13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
I'd actually prefer it to not bloom, not because of appearance (which for me was beautiful - bright white and very full) but because of the potential for it to become invasive. I purchased four plants from a garden center last year, and the same season I planted it, it grew to over 3 feet, with profuse blooming in the fall (small flowers but millions of them.)
Unfortunately, I had rather stupidly planted it as a foundation plant for the front of my house. It looked GORGEOUS in between dwarf boxwoods (as foliage, or as a blooming plant), but of course it dies down to nothing, and is then unusually slow to come up in the spring, so I had big empty spots in spring.
I also read more and more about how much it self-sows... it is supposedly not much of a problem in the first couple years, but then becomes a big problem a few years down the line. I mulch the foundation area carefully, but I was worried about it spreading elsewhere. There are so many flowers that it's impossible to remove them before they go to seed.... not a problem if you're planting it in a wild setting or a "wild garden" setting, but a problem for a more formal area.
This spring, when they finally began to come up (June before there was anything significant), I ended up digging them up and replacing them with dwarf azalea with white flowers - it's actually a similar look, but evergreen, which is important for me with harsh NH winters. Unfortunately the flowers come in late spring rather than fall, though. I enjoyed the show last fall.
While I don't THINK I got "volunteer" seedlings from the Eupatorium I had planted, I *did* get seedlings from something else (wild Joe Pye?) which made its way into my yard. Whatever it is is clearly invasive and very difficult to remove, and is ALL over. The leaves are a lighter green, which is why I assume it has nothing to do with the "chocolate" plant I planted. But, the problem with what I assume to be wild Joe Pye also scared me enough to make me not only dig up the "chocolate" but discard it rather than replanting elsewhere.
I always leave garden cleanup for spring. Winter here is about snow, so it is good to leave some sort of form and structure behind. Birds and other animals will eat the seed and cleanup in spring is a breeze after winter has done its work.
Wieslaw, what kind of echinacea do you grow?
To prevent self sowing I cut the dried seed heads and place them in a 5 gal pail full of soil/sand which I place near the bird feeders. The birds get seed to eat and I have fewer seedlings to move or compost the next spring.
I tried leaving the seed heads on plants over the winter but find that we get so much snow that plants don't last long before the stems are broken and/or they are covered. Not an effective winter interest item for me. I don't cut back my red twig dogwood until spring. Those red twigs hold up well and if the deer don't eat them they make a nice winter accent.
Think I figured it out. This plant only flowers on new growth wood. Not having cut back last years plants to the ground the new growth just added itself to the old which doesn't produce new greenery or flowers.
If I had the blooms are great right now but the old woody growth from last year couldn't support the new since the plant is now top heavy.
Question .... should I have cut it right back to the ground in late fall after the blooms die or wait 'til spring before it starts to grown. I think that's called keeping the plants "under control" (lol). Thanks folks for the help. This my first year with this plant.
Many thanks for all the great ideas. I'll be making some plans when I start cleaning up in a few weeks. That blue mist spirea is a stunner.
The vine in the background is grape. It has never produced. The whole thing comes out of one stem on the short side of the arbor (not visible, parallel to the garage). It's not close to the house and makes a dandy screen. I have photo showing the arbor in 1920.
I can't count on the cousins to water anything, generally. I've stopped planting pots.
re: the nepeta, I'm going to have to pull a lot of it out in order to see the topography. It is out of control anyway. Can it take the abuse and survive?
What is a good way to mark the few plants I don't want to disturb? I need to mark them now and have the IDs still in place in the spring. Popsicle sticks never work. LOL. You'd think I'd get a clue with my tomatoes.
I didn't address the soil as I don't actually know what is going on under there. Generally a shovel runs into large round rocks pretty quickly. Guess I'll find out soon enough.
What is a good way to mark the few plants I don't want to disturb? I need to mark them now and have the IDs still in place in the spring. Popsicle sticks never work. LOL. You'd think I'd get a clue with my tomatoes.
==>>> wood rots.. as you have found out ...
easiest way... snap pix.. and use your photo editor to add names on your computer ...
plastic knives .. sandpapered a bit to roughen.. and then a #2 lead pencil .. lead has a half life of a few million years.. compared to ANYTHING ELSE ... insert the end with the writing into the ground.. to protect the writing from the elements ....
both suggestions.. together.. is the fail safe ...
i use landscape flags to mark thing ... sharpie on those out to last a season ... the flag irritates me.. until i actually move the plant.. so i can get rid of the flag .. lol ... [in other words.. i mark the ones to move... compared to what you said]
for grapes to produce.. they need an incredible amount of pruning .... like about 80% of the vine ... but i claim no expertise with that ...
ken
Here is a link that might be useful: bigboxstore ought to have them .... a lot cheaper than this
If you have plenty of room around your property, someone with a good shotgun or rifle will solve your problem right away.
We had a neighbor who couldn't bring himself to 'clean out' the 'chucks under his garage, and they proceeded to tunnel under lawns, buildings---took over the entire neighborhood! Elderly neighbor fell down into several of his tunnels before he found someone to get rid of the varmints. Those caught with Hav-A-Heart traps were back in the yards before the folks who took them to the 'country' to drop them off could get back home. Good luck! This one sounds well-fed and ready to supply you with endless hours of anguish and entertainment unless you really want to 'fix' the problem.
(Sorry PETA enthusiasts. These things do too much damage to go uncontrolled.)
Not a perennial, but zinnia is the one that comes to mind as a plant I'd love to try. I don't have much shade, but I drool over hellebore. So some of it is that I don't have the right growing conditions. Some of it is that we don't get some plants here in Vancouver until a year or so after they come out in the states, if they come here at all. By then I often forget about the new plant. I do the same as you with grasses, (and hostas), I want so many, but only have 3 varieties. There's always next year, and creating shade. :)
Yeona
Sheesh..thanks..I didn't even think to look at the propagation forum...go figure that out. If I had thought about planting this bed earlier in the year I could have found the plants but I doubt I will now until spring-unless I go online $$. Hence the propagation question.
Getting the timing right is always fun in gardening, isn't it?
BTW-Ken I have a greenhouse :) But it's new and it's my first year learning how to use it.
Beca (who is now off to look at the propagation forum...)
I agree yeonasky, seeds are easier than you think. Trudi Davidoff's winter-sowing technique (see Winter sowing forum) is fun, easy, cheap, and like "sowing seeds for dummies". Makes it very easy for the beginner, and usually gives you more confidence to start even more from seed, and move on to more complex germination techniques.
Gardenweed, my Crystal Peak had 100% germ. and is blooming now, at all of 6-8 inches tall! Pretty little white flowers. Also, my Digitalis camelot lavender and white are both blooming this fall and they are coming true to color. Also, one of the Echinacea Pow wow wild berries and three of the Bravado are sending up blooming stalks. All of these blooming the first year from seed. Awesome.
I have a tendency to hold off on expensive new introductions until they've proven themselves equal or superior to what's already out there.
..."somebody HAS to buy them to MAKE a verdict. If everybody waits, no verdict."
No problem there. Lots of people just have to possess the latest and greatest, even if it isn't (as the various threads griping about new Echinaceas hybrids suggest).
New seed introductions are generally a lot cheaper and more worthwhile for me. I use this fabulous spring sowing technique and get lots of plants from it with ease. ;)
Happy Belated birthday wishes Norma!
Beautiful summer sequence Yeona! How well I remember the days of Motocross! Looks like all of you had a perfect summer day!
My photo is of my Josephine clematis - not very common here. It was gorgeous this year, although it wasonly its second full summer. I am so pleased! Looks like I get to close off this thread!
Cheers,
Julie
Yes you can absolutely dig and divide Baptisia. It may be difficult, but you won't kill the plant, even if you mangle the roots.
Now, if the voles nearly wipe out your big beautiful Baptisias (like mine last winter) then it makes your work a whole lot easier. I was left with just a fraction of the original root system, but at least there was something of the plants left.
Dividing Baptisia is easier than a large Miscanthus grass, or a big Joe Pye weed!
hi again
stupid question...
i'm going to roundup my space. after the weeds die can i work them into he soil or do i have to remove them?
Depends if they have gone to seed. If they have gone to seed, you want to remove them and put them in the trash so that you aren't adding all those weed seeds to your planting area. If they don't have seeds (pretty unlikely this late in the season) you can turn them into the soil.