13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

nhbabs - sounds like we are pretty close to each other, I'm in a similar area, suburb of Cleveland. It's pretty dry here, although today it's rainy! Pooh! I ended up just transplanting those two russian sage...we'll see how it goes. One the whole rootball came up with roots and dirt intact, the other bare root, and shovel went into some so we'll see what happens. I am NEVER moving those again!!! Lol* Other than that I dug up my veggie garden bed a little but just turned the soil and was sure not to step anywhere I had already turned. Thanks so much for all the great advice!

I too am eager to get out in my gardens as I never clean anything up in the fall and they look like a mess! I leave as much as I can to catch the snow which was pretty useless this winter. Today was miserable enough with high wind, rain and a few snowflakes to keep me inside.

But what I have done to help my itches in the spring is to put garden stones or pieces of flagstone through my gardens so I can walk there and look at things earlier than I can dig. It helps to prevent compacting at any time. Sometimes it is just one stone to give me a space to put my feet if I have to get into a garden.

It also helps me to clean up earlier by not having to walk on the soil. What I can't reach from the outside I can get from on the pathways. And they are attractive too!

Just my 2 cents worth!

oh boy .. lets see ... how to explain.. w/out making your head explode ... lol ..

first.. welcome to GW ...

when a name is in quotes.. like 'Ellagance' .. that means its a named cultivar ...

and it is probably an F1 ... but even i dont know what that means precisely .... but i do know that you can cross .. e.g. momma A and with daddy B .. to get seed that is true to the name 'Ellagance' ... and that is what the seed producers do .. on a very large scale .. insuring who mom and dad are ... its mysterious to me.. but they do do it ...

perhaps where you are getting lost .. is thinking that you can then take the seed off 'Ellagance' and get more 'Ellagance'.... and that is usually where peeps say.. they dont come true from seed ...

but in that case its momma 'Ellagance' crossed with unknown daddy ??? and that is most likely not going to produce seed consistent with 'Ellagance' .. for sure it will be a lavender.. but it may or may not perform like 'Ellagance'

can you wrap your head around that much ... if so.. ask more questions ... or maybe that is enough ...

all i know is that i dont want to go further.. if that is enough of an answer ... i mean this could be a masters thesis dissertation.. and most of us dont need that level of info ......

it is the same reason .. that your would graft a good apple .. because the seed inside of it .. will not produce the same apple type ....

make any sense????

your quest for knowledge is inspirational ... keep it up ...

ken

drat.. she beat me to it.. lol ...

check out the link ...

you can not offer 3 types of a plant with quotes around its name ... it defeats the whole point of the quotes ... the quotes mean it is a unique individual cultivar ....

but the link shows that there are two names withing the quotes... all seem to have Ellagance .. but with a second word.. like 'Ellagance Sky' or 'Ellagance Purple' .. etc ...

for all i know.. Mr Ellagance has named 3 different varieties .. lol ...

some producers like to put a keyword within the name.. so you can ID their plants ... and here.. that is the 'Ellagance' part ....

you can track down that history ...

but they are not the same plant.. for sure ...

and they are all probably F1 hybrids .... but that is just a guess

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Wait... is there a reason why roxanna's naming of companies are edited out? I thought we were allowed to discuss various companies.

I am in need of a good perennial supplier, but I'm seeing bad reviews of one that used to be a highly popular one.

I came to this forum to find another one but now I see strange and mystery edits. That really bothers me. We should have the right to voice our opinion, even if it is or is not favorable to any particular company.

I don't mind saying that the bad reviews I'm finding is with Bluestone. Let's be frank here, please.

gardenweed_z6a, care to share those reputable folks?

Magnoliasouth -

I am not Gardenweed, but here are companies I have been quite pleased with and would order from again. (As someone else mentioned, if I can get it locally, I try to, both to support local businesses and to save mailing costs, which allow me to get more or larger plants for the same $. I live in a rural area, though, so there often isn't the variety I would like.)

Lazy S's Farm Nursery www.lazyssfarm.com all types of ornamentals
Brushwood Nursery http://www.gardenvines.com/ many types of vines
Silver Star Vinery http://www.silverstarvinery.com/ clematis
Hummingbird Farm http://hummingbirdfarm.net/ clematis and herbs
Forest Farm http://www.forestfarm.com/ I've only bought woodies there, so don't know what else they carry
High Country Gardens http://www.highcountrygardens.com/ plants tolerant of dry situations, though they include many I can grow here
Avant Gardens http://www.avantgardensne.com/

I have also ordered from Bluestone http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/index.html for this spring. While they had a lot of issues last fall with their new system of growing and shipping, they are a company that has been in business a long time and has great customer service and a guarantee. They have made modifications based on last fall's customer feedback, and unlike many companies with bad reviews on GWatchd*g I trust them to treat me well. With coupons, I found their prices quite reasonable compared to many mailorder & online nurseries.

another bump up ...

i believe it speaks for itself.. anything to add???

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: there are a bunch of other newbie posts that i created over the years.. but i am not going to bump them all up myself .... but you can ... old posts do not hang in GW forever.. unless they are bumped every now and then ...

Well said Ken! lmao! And so true! Sit back and enjoy the time you have left to do nothing because pretty soon you'll have way too much to do and wish you could be sittin' back!

so fess up.. who remembered, last fall.. to make this seasons new bed????

12 to 18 inches predicted for tonight ... yippee .. [thats sarcasm.. lol]

ken

bumping this one up also.. since i suggested a garden bed in another post

ken

only to make sure they are the tallest.. and not too closely surrounded ... etc ...

and only water the soil ... with a breaker bar aka watering wand.. and not shoot them with the pistol grip ...

there is always something you can do ...

whether or not you succeed.. is what is left to the fates.. good luck ...

ken

I have been growing John Fanick for more than 10 years and never had any problem with mildew until early summer last year because of severe drought/heat in my area.
I never did water it much because it had become HUGE and I didn't mind if conditions limited it's conquest to take over the yard. It recovered from the mildew and bloomed beautifully. Nothing wimpy or spindly about this phlox, and on a warm summer evening it's fragrance fills the air. It's kind of dark pink and light pink and blooms constantly with no deadheading.

They seed here too. I've been digging the little buggers up for years now. They are in the lawn, all around the house, between stones, in the crowns of other plants. I'm sorry I planted them. I hate their foliage in the fall, it smothers more desirable plants. I do not have the big amount of open space that Ken has.

I leave mine by the side of my house until they stop blooming and then i usually mow them. im surprised the seeds havent shot all over the yard.

i would like to relocate some of them to the front of my house where i have a spring bloom area, tulips, daffodils and irises. the only problem is im afraid if i dig to put in the hyacinth bulb, ill hit some other kind of bulb. maybe i should wait until everything has sprouted this spring and then dig around?

Well, I'm a little late to this party, lol, but agree with most of the recommendations. The first two plants that popped into mind were agastache and sedum. Mine are just covered in bees every year.

Another plant is a shrub, pieris. I have two large ones in front of my house. Came with the house so I don't know what kind, and they are magnets for bees and other pollinators. The big woolly bees that look like they are wearing fur coats and sound like incoming helicopters LOVE them (sorry, don't know my bees very well!).

I've been meaning to remove these shrubs for well over five years - serious case of wrong plant to put in a foundation planting in front of a one-storey house! I have put off taking them out all these years because I love the bees that they bring, and I know the bees love them. I just keep whacking them back, which kills me. Even had a landscaper or two come see if they could be moved, but it would be way too much money. I keep saying, okay bees, one more year....

Dee

I also garden for native pollinators, my favorite are the bumblebees. Last year the bees were all over these plants in my yard:

Wild geranium ( spring)
Salvias (bumblebeees love blue salvia .... never the red ones)
Monarda (bee balm) - bumblebees Love it!
sunflowers, annual and perennial varieties
Joe pye weed

This year I've expanded my offerings to blue lobelia, agastache, liatris, serviceberry shrubs, hypericum, cleome, among others. These are all supposed to be excellent for native bees. Check out the book Xerxes Guide to Native Pollinators. Great resource with lots of plant lists and ideas!!!!

I have them, started by wintersowing. They do get to about 8 feet, after being cut back twice during the season (it will help control the plant) and I do have to tie them up to make sure they don't fall over the path. I don't have any problem with reseeding.

2nd year last year and I have it in a tight space. It did double in size and last springhad to cut the root ball in 1/2; neither plant had ANY problem after the fact with the pruning.

That being said, I am keeping it but will continue to cut it in 1/2 every year.

Dear Linaria,

I didn't know Helianthus Maximilianii so I looked it up and based on what I found, I think you would prefer a Helianthus that gives you more flowers, bigger flowers and isn't as tall and is easier to grow and maintain. That said, I highly recommend Helianthus Helianthoides "Summer Sun". Go ahead and grow your H.M. but then grow H.H. S.S. at the opposite end of the garden as a control. It will be an interesting experiment for you.

I have been growing HHSS for over 25 years now. It is my favorite perennial. It is the easiest one to grow and requires almost no care, but looks so good. If you deadhead this perennial, it will bloom for you into October. If you decide to cut it in half in July, the flowers will not be as tall as they could be, usually 5', now they will be 3' instead. I like a tall flower toward the rear of my perennial border. My neighbors like the yellow flowers and tell me they look so cheerful from across the street. Yellow is very visible from afar, but blue and purple recedes. Once you get a HHSS going, it will return every year. To make more plants, I usually just push the deadheaded flowers whole into the ground 2' away from the mother. In the spring, et voila! -- babies!

Good luck on your experiment!

I live in Medina. It's about 15-20 minutes from Jackson. You really should look up Randolph's. It's my favorite place. She is very picky about only carrying plants that do well here. That variety of Pulmonaria was doing well under a tree there.

I also grow Hydrangeas. The variety called 'Twist and Shout' bloomed twice for me last year. It is becoming my favorite because it repeats so well. Bleeding Hearts are awesome to put around Hydrangeas.

I know where Medina is.A few of my co-workers live there.
I looked up Randolph's and I'm going to check them out!
I grow hydrangeas and have one bleeding heart but never thought of growing them together. I bet that is a striking combo! My have to try them together. Thanks again for all your help.

No matter the source, I have had bad luck with packaged and boxed bulbs and perennials being truly named....:(

As for Wal Mart, I bought a David Austen rose from them a few years back. It is still alive and doing well and accurately labeled. Sometimes it happens...