13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

Yes - the species is a spreader. But has anyone actually had trouble with the variegated form which is the one the OP has?

"Believe it or not, Lowe's sells variegated Glechoma in one quart containers."
What next, variegated poison ivy?

sigh, after shrinkage and sinkage (?), I am looking at having to do the same with my large raised bed - already something of a nightmare to reach all parts without climbing into it. The seep holes I added when I built it have been losing soil for the past 3 years (although I have tried to toss it back in the bed) and the level is now underneath the coping, creating a perfect habitat/hotel for every mollusc in the area. After losing an entire tray of verbena stricta which was balanced on said coping, I have conceded defeat until autumn when I will take the whole thing apart and replant. 2 years of mild winters has increased our pest numbers to apocalyptic levels ...so much so that I am considering digging into my piggybank and buying some nematode slug treatments...which pains me as I am cheap, broke and constitutionally opposed to spending £££ on sprays and drenches.

Annoyingly, there is also a baptisia in this bed...but as it snivels under a large euonymous, it has remained minuscule(ish).

i wait too long during a miserable winter .. to ruin a good show ..

just mark it.. with a irrigation flag.. or surveyors tape ... jsut something bright ...

and as the show begins to fade.. just do.. what need be done ...

this is your second.. third.. 4th..post.. about tap roots ...

just do what you need to do ... and dont worry about such ... you gotta do.. what you gotta do ... and whatever happens.. happens.. to the plant ...

and you know.. on a 2 to 3 foot plant... you could probably leave it where it is.. and just taper the new soil down as you come to it.. so what if it APPEARS a bit short to standard ...

on some level.. you might be being a bit retentive on the level of soil .. ma nature is a bit less ..

keep up the good work ...

ken

Yes, the foliage is great. I had a baptisia in my old garden years ago and never really fell in love with it. Took up too much real estate for the short show. I got rid of it at some point in time and never missed it. Then I got a small start of 'Twilite Prairieblues' from the owner of my nursery who was growing on various baptisia cultivars for retail sale. WOW! It took off, bloomed like crazy the first year and hasn't stopped impressing me since. Has gotten really big over the last three years and I noticed dozens of flower buds when I was weeding that area a couple of days ago. Should be quite a show with its bicolored violet-blue and yellow flowers. Can't wait!
Baptisia 'Twilite Prairieblues'

But for future plantings--too close to the house. Foundation plantings should not be touching the siding. Bad for the house, bad for the plant's natural shape. Shrubs should be planted at least 3-4 feet from the house, more in some cases.

Sounds as if you put out a nice welcome package for them. Good luck! It would be fun to watch them I would think.

Not mason territory here, but green metallic bees like our sandy soil. As their landlord, my job consists only of reminding everyone those are not little ant mounds, and that they will not like the consequences if they harm them. Not much exciting to see activity-wise at their home. They are pretty visiting flowers though.

Well, I missed a couple cocoons in the tubes, and they're still there - they're probably goners by now. Today I did notice one tube (out of oh, maybe 30 or so) was capped off, so someone moved in - YAY! Hope at least a few more tubes will get capped, but I guess one is better than none, and if that small brood does well next spring, the population will be on the upsping :0)

Oh, that's reassuring. I'll give that a try. Thanks!

It's out. Less work than expected. Forked out the main plant, then ran my fingers around to snag remaining rhizomes. Lifted 2 daylilies and a phlox to get ones that had come up in the clumps.

I did see one with emerging leaves, but the guys that delivered mulch buried everything and burned those leaves off and killed a bunch of emerging perennials. I'm so depressed! They torched my tulips bulbs-which two days ago looked fabulous!

I had one gallon (“Sombrero Hot Coral”) planted last June. In general I have had no luck with the exotic echinaceas. But I noticed today a small cluster of leaves in the right spot. If it does live, it will be a first.

I don't have the planters put together yet. They are 5'W x 2'D x 2'H and will have evergreen shrubs in the back along with other plants and draping plants in the front.

My last place was Zone 5 also. I believe Creeping Jenny is good to Zone 2.

I'll take a look at your other suggestions. Thanks

I have had creeping jenny, the golden variety, in my hanging baskets. At the end of each season I leave the plastic basket in the yard. The creeping jenny looks dead but springs to life quickly in the spring. I am in zone 5. Then all I need do is re-plant the basket with more annuals, or pull out the jenny root balls, change the potting mix, and re-plant.

My husband dumped one of the baskets in the garden last fall. I was out of town, and told him to dump the dirt of any basket hit by frost into the garden. Now I have several small golden jennies going to town in the garden. I will have to get them out of there quickly. I have a side garden (the “purple and gold” bed) where I do allow it to grow unimpeded: because it can’t escape into more valuable real estate.

Though they are small and hard to see, creeping jenny flowers and sets seed. Not a lot, but some. So watch where your planters are for unwanted volunteers at the base.

I planted some purple ones many years ago. Of the ten bulbs only one has survived. It has never bulked up so there is this tiny plant with even tinier bloom surprising me each spring. Then it disappears. Have thought of trying some white ones, maybe this will be the year. My expectations are low but as you say they are inexpensive.

UPDATE:

I thought of you Kevin when I was viewing this clump of white AB today. By chance did you plant some this past Fall (or I see from the age of this thread...maybe even two Autumns past)?

I'm not sure what happened to your hellebores, but I can give you my experience with them. I planted them where they would receive some morning sun, and afternoon shade,no mulch. I never removed any green leaves. As ocelaris said, they are nearly evergreen, and I'm sure those leaves are needed for the plants live and grow. `The only leaves I ever removed were old leaves that were dying or dead, usually around the bottom of the plant. Also, I think hellebores do better in a sheltered location where they don't bear the brunt of cold, winter winds. I think you should just leave your remaining ones alone, water them during dry spells, and see how they do. Hope this helps. Growing hellebores has been easy for me, and I certainly don't have a thumb that's totally green : )

Woodrose, thanks for your reply. Yes, I think you're right. I sometimes read the blog 'A way to garden', and she advises cutting off all the old foliage in the spring when new growth is emerging. But maybe this works better for (or at least doesn't harm) established plants than very small ones. Probably by removing the foliage (even though it was pretty beat up after the winter), I weakened the plants :(. Well, lesson learned. I will know better next time.

Some lovely things there, mnwsgal. Your 'thalictroides' is Anemonella thalictroides, I believe. Your rock cress is indeed rock cress ie Arabis.

Thank you, floral, the tag just said thalictroides and I hadn't looked it up. Thought that was rock cress but it was late and my memory was slow.