13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
I love reading all of these stories. Socks, that jug is awesome, and greenhearted, it must be a great feeling to wear that apron. Aw, Ken, don't rain on my parade...just kidding, I was actually thinking about the same thing. I have so much hard, or heavy, crummy soil (yes, I compost, etc.), that I'm not sure how useful this will be. I can use it to plant in pots, or maybe I'll just enjoy looking at it.
I have Caryopteris 'Sunshine Blue' and have been quite pleased with it. It has survived temperatures that range from -22 to upper 90's without problems, though occasionally there is some tip die-back that I prune off, but far fewer issues with winter hardiness than other Caryopteris I have tried. It starts the year a pure gold and changes to this slightly chartreuse-gold that still reads as gold in the landscape. The late summer blue flowers are the icing on the cake.
They are obligingly easy from cuttings...and right now is a good time to do it although you may have to search for a non-flowering shoot (we don't want any energy going into making flowers). I take the whole shoot, strip back the lower leaves and put about 5 or 6 around the edges of a clay pot (cooler than plastic). They generally don't care for being enclosed in polythene bags or plastic bottles but will appreciate a cool place with a little shade under a ventilated cloche. Root to transplant in about 6 weeks.
Probably just some bacterial leaf spot - not much you can do about it other than picking off and discarding (not composting!) the affected leaves; clean up any dead leaves on the ground from the winter. It's unlikely to be fatal.
how long are we talking about ... a couple days .. or weeks??
gotta think a couple days in z6 ...
just try to figure out.. how to shade the pots .. from direct sun.. so the roots and media doesnt cook ... it doesnt matter if the plant is in sun ...
i would not hesitate .. to put them inside ... for a couple days .. during the heat of the day ...
and in my MI .. these short little heat waves.. this time of year.. usually end in a rain storm ... and i would try to plant them just before.. or even in the rain ... even if i had to take the day off work ...
next time.. ask the nursery to HOLD the plants for you ... presuming you didnt go bigboxstore ... most good place would have been able to hold a flat or two in some back corner ... and the extra cost would have been worth the hell you are going thru now.. lol ...
ken
It's 3 days starting tomorrow. They are nursery stock. We weren't looking at the weather forecast when we bought them. We were just so pleased that we found them at this time of our season, because stocks are very low. I'm going to prepare the holes for planting and have them all ready to go once it breaks, like you said, probably with a thunderstorm. Don't dare do it right before as it's likely to be accompanied by hail!
I'm keeping them in our glassed in balcony until Tues. It's not really that different from the nursery conditions which were closed in.
two thoughts ...
first.. learn how to deal with the soil you have ... and how to amend that soil ...
but it would be better off if you learned how to plant in native soil ...
because.. what it sounds like you did.. was dig a kettle of a hole.. that probably doesnt drain.. and then filled this non draining hole with water retaining products ... you created a bog ... but you didnt plant bog plants ...
looks like i am repeating junco ...
second.. i wonder if you are trying to bring in old favorites from your prior location .. when other plants might be more forgiving in GA ... in other words... did you move from far away ... in other words.. plant selection might make it all easier ....
one easy solution.. might be to join a local garden club ... make some new friends.. who usually give away plants ... but also.. peeps who have to deal with this stuff .... you can search the globe on the WWW .. but i will bet .. one hours with some 80 year old grey top .. and you will learn more than we can ever surmise ...
good luck
ken
ps: when i moved out to the country ... i used to pass this one glorious place ... i would see this couple of late 70 year olds out there all the time .. ... and one day i just sucked it up.. and stopped .. OMG ... they were so happy to have someone to talk to about the garden... that i left with a trunkful of plants.. and more garden wisdom then i ever thought possible ... and they forced me to sit down a have a bowl of ice cream ... i thought i was transported back to the 1950s.. lol ... they said beaver was out back back with eddy haskel.. lol ...
Ken....what a GREAT story! We've been attempting to amend but I believe y'all may be right on the "bow" thing. I noticed today that the lantana is finally starting to sprig some new flowers so thats good. We've been planting what we've been told is good for this area and deer resistant...another of our issues.
Anyway thanks for your advice.
Deb
I everyone, sorry it's taken me so long to get back here. Also, thanks for all of the kind words! The pink flowering plant in the third picture is weigela Wine and Roses. The small purplish flowers are perenial geranium, I wish I could remember the name :(. The plants stay small and compact and they have a relatively long bloom time. When I added these to my garden I wasn't to concerned about the specific names, just got what I liked. About the solar lights, after many years to trial and error these particular ones have been the best! They have a round reflector in the top and give off a lot more light than anything I have tried. 90% of them are still working for the third season. Got them at a local big box hardware store in my area, Menard's.
Sherry
There are many species of Monarda and some are not aggressive at all. My favorite of all native plants is an annual, Monarda citriodora. I have not even had it reseed, so I need to start it from seed every year if I want to have it at all. But, Imalso have the varieties that spread by roots, and they can move far and fast, but they are easy to pull out with no digging required.
Martha
Do you know the name of your lime green spirea, Marie? When it blooms, what color are the flowers?
I had two different ones and after a few years, dug both of them out. Both got much larger than the tag said they would and like you, I didn't want to spend a lot of time pruning to keep them in check. Too much trouble!
One of the nice things about the spireas is that you don't have to spend much time pruning them. You can whack them off to 6" in early spring and they will regrow and fill in within a few weeks. Mine grow where snow and ice dump off the roof and so often need this treatment and it causes no issues. I was hesitant to try it the first time, but it really does work.
Thank you for the kind words!
The Hansa has a sort of suckering habit but I don't mind it--it's easy to relocate a chunk! I love the Katsura--that and the Dogwoods are my favorite trees! The Juniper I've decided to not be snobby about--can't beat that evergreen color, so I'm embracing the Junipers LOL. Of course, it helps that I'm trying to cover bare ground. I wish I'd planted more trees early on, for sure! I need some Japanese Maples, I think!
GH, yes I have lots of room to garden--only presently cultivating a couple of acres or so.
I've certainly had my share of troubles with Heuchera also in the past and swore off of them for many years after spending money on several cultivars that left the greenhouse looking robust and healthy only to slowly dwindle in the garden.
I started trying Heucheras again when they began releasing the hybrids crossed with H. villosa, which is supposed to impart heat tolerance. It's been a totally different ballgame. The ones that have performed well for me include: 'Creme Brulee', 'Miracle', 'Pistache', and 'Southern Comfort'. They are planted in well-drained and somewhat dry soil in shade. Our summer has been one of the hottest I can remember with periods of no rain and 'Pistache' and 'Southern Comfort' particularly have been exemplary performers.
Camp, it is called WORK IN PROGRESS. Not even a A "work in progress" but WORK in progress. The "A" would connote that i possibly have a plan with an ultimate goal and maybe even a vague schedule with a completion date. HA!. I have black pots strewn around from incremental building up of beds on a rocky hill side, Rocks strewn around waiting for more rocks to magically appear. Raccoon traps . seeding and cutting trays. My signs of hope for the future. Mean while the work that is in progress is happening in my studio and helping with the clean up on the Blanco river. God that is a mess of 500 year old bald cypresses thrown like pick up sticks. So sad.
Ho, Mara. For UK tree lovers (which is pretty much the entire population), 15th October, 1987 was the night of our horrendous and legendary hurricane -115mph winds which tipped over 15 million trees - massive oaks and gigantic beeches, gone like kindling...but what an opportunity too. Replanting, clearing, regeneration - it was phenomenol...and 25 years on, the landscape was restored to greater health, diversity and utility. It was hard to feel hopeful at the time, but life will always persist and endure.
Oh who needs the echinacea, look at that beautiful gray kitty!!
Coneflower fungus?