13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
It was new for me last year and I think I recall it being mostly green in the summer with some light green marbling with darker purplish-green veins. So far this spring it has more purple in the leaves, but hasn't really started growing yet.
Karen
The pink ones look like Pentas or something else to me. Verbena petals are usually less pointy and more overlapping. Verbena foliage is much more serrated at the edges than what little I can see of the foliage in this pic.
The bulbs behind look like Agapanthus.
there is an iris forum.. should you wish to visit such ... nice pix over there .. in season ...
and yes.. you have to start with an ID of what kinds of eye-rye
this happens in hosta ... we call it fairy ring..
and the other option.. is to take a hand trowel.. dig out the rotting center.. down a few inches.. and simply refill with some fresh soil ...
but i will defer to real iris peeps ...
as a general rule... since you are on the newbie learning curve.. is to ALWAYS safest to dig/cut up a plant.. AFTER THEY FLOWER ... if you can ... and that would go for annuals.. perennials .. flowering shrubs ....
it is usually best to do it in dormancy.. but once actively growing.. wait until after flower ... which in some cases.. may even mean.. waiting until fall ...
ken
If you are talking about the pink flowering mimosa tree that is so common in the south, it is actually Albizia julibrissin, not native to North American but actually an exotic from Asia. It's hardy to -20F but sometimes the top can be killed even though the root is hardy, and will come back from the roots.It has become invasive in some states. I love the fluffy pink, sweetly scented flowers in summer.
Sometimes you can find it in a nursery, but more often it has to be "passed along" by someone who has one growing and doesn't mind sharing a seedling. They grow very quickly, and can be 20' tall in three or 4 years. There is a burgundy-leaved variety that has become available at nurseries and garden centers in the past few years. Hummingbrds love mimosa flowers.
There are true mimosas which are native to the tropics but I don't know of any that will survive north of zone 9, except for the trailing mimosa pudica, or sensitive plant, which has thorny stems, pink fuzzy ball-shaped flowers, and leaves that fold up when you touch them. I have that on my ditch bank in my zone 6 garden.
Sandy
if this is buddleja davidii, the general recommendation is to prune them really hard, leave about 3 pairs of leaves. The framework of branches tends to be brittle if left too long, and the flowers are larger and not too high above your head.
Well then, bye, Lin
I just cut mine down today. The voles ate the roots on over half the big 'Black Knight', and those stalks were blown out of the ground (it's in a very windy spot). I cut the remaining half down to the usual height, about 12 inches. I want it to balance out with the new growth. Also this one gets pretty tall, about 6-7 feet, and I deadhead it regularly so I've got to reach the flowers heads.
The Pink Delight is much less vigorous, but has lots of green shoots and a better form, so I cut that one down to about 2 feet, so it will hopefully grow taller this season.
Thanks to the previous owner, I have a big Silver maple in the front yard too. Its roots are unbelievable. They have heaved the sidewalk growing towards the gutters, grown into the septic tank, and grow right into the roots of the perennials and grasses in the nearby "Xeric" garden. This garden became a xeric one partly because of that Silver maple! It sucks the moisture out of its entire root zone. Vinca minor grows under mine as well. Orange ditch lilies manage to do okay too.
Acer saccharinum is naturally a very thirsty tree; its native habitat is usually wetlands. I love Silver maples, they are fabulous wildlife trees, but I would never plant one anywhere near a structure, garden, pipes, etc.
yep, ipheon will increase fairly quickly but it is always better to buy a named hybrid instead of plain old ipheon uniflorum. Wisley Blue is not as deep as Rolf Feidler and the flowers are a little smaller but it still has impact....but only in spring. In summer, the foliage will disappear completely only to reliably return in Autumn. There are two other good ones I am familiar with Charlotte Bishop, a clear and bright pink and Alfred Castillio,a really good white with the largest flowers of all. They all increase wqell and are trouble free bulbs. You need to plant about 100 per square metre.
I planted about a dozen Ipheion uniflorum about 20 years ago in my woodland garden. They have done really well, colonizing all over the place until there are now thousands of them throughout the woods, and put on quite a show in the spring, blooming with the daffodils and if the weather stays cool, last for weeks. I love them. They sort of "glow" in the garden at dusk, and have, to me, a kind of sweet, talcum powder smell. My daughter thinks they smell like freshcut pumpkin, but whatever, they are very fragrant. Maybe my favorite spring bulb.
Sandy
Jelitto has released them in 2010, so I doubt that many people have experiences with them. In my catalogue it says perennial, but you never know what it means in practice. Aquilegias are sold as perennials too, but many are not.
At a comparable variety Las Vegas,released this year, it says 'lives longer than traditional', but what does it mean really?
I don't think you can be definite about it being in the Labiatae. No stems or flowers are visible and the leaves are not sufficient to id the family. One possibility is Veronica spicata. Flowers will tell.
Yes, I'll wait for flowers.