13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Actually I wanted bed size, not Caryopteris size . . .

Here are some shrubs that should grow for you. I'll let you figure out whether they will fit in the bed and your goals. Many of these are native plants and probably won't be found at big box stores or perhaps even regular nurseries, but can be found at nurseries specializing in native plants, often mail order.

Chilopsis linearis (desert willow)

Mahonia repens (Oregon grape)

Mahonia nevinii (Nevin's barberry)

Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon grape)

Berberis fendleri

Philadelphus lewisii

Ceanothus species and hybrids (California Lilacs)

one of the gold leafed Caryopteris - there's a thread with several mentioned here.

Thank you. It isn't a bed, but a large area of the yard between the beds and the hillside.

I will look up these plants . Thanks.

Sammy

Yep, can be a problem. I found growing common loostrife, yellow flowers, in the shade works better for me. It doesn't affect the flowering but slows the spread down.

Sherry

Interesting; had Lysimachia punctata 'Alexander' in semi-shade. It didn't run.

I put it down to the variegated leaves (viz. often variegated leaf = less vigorous), but maybe then the semi-shade helped.

It could also be Husker Red Penstemon. The lighting in the picture could affect how dark the leaves and flowers appear.

Thanks all. I found 'Dark Night' this weekend at the local nursery. That is the correct i.d.

FWIW, they do like consistently moist soil.

SLUGS and/or SNAILS is the culprit here. They trail up the flower spike at night, which snaps off or bends off the flower spike at its tender spot. Get rid of the slugs and snails and this won't happen anymore.

Don't know about a few perennials around rose bushes, but have had experience of rose bushes within mixed perennial beds.

I planted roses (Canadian Explorer) within large mixed perennial beds only once. They added a lot to the beds, but I found I was always ripping my arms when working around them. Worse, I got to think they were a danger for eyes.

Below a photo of a photo (end of June 2001). It's a bed in that garden which I put in and, more to the point, maintained for over ten years. That was the first and last garden in which I ever planted rose bushes inside perennial beds.

Your phlox are beautiful. It sounds like a play on words when I say that I am not planting roses in a perennial bed, but planting perennials in a rose bed. That does make a difference. My gloves are designed for rose care, The focus of my yard is "roses", so I know exactly how to move around them ---I have been practicing for about 40 years.

Without the eye being able to see other flowers, roses can begin to look like a rose nursery instead of a garden. I can really understand why you would not want to insert a rose into your perennials when they are so beautiful on their own.

Sammy

Yes, let the seed mature and then you can scatter it in the area or let it do it on its own. They look great massed since a single plant is relatively small.

This was the only filipendula I could grow on my dry and chalky soil - none of that Queen of the Meadow stuff for me and f.rubra was a distant dream. Now I can actually provide a little more moisture, I am in the midst of raising a filipendula forest (along with as many umbellidfers as I can get my hands on)

1- it looks like that one has coneflower mites. They cause the distorted cones and cruddy petals. You can search around for remedies. I typically cut off the distorted ones and throw them out. You can also remove and destroy all the leaf litter in the fall to get the overwintering eggs. Your's does look like a well grown multi-branched plant, so keep ontop of the mites and hope for the better next year.

Besides that, all maui sunshines are lot less "yellow" then the pretty marketing shot. I had one, but it quickly died after flowering once.
Saw a well grown 1 gallon at the store and they were pale too.

The natural 'paradoxa' is the best of course. The hybrids have all seem to not do to well for extended years.
The ones that have more orange to them seem to be good... 'flame thrower'

this is my second year with the yellow coneflower cleopatra. there are many blooms on each plant with a nice fragrance. I can recommend this variety.

You seedlings need to be in bright shade - morning sun is OK. They cannot take the intense summer sun. Out of the sun the root zone temp should be fine.

Oops, I see I've been spelling baptisia incorrectly.

They are a prairie plant, so it seems like they should be able to take the summer sun. I can see that they might need some shading as a seedling, since they would naturally emerge among other prairie plants that might give them some shade.

The garden where these will go to live is actually an orchard, so, yes, there is some space. Cages--good idea. I already have lots of little wire cages (with tops!) that i can use, because rabbits love to eat my newly set out sweet potatoes, but I don't grow those every year. I'll dedicate them to the baptisia when I plant them in ground. Guess I might need to do it as soon as the soil is diggable early next year. I didn't think about how deep the roots would get! Very important. I wonder how old the potted plants I originally purchased might have been. I think they were probably in gallon pots.....Don't entirely recall.

One of the best fertilizers to use if you want to water in the fertilizer is to take some organic compost and let it ferment in some water for a few days. Compost tea is all the rage on youtube.

Thank yall for the info.

I was able to pick up a (very) small "Blaze". But now I am reconsidering ie maybe ES instead :(.

I took to peonies, big time, about four years ago and now have several dozen in our small but sunny garden. Great June colour.

Our peonies are beginning to flower now.

Personally I like flashy colourful peonies and do a lot of staking of perennials anyway. At this stage, Paul Crousse and Bouchela are my favourites.

Don't usually buy white flowering perennials, but the bomb-type peony (picture last June 12) below was mislabelled when purchased. Love it. Seems it is likely to be Charlie's White.

Oh good, you DO have a balcony! That should work for winter. Hopefully there is some protection there (solid walls on the balcony, hopefully not 20 storeys up, lol) and they should be okay. Even if you can get a garbage bag of leaves, put the pots in a corner, and smush the bag of leaves against/around/on top of them, after they are dormant, that will help a bit. Good luck!

Toronto would be about zone 6 ; depending on proximity to lake maybe 7. Canadian plant zones differ from the U.S. I believe zone 6 here would be considered US zone 5. Btw, winter temps would be minus 20-30 C. Only wish they were on the plus side lol.

You're to Funny ! Really, you are .........I'll check out the Forum on winter-sowing of seeds. Thanks Iam702 !

Too funny?! I don't understand . . . Sure there are nurseries around you! In a quick web search of Ocean County NJ where you say you are, there are at least 20. I live in a state considerably smaller than yours as far as population, and within an hour's drive there are probably 30 nurseries or garden centers. Not all of those will sell oriental poppies, but a few minutes on the phone will find the ones that do.

Enjoy the winter sowing, but be aware that poppies usually aren't too happy about transplantation, so do your replanting very carefully or sow directly in place where you want them.

Extremely beautiful garden you have created! My garden is in its 3rd year, and I'm trying to achieve a similar look.

Hmmm. Well I think these are the last I ever buy for sure! But it sure would be nice if they would at least last this season.

It hasn't been that hot yet - its barely into June.

i gave up on dianthus here in MI long ago ..

just too foo foo ... short lived ... PIA .. etc ...

you might find phlox to have a similar scent ... and easier to grow ...

no matter how much you like a plant.. you can only bang your head against the wall for so long.. before you move on ... eh????

ken