13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
I too started with only a couple of plants a few years ago. Do not deadhead if you want more plants. Also, deadheading doesn't help because they will bloom en masse and each plant will bloom once only. Later in the summer, you might get the odd flower popping up.
My experience has also been that the plants will gradually disappear over the summer. At first I thought that the plants had died, but they returned in greater numbers the following year. However, I don't know what cultivar I have and maybe not all cultivars behave this way.
If you want to move the plants together, I think you should do so right after they finish blooming.
All cultivars of Campanula glomerata have a running habit, and they are impossible to remove once they are inside a clump of another plant. You'll have to dig it up and wash all the roots , pulling even the smallest roots of the campanula out. Otherwise it will come back. In my opinion it should be forbidden or should be sold with a warning.
I would recommend David if your site gets plenty of sun. I have on in a mostly sunny location, it started bloominbg in Mid June (Zone 5a, IL) and still goes strong now at end of July. But I have two more in a morning shade and afternoon sun location, one developed serious mildew last year and 2nd one started mildew this year. It still flowers, but leaves are very bad so I pulled them out.
Another reliable and long blooming option is Shasta daisies. I have the Alaska (up to 2-3 tall) and Snow Lady (~ 12-18 in), both of them bloom from Mid June to early August.
Phlox David has proved to be a very aggressive plant with me, devouring everything in its path. And it does get mildew. I would suggest Veronicastrum virginicum album, which is a polite plant(not the whole summer though). Also Thalictrum polygamum(creamish white)
It's useful to hear of everyone's different experiences, especially from those in the colder zones. Since it seems positive overall, I will give it a try and wait the recommended time. Hopefully we will have rain sometime soon to aid application, it's terribly dry here now.
The devour the same plants that Regina mentions, and leave most of the rest alone.
Hollyhocks MUST go, they are the honeymoon hotel for JBs and can never look good.
So wondered if the problem could be a fungus, so sprayed with a fungicide.
===>>> sounds a bit premature to go the chemical route..
you know you are in drouhgt..
and that plants wills sacrifice older leaves in such..
and watering after tissue damage will not restore those leaves ...
and yes.. it can happen to one plant in a bunch ...
i think you wasted the chems...
insure all your plants get the same water.. IMHO ...
ken
Shasta daisy can get fungus. It can even die because of it. It applies to other plants from Compositae(Asteraceae) like Helenium , Aster novi-anliae and others. But dying stalks can also be caused by something gnawing the roots. Several times I dug up such a plant and there was a big fat larva of something under the wilting part of the plant)
I have mixed feelings about this plant, because it is native and the birds LOVE the berries. It attracts all sorts of interesting birds, such as Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings, Thrashers, Catbirds, Cardinals, Robins.
On the other hand, when I had Norway Maples removed, zillions of Pokeweeds sprouted under one of them. A few would be delightful, a thousand is not so delightful. I'm still trying to get them under control. They're better than Oriental bittersweet though.
I had never heard of nepeta until last year.
A person on cottage gardening plants it with their roses.
I have now plant some.
See the first pic. in the link.
Here is a link that might be useful: nepeta and roses
Looks like a catmint to me :0)
I've not had mine spread rambunctiously but the plant itself does tend to sprawl outward - easily remedied by whacking back with the added bonus of whacking being another round of bloom. Of course it increases in size each year, but again very easily remedied by dividing - after which it doesn't miss a beat so go ahead and whack and divide all you want, this plant couldn't care less.
I get a whiff of something when I disturb the foliage - not minty to my nose, though. Whatever it is, I don't particularly care for it but it's not off-putting per se.
I rarely see them in my gardens, but when I do, out they go. They release a smell (and not only when crushed), I believe, that can attract other bad bugs. They can also get in the house. I've always read on the other forums that they are one of the bad bugs, and there is an infestation of the brown marmorated stink bug that have the experts alarmed. On the plus side, some types to eat other pests, but I'm not about to study them to find out which are bad and which are good.
If you can keep them contained somehow, I agree that it's a learning project for the kids.
Cannas are actually perennial tubers. If it has established there, it should be fine how it's been the past few years. Unless you have disturbed the soil level or significantly increased or decreased the amount of shade/sun exposure there.
I find fall planting to be ideal, but I do plant midsummer and then keep an eye on watering and provide some shade from a tomato cage covered with light fabric clothes-pinned on, a yard chair placed to give it south and west shade or anything else that will give it a bit of shelter while it settles in. Plants I have in pots at this time of year I try to place so that the pot is in shade in the hot parts of the day and I check their watering often.
The nice thing about fall planting is that the air is cooler, but the soil is still warm, which is good for root growth and lower stress on the plant. I mulch after planting to help keep moisture levels even and the soil warm as well as to help prevent frost heaving when there isn't snow.
A hollyhock grew in my garden this year that I never planted. I assume a bird brought it to me. I'd love to propogate it into more plants. From what I'm reading, I don't have to do much but scatter the seeds. Will I really get different colors from this one creamy white plant?
Jm
In addition to cutting my yarrows back before bloom, I *always* cut them back after they bloomed, and generally got a second flush of flowers out of them.
BTW, They're yarrows, the "thyme" of the flowering perennial bed. Don't worry about abusing them. They can take it, pretty much, whatever "it" is. I suspect your could probably mow those puppies and they'd still come back and look good.
The circular grow-through rings are either tomato cages or peony rings (probably the latter :)).
There are enough achilleas in this particular colour which are not floppy. Check Chicago Botanical Garden page with evaluations of perennials. Why bother with floppy at all ??