13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Last year I wanted certain plant.Found just just 1 plant. And wanted 6. So I got it from Blue-Stone. Even with shipping was cheaper. And such nice plants. Packed extra well. Just watered and bloomed in 6 weeks. Got list made out for them again.

Depending on what you are looking for...Hallson sends great plants and I have gotten good size at a reasonable price from Santa Rosa Gardens. But I agree with others if you can try to search locally you will not do better with any online company that I have dealt with.

last week i saw a handful of snow drops in bloom in a park in the middle of the city (which acts as a heat sink). Now that we are down to 12 today... they might not look so good anymore.

The worst thing here is that buds on tree peonies begin to open. I lost 2 young plants due to this some years ago. What to do?? Apart from that daylilies begin to grow, even the dormant ones, eranthis opens, and Helleborus orientalis made flower buds.

I get a soil test done. My roses are doing fine. The only problem I had with them were Dahlia bulbs overcrowding their root space. I had no idea how large the bulb's can get...whoa!

The annuals took off like lightening! I do have 2 foxgloves that look like they are still growing. I just have one Lupine left. The Butterfly bushes had to be removed. Too Large.

Thanks for the links. I'm just going to have a soil test done.

Yesterday, I sent in my soil test. Hopefully, I get some answers.

I dug dormant perennials one winter after an ice storm so we could pull out some stumps. I kept dirt around the roots and crammed them all in cardboard boxes, then put them in my unheated dark shed for two or three weeks, then replanted them. I think it was around early February. As far as I know, all of them lived. My only problem was knowing what was what. I used to know all the names of my hostas and huecheras but not after that.

Thank you all for your advice. Wish me luck!

Thank you for your thoughts, I appreciate your replies. You've confirmed for me that a peony may be just what I need here (although $$$, I need 4-5!). I think I may just have a better shot with spring blooming shrubs. Has anyone tried 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'? Or any other suggestions for a fragrant, double dark pink?

I plan to mix in a couple amsonia, maybe Sib irises among them. I have peach-colored daylilies, purple heuchera, pulmonaria and hosta for the front, and plan to mix with annuals like impatiens for color.

I recommend getting in touch with the people at Klehm's Song Sparrow. When I was looking for a peony they were very helpful and let me know my first choice wouldn't be very fragrant and had some good suggestions.

Hi Whaas, I've looked up some native plants that I grow, or hybrids of natives, and these are listed for z5 or WI. Sorry, I don't know about soil.

Phlox divaricata Louisiana blue (purplish blue) blooms first in the spring and then phlox pilosa (pink & purple varieties). Princess Diana clematis (hot magenta, large flowering hybrid from crossing with native texensis), Monarda didyma (our native one is a dark mauve purple & listed for z5).

I've read about native Viola pedata bird's foot violets and lots of clematis that are purple shades. There was a famous Polish breeder of clematis, Brother Stefan Franczak, so his hybrids would be cold hardy for you. Clematis on the Web lists his large growing "Polish Spirit" as deep purple blue, "General Sikorski" as mauve blue, "Emilia Plater" as blue violet and his pale "Blue Angel."

Here is a link that might be useful: Article on Brother Stefan Franczak

All, thanks for the great suggestions!

The beauty is that I can repeat the color scheme but have alot of choices to work with.

I haven't heard of half these plants so I have my work cut out for me.

Not sure why I mentioned May Night Salvia in my original post. I meant Blue Hill Salvia...much, much nicer color.

You would be surprised at how loosely the nursery business handles pot sizes. Or at least they used to. I believe a few years back there was a legal move to make us use better descriptions than things like quart or gallon as sizes. If you found this on a website, you email that site and ask them to define to you what they mean by a 5P pot. I've been in the business nearly a quarter of a century and I've ordered gazillions of pots and never heard of one.

I think you found the right answer - it's about 2.5 quarts. I'm very familiar with that nursery - I've known John for about 15 years, and if you're ever in the CT area, try to stop by his place - it's amazing. His backyard (for lack of a better term, it just keeps going and going) has something like 800 different hostas in the ground, and just a ton potted for sale.

The plants he sells are all in 5 pint or 1 gallon pots (a few even bigger), but it makes sense that for mail order, he'd only be shipping ones in 5 pint. I highly recommend his plants - I don't think I've ever had one die on me - they're all nicely grown with good root systems. (and no, no affiliation other than a very happy customer.)

I guess I was talking about plants in general that are listed as disease resistant. You see that a lot in veggies. Tomatoes come to mind. Cukes too.

How do they get the "official" stamp of approval as being resistant to whatever?

Kevin

Don't they splice in genes from plants that have natural immunity/resistance when they hybridize? Not sure how/where they get the "stamp", or if there even is such a thing, but new varieties of annuals and veggies have trial gardens, so is the designation of "resistant" a comparitive and not a definitive issue - ?. I'm guessing it is, since I've never seen a plant/seed variety designated as "immune".

Just realized that the Jelitto link I posted above is not the pic of 'Polstar'; just the home page of Jelitto. You can get the 'Polstar' seeds from Jelitto by navigating from their product to perennial to Alcea. It is quite pricy; 6.4 euro a package.
This place (http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/perennials/hollyhocks.html) in the US carries some Jelitto seed including some Spotlight Series at much more reasonable prices; unfortunately no 'Polstar'.

Yeah - I had seen the Polarstar seeds available & the price in euros, but that's a little beyond the amount of hassle I'm willing to go through....
Thanks, though!

thank you all. i have them inside the house right now i am just going to put them on a cover screen porch. (When i bought it i just assume they were seeds that is y i bought them during the winter)

Be ready to bring them in during a freeze.
Or set up some chairs around them then throw an elect blanket over them to keep them from freezing.
I've done this in the past on my covered porch and in my garage.
I'd put the plants to bed every night by tucking them in under an elect blanket just before I'd go to bed myself.
It kept them from freezing.

Oh right that anemone looks and 'sounds' outstanding. I bet it wont come across the ocean this upcoming season :(?

I plan to add more hostas, I have a new bed in the woods garden where I ripped out honeysuckle. And some other shade garden plants. This year I'll be looking for older hosta varieties (read inexpensive) as this part of the woods could be a deer salad bar and I'm not wanting to risk "designer" hostas down there! Besides, we are still in a La Nina drought year in my zone.

Besides that, I'm currently fascinated by succulents, and I'll be hunting down interesting hardy ones that I don't have, and adding to my rock garden. And probably a few aeoniums to keep in pots. I really love those.

I really don't need any more perennials. What I need to do is divide and spread around!

Little Bluestem grass, a carex and annual Ruby grass(melinus "Savannah") are the only other things on my want list. Besides a couple more Japanese maples. And another arrowwood viburnum, and and and.......

Oh crap my list keeps getting longer, lol!

Sandy

mnwsgal - my 'Black Knight' is from Bluestone and their website says it's only hardy to Z5. I prune mine back in spring and it's now on year 4. All my others (5 total) I grew from traded seed via winter sowing and they're all going on year 3. They're gorgeous and very healthy. All get pruned in spring along with caryopteris & perovskia.

I wait till
spring and when I see new growth prune about 12 inches from the ground

Thanks for the replies. I will find space for one of these new "Decadent" Baptisia this coming year.

I have the standard and a yellow form(which is being outgrown by the standard). I am hoping to try one of the newer varieties this spring in a different area.

The seed pods do look nice, but I found that they weigh the limbs down as they are forming and the whole plant can flop open. They also self seed quite easily for me.

So as soon as mine is done flowering, I cut all the pods out. This keeps it nice and tidy and upright all year. I would also think you could just cut the plant back if it gets to large or unruly.

It's much better to me. I bought that one for my parents. The color isn't as strong.

I just made a reequest for this plant to one of the independent nurseries I frequent and was told that they can bring it in.

I am under the impression that it can survive a Zone 5b winter...with some extra mulch?

What do you think?

Hi Kevin, sorry about the link...I am not sure what went wrong. This is a relatively new product (I think only available in wide distribution last summer). But it is now found in many retail locations (especially in Canada). Many of us have first seen it on the popular Canadian entrepreneurial TV show "DRAGON'S DEN" where it got seed money from the millionaire hosts.

It does feel and look like my bag of volcanic rock dust and the ingredients also support this ID.

I am convinced it has none of the many disadvantages of salt but I will see first hand this winter if it does an acceptable job of providing ongoing traction on my walkway and driveway.

Since I have a flat lot, with a small driveway and front walkway, I guess I don't usually feel much concern except when there is a bad ice storm. I leave a container of sand in the front entryway for the steps. I have found that works fine for us and doesn't bother the garden or lawn. The only drawback is that it might be dragged into the house, but we do have a small carpeted area in front of the door with a doormat and I never see sand in the house. Easy to find, inexpensive too.