13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Well, as far as cold hardiness goes, I'm not sure about the color thing. In the past, I always dug and stored my Crocosmia overwinter. A few years ago, I got tired of that and just left them in the ground thinking they wouldn't make it. They did make it and have been coming back each year. None of mine were red, they were all the yellow varieties. Babylon was one of them. I don't mulch for winter and my zone is technically zone 4, but IMO at least has been behaving more like zone 5 for a good number of years.
Kevin
Thanks Kevin for suggesting another hardier-than-usual Crocosmia (besides Lucifer, that is). I have tried half a dozen varieties over the years, but the only one that has survived for me more than 2 yr. is Lucifer. I think I will try Babylon, just to have another colour to go with my Lucifer.
Up here in the Northeast I've had mixed results. I usually have to buy new ones every other year. They are lovely and I must have some in my garden. I would agree starting seed now is too late. Do it in the spring. I deadhead the flowers and they will rebloom for you throughout summer.
it does not look like it is dieing, it is dead. i'm in st louis mo. we did have a bad heat wave & a partial drought but i did water regularly. i have had areas where i had no luck growing ajuga & other ares where it became invasive. this patch was invasive. it did not brown out this past winter. it shrank & shriveled but retained it's color. by adequate water i mean enough to keep things alive & not enough to rot roots. everything else in this bed ( cosmos, spireas, creeping phlox, blackberry lilies, & day lilies ) are fine. it could be the severe summer. my vegetable patch was terrible this year.
It could be crown rot from Southern Blight, caused by the fungus Sclerotium rolfsii. Sclerotium develops during hot weather when the soil surface is moist and it will start in one small patch and works its way out. The base will die and the plants can be easily pulled out at soil level. Look carefully and you can often see little mustard seed looking spores but if it is in some sun then the fungus sometimes dries up quickly after the ajuga dies off and you might not notice it as easily as you would with hostas or other plants.
This is a very common and one of the only real problems with ajuga. Spraying with a fungicide to control Southern Blight is highly recommended to stop it. To prevent it in the future it is best to not water when temps get above 90 though a preventive fungicide spray next summer is also a good idea. The combination of heat and moisture triggers the dormant spores so spray now and again next summer before it gets hot. Ajuga can come back from drought but not from this fungus.
Hope that helps.
Chris
try the name that plant forum.. should we not come to a consensus ..
1 ... rose of sharon above a peony .... peony need full blistering sun ... and i suspect.. years go it was in full sun .... and now it is in too much shade ... probably needs to be moved .... you can just tell.. its thin .. rather than a nice clump ...
2 ... forsythia ...
3 .. seedling of the potentially invasive ROS ...
ken
Lots of minor spring bulbs will do well around larger sedums. They like the somewhat dry conditions that sedums favor. However, most of them bloom quite early in spring and are quite short. I would suggest Ipheions, Chionodoxa, and Anemone blanda. They bloom when the sedums are just small green cabbage like nubs low to the ground. They also have quickly evaporating foliage. Taller possibilities would be Fritilaria meleagris or miniature daffodils, such as Tete-a-tete. Both of these have larger and somewhat more persistent foliage. All of these have done very well for me in the drier areas of my zone 5 clay soil gardens.
I have found that Scilla, Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), and to some extent crocus, are a little too aggressive for interplanting with perennials, but do well for paths or around shrubs or sub-shrubs.
I do have a ring of Sedum alboroseum 'Mediovariegatum' (a mid-size variegated sedum) in front of my planting of Allium Globemasters & giganteums, originally 6 plants I think, with golden pennywort, Lysimachia nummularia Aurea for groundcover. The dryness of the area helps keep the pennywort in check. However, the sedums are not really big enough in early June when the big alliums bloom to hide their foliage well. Keeping with the yellow theme I also have some originally self-seeded pale yellow echinaceas in this area and some small pale yellow daylilies. The daylilies seem to do the best job of hiding the foliage of the alliums.
BTW, the large alliums are not all that persistent for me so I usually add a few every couple of years to keep the stand going. The sedums are a little brittle to crawl over, kneel down, or even to get your feet situated to use a standing bulb planter to plant the large allium bulbs. So I would suggest leaving a little path behind the sedums to work in.
One more thing - though I really love my Alliums & Lilies - little minor bulbs are so much easier to plant and they also do really well in shady areas around trees & shrubs, since they pretty much come an go before the trees leaf out.
Thanks -- I know it's hard to judge colors on a computer monitor, but I think I maybe got the wrong cultivar. Mine doesn't have any white center either. But just in case I'll wait to see a few more flowers (I've got buds) before asking Bluestone for a replacement!
I planted nine healthy Rosanne Geraniums in North Georgia this past spring, seven in full sun and two in afternoon shade in North Georgia. They seemed to be doing well until mid summer when we had a very long period of hot weather (from June until now at 90 degrees plus each day and high humidity) at which time the seven in the sun became, as one member said, longer stemmed and rangy, though continuing to bloom from their ends. As summer progressed, the plants looked more and more stressed until they finally died off. The two in shade are still alive but looking more scraggly and tired. The many other plants in the (wood bark mulched) flower plot have survived the summer reasonably well, except for several coreopsis. I did keep the plot watered during dry spells. I am wondering if the heat may have stressed the plants until they died. Can anyone advise as to why the Rosanne Geraniums gave it up - I had read they were heat and drought resistant so am disappointed with this experience. Thanks for your help.
Dick in Georgia
Here's another report from Western PA. Very, very few JBs in our area this year. AS a matter of fact, I would say that there were fewer in my area than there has been in many, many years. And we have not used MS in our yard. Keeping fingers crossed for next year....
Linda
I attract many birds to my yard. Never had a problem with JB's ... I only pick them off by the 1's and 2's. Don't know if that is why my issue is minimal, but it sure can't hurt. I grow roses, cannas, rose of sharon...all the things they love.
I have two of the garden phlox which are shorter than most (about 2 ft tall) and are supposed to be "compact" varieties. I don't know about specific mildew resistance, but they are fine in my garden.
Franz Schubert is a beautiful light purple-mix one, hardy and forms a slow-growing clump. It can fade a little in very bright sun but mine gets just a bit of shade from the hottest part of the day from a large rose bush nearby and is a beautiful colour. It almost glows sometimes.
Watermelon Punch is my other compact variety ... a pink, fairly bright. Very healthy and hardy again.
These are the two compact varieties I have, but there are quite a few others out there. They are basically the same as the tall garden phlox in every other way, just about a foot shorter :)
It happened to me too, but with Tomato Soup. I overwintered it in my basement, so it did not even lose its basal leaves. These year all the big shoots are ordinary purple. To top this all, some flowers are distorted and some have quilled petals(as in Big Sky series). You can't really imagine my surprise.
Russian Sage would work. It's a plant that would let light through. It's not a very thick plant and can be pruned as needed. If you're worried about the Russian Sage getting too tall, try the cultivar "Lacey Blue." I plant Russian Sage with Baptisias and Roses. Neither of those has suffered any. I'm sure a Peony can tolerate its presence.
mx gave teh answer ....
plant taller things behind .. shorter things in front.. and give them enough room.. that you are not digging in the peony roots ...
if you damage the large sweet potato roots structure of the peony.. it will take a long time to recover .. if at all ... i would not dig within 12 to 18 inches of the peony ...
mine.. by late summer.. they are covered with morning glory that is supposed to grow up the fence 2 feet behind.. by then.. energy storage is completed ...
ken
Has anyone tried digging Blue Chip back up to containerize? When would be the best time to do it ~ this Fall or wait 'til he wakes up in Spring.
I'm very disappointed in his performance in the ground this 2nd season. He is blooming & all, even manages to lure a few butterflies but nowhere near the size he was last season nor the # of B visitors!
Appreciate any experience anyone can share! TIA!
'Pardon Me' is too susceptible to rust IMO. Has anyone tried Earlybird Cardinal ('Endless Heart') yet?
Ruby Stella is more of a burgundy (ruby) color than a true red. The flowers are fairly small. However, it does bloom for a long time, about late mid-season. I have two plants and like them. Red Hot Returns is another "redder" rebloomer. It blooms earlier than Ruby Stella.