer to it" as this will only make it worse until established. Al
The few snowdrops I have are in bloom with a honey bee in each flower. I don't know what's to become of them once the snowdrops go by as there's nothing else anywhere near bloom. Maybe some of my very few neighbors have crocus but that's just about it - no wildflowers and dafodils are just begining to poke up. Maybe they just go back to their hives and "hunker up" until there are more flowers.
Pulmonaria, violets, daffodils, hardy primrose, and forsythia are all in bloom. Virginia bluebells are growing, Hellebore are in bud, "Berry Exciting" Corydalis is actively growing, Kniphofia is shooting its weird head up in preparation for blooming. Crocus and winter aconite are past. Lots of other things are getting ready to put on growth.
Those pics look great!
Nice colony you have got there, Terrene. I see that you have trees behind, but the roots are probably not near. I will probably site 2 under my ash trees, and hope supplemental water will compensate for the trees sucking so much away. I will put the third one in a nook next to my house, where 2 walls meet, where there are no roots.
Cone of soil, that's a good idea, gardenweed. I could see that, with these roots. They are chunky like daylilies but long.
I have tried these before but they were always very small plants.
linnea56 - glad you got the "cone" idea. I buy a lot of bare-root perennials every year, mostly from Costco since they guarantee money back if the plants don't grow. I've had to return a few that were "dead" rather than "dormant." One of my perennial How To books illustrates the technique of digging the planting hole and building up a cone of soil in the middle, then spreading the roots around the cone like a bridal gown or petticoat over it. Fill in with soil around the roots & cone, firm gently and you're done. Oh, and water for a week or so especially if you don't get any regular rain. Once they're established you shouldn't have to do anything for (or to) them.
Thanks for the response but I am looking for something with a bit more spread but still remaining upright in form.
I love my Greenspire Euonymous. Haven't had any issues with it yet - I hope I don't!
Another one I've just gotten is Green Tower Boxwood. I think it has similar ultimate size as Greenspire.