13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

oh but that is still a very pretty campanula, CMK. Reminds me of the C.persicifolia 'Chettle Charm'. I would definately grow your variety in preference to the pale 'Lodden Anna' - a study in blandness, imo.

-campanula, it reminded me a bit of 'Chettle Charm' too! I do like the unique pale bluish color of my false 'Prichard's Variety', though you have to be up close to admire the subtle coloration. It was just a bit of a let down design wise, since I had my heart set on it having a dark purple-y flower to pair with a certain orange/pink rose of mine, lol! ;-)
CMK

I have acid soil (loamy fine sand), enough so that blueberries grow wild. I add compost to my perennial beds and use wood shavings as mulch. I grow all the plants you named (though fern is quite vague as some like acid and a few more alkaline soil) and have yet to have any issues. If you have soil that's too acid for what you are growing, the plants will let you know that they are unhappy. I don't try to grow ornamentals that need pH above 7 since I don't want to fuss that much over plants in a situation they don't like.

However, I do lime (or more usually use wood stove ash) to raise the pH of my veggie garden since my soil is too acid for many veggies to be happy. It is pretty easy since I do it annually when the garden is empty, most often in spring since that's when we have the most wood ash, but sometimes in the fall.

Ken - you are correct in saying that pH is exponential so that 5 is 10X as acid as 6.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I live in North Carolina and my mums overwinter in the ground. I started with a large pot in the fall and kept those in the pot, but in a sunny place outside all winter, then divided and planted in the garden the following spring.

My mums are now in their fourth year and I just keep dividing each spring to keep the plants flourishing. Division is a good thing. I also keep mine clipped back through July 4...then let them grow to bloom in fall. They never disappoint.

As for overwintering in the ground, the basal foliage remains green. I do leave the dying stalks in cold winters. This year, I cut back the mums in January instead of waiting for late February or early March.

Added bonus: the deer, rabbits and voles have never bothered my mums. They've survived drought in summer with minimal watering, including 2010 with 90 days over 90 degrees.

Cameron

Cameron, that makes two of us that do the same thing. I looked at my mums today and they definately need thinning out. Plant swap is coming up in May..guess what is one of the plants I'm sharing?

We had a rare mild winter in north central CT as well when the lowest temp I recall was nearly 30 degrees above last year's lowest mark. The leaves on all my butterfly bushes, both commercial & seed-grown, remained green right through the winter.

Here's what Bluestone Perennials says to do:

Plant Care:
Flowers form on current growth. Should be cut back to 12-18" each spring. Will quickly grow back with many flowering canes.

I bought 'Black Knight' from BP a few years ago and it's done wonderfully well. I cut it back to 8-10 inches in spring/March when I see new growth at the base. I'll do the same this year since I don't care to see it grow to massive proportions where it's situated. I see no point in leaving the old growth since it won't produce blooms this season.

I grew several butterfly bushes from seed via winter sowing that will also be cut back the same as 'Black Knight' since they bloom on new wood. For me, the whole point in growing butterfly bushes is the flowers that provide nectar that attract the butterflies.

When I lived in OH, I would wait until the BB's were growing well and there was no danger of frost. Unfortunately, that's still a few weeks away for you. You could risk instigating a growth spurt that the plant is not yet ready for, or succumb to a late freeze would have been more easily handled if the plant had not been prematurely spurred into speed-growth mode.

Wherever I am, I only trim them down to a point where all of the branches are very sturdy, which varies from plant-to-plant, anywhere from a foot to 4 ft. Stick the trimmings in the ground or pots for new BB's.

Columbine does not have bulbs - perhaps you mean Liatris?

This Spring I'm waiting on 2 or 3 dozen Columbine plants planted in several different beds to bloom. They are a mix of Aquilegia caerulea, A. canadensis, Origami mix, and also a bunch of McKana Giants. These were all started from seed and most will be blooming for the first time this year! Although some of the A. canadensis is 4 or 5 years old.

I love a big show of blooms and growing them from seed is the most economical way to get it. Also I start them every Spring for the following year's blooms. I do that with Digitalis purpurea and Dianthus barbatus too.

I dig a number of them up each year. Actually, the tap root on some of them is so thick, that it can look like a parsley or something. While the majority of them grow as biennials with me, some come back for 3rd year. In the link below some varieties are marked as 'long-lived' or even 'very long-lived'. I wonder what it means in practice. I do not recall I have ever had one I would call 'very long-lived'

Here is a link that might be useful: long-lived Columbines??

I wonder if everyone is talking about the same plant? 'Perennial sweet pea' usually refers to Lathyrus latifolius and I think that may be what Sandy has. It has a taproot. Lathyrus vernus is sometimes called Spring vetchling, spring sweet pea or herbaceous sweet pea. It is bushy rather than vining.

Here is a link that might be useful: L latifolius and L vernus

Thanks everyone! Flora, thanks especially to pointing me to Paghat's pages where he distinguishes between the 2 peas - one with taproot and invasive (latifolius) and the other not. I'm clear now.

Like Roxanna and Mnwsgal I summer my amaryllis outside in its pot. I get enough rain so that they don't need watering when set in half sun. The foliage grows and the bulb gets bigger, and then like mnwsgal, before frost I bring it in and let the leaves die off, usually in my cellar. I bring it back upstairs late November or early December and start watering when it is dry, and it will rebloom. Some of mine have created offsets which I separate off and let grow in their own pots so that they will bloom in a couple of years.

I am annoyed with my 2 Amaryllis bulbs this winter, because they did not rebloom, so they have been banished outside - a few days ago I planted them right next to the house foundation along the south side (gets partial sun) with a little bulb fertilizer. We will still get some freezing temps, but they will have to sink or swim. Maybe next fall, if they survive and I'm no longer annoyed, I'll dig them up, put them in the garage, and try to rebloom them next winter. I keep trying, and failing, at getting these things to rebloom, but have never tried putting them outside during the summer before.

I am in Northern Illinois about an hour from Chicago, far enough that I don't get lake effect temperature. I was under the impression that you were near the same area.

The ground in the past week or so have been wet and soggy and not frozen at all. In fact, ducks have returned early to sit around in the nearby pond. Plants have been popping up all over the place. The Irises are already nearly full height.

Paul

I would wait a little while on columbine, only because they are susceptible to crown rot if the soil is too wet. Wait until your ground is no longer wet and soggy. Bare root columbine will store for months so long as they are dry but don't totally desiccate. They also are not the easiest to grow in pots since they do rot easily, but if you wanted to pot them up just cover the top of the crowns with about 1/2" of well-draining potting soil and then put them somewhere protected from major rains. Water lightly once and then you don't need to water them again until they are leafing out a lot.

Hope that helps.

Chris (who is going to start planting this week once the soil dries out from the recent storms)

the way they sell little mounds of mums.. so clogged. and shaped into domes.. i doubt air circulation is an issue ... but i suppose VA could be different.. some parts redefine humidity.. dont they.. lol

ken

Lantana makes me a bit nervous. Last year I dug up a nice red/orange one that I didn't think had made it through the winter. Potted it up instead of tossing it out and it only put off a single bud before it died. I knew I should've left it in the ground!

Last year I cut the lantana back to about 6 inches somewhere in the late Feb/early March range. I think I got lucky because the dead growth did look a bit... bleh. Still waiting to cut back hibiscus. Our roses lost half their leaves, except the "Dr. Huey" that kept trying to put on new growth only to have it nipped by the cold... now it has a bunch of scraggly reddish growth on it that I'm afraid might be rose rosette or damage.

Hmm. Maybe I should leave the mums alone. Better safe than sorry. I could just add them to my spray regime in case they develop something.

Thanks for the help!

I'm so glad you asked this! I'm redoing some beds and have three green and gold euonymus (not necessarily the botanical name; but they actually are dark green with a wide yellow border) and I didn't realize what I could do with them. After seeing your photo, I've decided to plant them so that they grow together forming a mat under the mailbox. Thanks for the inspiration!

I forgot to mention my pick for shade and dry soil; under my Norway maple Anemone tomentosa 'Robustissima' has done very well for me. It even self-sows a little, but the plants are easy to transplant, and survive a move very nicely, particularly if you pot them up early and give them time to get established a little first.
The soft pink flowers are held aloft on wiry stems that float above a mound of bold, deeply-cut trifoliate leaves. These would contrast nicely with your ostrich ferns and euonymus.

yep, i think that's good call, flora - the snow lotus or saussurea medusa

flora, it is a picture taken by some tourists. People think it is snow lotus but they are not able to ID.