13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
Thanks so much for the ID! I had never heard of that plant before. I typed it in Google after seeing your replies and sure enough, that's what it looks like! I wonder if it flowers late in the year. This plant is big and hasn't gotten any flowers. I really like the looks of this plant and am glad that I kept it in my butterfly weed section instead of pulling it out. If it does flower yet, I think I'll save some seeds and plant it elsewhere next year. We have a small bank along the road where we're thinking of planting something because it's hard to mow there, but I'm not sure if this plant would be tolerant of the salt that will get on there in the winter from the road.
I'm into butterfly gardening and I don't know if the butterflies would be attracted to the flowers, but as far as I know it's not a host plant for any kind of butterfly. I just think it's worth keeping because of the beautiful foliage.
Cathy
My Sang came about a month ago as a bare root plant, so it's just growing leaves now. I did notice something about it's foliage that's similar to my roses; spider mites find it attractive. I'll need to remember to include it in my spray schedule.
I do not agree with one of the statements above that sanguisorbas don't need staking. This is not true,unless you want them to lay down on the ground or leaning very much , then they do not need staking. I have had a number of them and only following plants are selfsupporting: Pink Brushes and Red Thunder. The majority of the taller ones will be knocked down by rain+wind. Stand up Comedian will stand when young. In bigger clumps the branches growing outermost will start prostrate and then going up, taking much space. The worst of all: Chocolate Tip. It DIED from mildew!!!
Bravo Woody!!!!! Wow, this is looking great and will be spectacular in the coming years. I wish I had your luck with clematis. They always seem to wilt or get eaten by the voles so it's a celebration when I have a good showing by clematis vines. Love you collection and placement of these beauties. Looking forward to future updates
Deanne
Deanne - the swag may be my consolation prize to compensate for the decline of Vyvyan Pennell! You might have noticed that I didn't post any pictures of Vyv this year... I obviously made a big mistake when I cleaned out a lot of dead older wood in spring 2010 in an attempt to encourage it to regrow and climb higher than the 3-4' it used to achieve. It put out some nice new growth last summer that was climbing nicely and looking good. This spring the new growth it put on in 2010 also looked good - until a couple of giant snails munched through the stems! It went into a severe decline after that and only managed a couple of flowers. The killer heat this summer probably hasn't helped much. At the moment it's a few pathetic stems and leaves, no higher than about 8"! I can only hope it might regrow from the roots next year like The President did this year. The Pres. had died from top to bottom last summer - just sort of dried up and turned beige, not the black of wilt. I thought I'd lost it but it came back very vigorously this spring. I'm hoping Vyv will do the same next spring.
Where i live there are many tall fir trees and during winter storms branches get broken off. I sit and watch; smiling as I see all that free stuff falling from the sky. In early spring, I fire up the shredder (electric) and 'harvest' the gift from Father Winter.
The wild grasses here get chopped down before they can set any seed and I mulch the strawberries with the straw.
About 3 years ago a friend was cleaning up their mother's place to sell it and delivered many bags of trimmings which were piled out back. I'm now harvesting piles of brown gold (compost)
I never turn down 'free'
I love fall leaves as mulch. I get plenty where I am and use the leaf blower/vac to shred them. So easy to use and they shred very well too. If I want them really shredded any more I can just dump the leaves out of the bag and resuck them up. The more you do this the finer the leaves.
I use them as mulch, and also use the rest for my compost piles. I don't waste any.
I also don't rake out the leaves come spring. Just leave them in place and let them decompose on the spot.
I found out two years ago that this expensive plant is prone to foliar nematodes. I haven't ripped them out, since I do like the brightness they add to shady spots, but I rip off any affected leaves. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't, but it makes me feel better for the moment. :) And Ken is right, you can't rid your garden of them, and many plants are hosts, so I've learned to live with them.
in my z5 ....
it would depend on what fert .. absolutely no time release ... and it should be applied very sparingly ....
i used to collect roses years ago .. got up to 125 .. and fert'ed too heavy .. too late.. and killed about 40 of them once ...
a hyper-fertilized plant.. will go into lush vegetative growth.. at a point in time.. that it should be winding down.. and hardening off to a z5/6 fall/winter ... and when they do not harden off in late fall .. they rot ... rather than go to sleep ....
that said.. a little of this or that.. or a diluted foliar feeding should be a nice pick me up ..
just dont get carried away.. and think more is better .... and you can make up for something left out this summer ...
frankly.. if you have a moderately fertile soil.. you probably need nothing at all ... so dont get carried away .. they are not children.. and will not go 'hungry' ....
ken
stay away from nitrogen.. that is the root of the problem ..
look for a fert with numbers like this: 6-12-12
low nitro with a higher number for root growing ....
its the nitro that will force the fast late lush growth if too much is applied ...
i can get a 50 pound sack for about 15 bucks at the local feed lot store ...
ken
Up here one week of extreme summer heat, I think, suppressed the plants even in shady spots--so despite all the watering I did faithfully, so may plants here failed to bloom normally. I found this Bugbane on sale a week later probably because the garden center was bailing. Anyway, I'll mulch the base and hope for the best. The Snakeroot wants what it wants!
I've grown Cimicifuga racemosa for a long time and love it. It likes a good moist but well drained soil and doesn't care for competition with tree roots, so that could be a problem in front of the yew. There seems to be some confusion between this plant and cultivars of Cimicufuga simplex, which include Hillside Black Beauty, Black Negligee, Brunette, Atropurpurea, Elstead, White Pearl etc. Cimicifuga racemosa is an entirely different native species, earlier blooming, green-leaved and generally more robust. The flowers have a slightly unpleasant smell but nothing to get worked up about. It's a see-thru plant, so will work anywhere in a border, including the front.
Absolutely it has happened. One day, I planted a Zebrina Hollyhock that I had bought that day for eight dollars. The next day, I went out to my garden and couldn't find it! I thought maybe I was looking in the wrong spot but no, I saw a flat to the ground stumpy area that was the remains of the hollyhock.
Since I have many perennials and flowering shrubs I thought it strange that a RABBIT would single out one plant that was wildly tasty and delicious and of course, brand new.
Thankfully, I have not had 2 legged thieves but the four legged and flying do just as much damage.
Thank you wiselaw59! I am pretty sure its an Aster divaricatus... It looks and sounds a lot like this variety:
http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/25/index.htm
Its growing and blooming happily in dry shade!
That toad is wicked cool... I really, really like him. I also really like the conifers; they're so sophisticated and I bet they look fabulous with a dusting of snow on them.
It looks like a wonderfully interesting garden. I do think guy gardeners can have a different take on things than women gardeners. I think the slate table is quite cool. Thanks for putting these up Kathy.