13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

My Baptisia gets infested with the genista broom moth every year. It is beautiful until then and then it turns webby and black. Awful! I decided this year to dig it up and toss it. Ha! It came back! I do love it. Just didn't want to contend with the infestation. I had been wondering about whacking it back and am glad to read all the advice here.

One of the best features of my Baptisia "Purple Smoke" is that foliage remains sturdy, full and healthy all season long. It even turns an interesting shade of charcoal black after hard frost.

haha....that cat is just admiring his habitat!

Aww, that's a content kitty.

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece".

Leonardo Da Vinci

JRTs are feisty little cuties! :-) It sounds like both you and your little Pom x were lucky together! It would indeed be a deeply sad day when you had to say good-bye to a loyal friend who shared so much of your life.

And putting up with some traffic noise would probably be worth it for that view! It's relatively easy to 'filter out' noise that is always part of the background I think. I lived near train tracks for a few years in university many years ago. Train whistles and the rumble of the train cars passing by drove me crazy - particularly at night - for the first week or two. After that my brain figured out that I didn't need to be aware of the noise, unless it was different than usual, so I just didn't hear it anymore other than being remotely aware of it in a background 'white noise' kind of way. Has the traffic noise faded like that for you?

Woody, after 50 years I don't even notice it until I look over and see DH has been trying to say something to me, or is it after being married to this wonderful guy for 59 years I just tune him out, I'm almost positive he tunes me out, he'll say you never told me..... LOL.
Annette

Why would some one name a half hardy perennial "LAKE MICHIGAN violet"?

Thanks for the San Marcos reference.

"Semi-hardy" still looks like an understatement, seeing that we did not have consistent snow cover over the winter and all plants which were fairly small to begin with survived (as clumps, not newly reseeded sprouts).

It makes me wonder if others in the "Lake" series might be worth trying as perennials, started from seed no later than early summer to allow time for development ("Lake Michigan Violent" was a slow grower).

@ Camp, I hope the ipomopsis is IN the ground because they get a tap root going fast. I Never plant them in pots. They really perform best PIG. They will do fine in the sandy abutment that you talk about. These big ones might have germinated in Spring last year and not flowered in fall. These guys can be variable about their behavior. In the wild they germinate in spring and fall and they bloom in all sorts of sizes. I even had one that bloomed in the fall and I cut it back and it darn if it isn't blooming again with multiple stalks.

And if you post a picture of the little guys that you do not have names for, maybe we can guess what they are.

Afraid they are not in the ground but are in deep pots. I did transplant some very tiny ones in the allotment and will put the others in the soil...but hey, it is a (steep) learning curve...and I fall off the track with regularity...and, of course, I still have that huge packet of seeds in the fridge.
I rarely sow direct unless it concerns annuals or wildflowers or | have mountains of seed...and even then, I like to keep my seedlings close (not in a testing woodland habitat, filled with unknown creatures and trying growing conditions). Still, the rate of germination (100%) and speed of growth (rapid) means I will be throwing seeds around willy-nilly on the sunny south-facing boundary.

I will definitely take up your offer of identification (although current camera is iffy) as I suspect I would still be in the dark with their true leaves...and it could be years before I see a flower.

lol Marquest on the seasons. Having a heavy cover of snow for months doesn't seem much like a blessing in February but I know it saves plants that would otherwise disappear. This year all of my butterfly bushes have live wood about a foot and a half above ground level, after a brutally cold winter, thanks to early and persistent snow cover.

Linnea, I am in zone 5 like you. The only time I have had trouble with Heuchera surviving is fall planting. I have never lost one I planted in the spring no matter the variety. I lost one I planted last fall, had planted a few more this past fall that survived but are very small. I planted a caramel, I think, in the fall a couple years ago and that succumbed to the winter. For me fall planting has turned out to be the problem. I am guessing not enough to time to establish a decent root structure.

Sherry

Where did you get the seeds for the spineless variety. . . ? thanks

http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d124_Exotic_Edible_Collection.html

Thank you all for the nice comments :)

Cat...this bed is on the west side so it's shaded until late afternoon. There is also a Maple that shades the left side of the bed with dappled light.

Sandy yes is sure does make you happy, especially knowing there's lots more to follow :)

Dave lol there will be taller ones soon....weather permitting.

Mgal thank you...I can tell you're a purple lover ;)

Thanks GH

There you go......Thanks!

This sounds weird but one of my family living in CA puts ice around her lilac to force blooms. Can't hurt to try that for your poppies.

Edited to add: probably best tried when plant is emerging and young, before it forms bloom stem.

Thanks Marie!

Last summer was our first full season with this poppy. And I guess because it was an unusually wet summer, it was vigorous throughout ie no dormancy at all.

geum dbl bloody mary

Dave, your garden is coming along nicely! Giving up on Geums--not buying any more...yours are so happy! How would you describe the soil where they thrive? Thanks.

Yes, it looks like a sedge or rush...certainly not an ipheon, and that's ALL it's ever going to do unless there's a bulb hidden deep inside.

Thanks, After I uploaded the photo the leaves looked too thin. When I re=potted the plants last Fall I saw one or two bulbs. I probably over watered them. I will leave the plants intact until the Fall and if I find any bulbs I will re-plant in a new pot with appropriate soil and keep them drier.