13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

I have had Minnie for three years and it has only spread modestly. Not really a problem for me. One plus is that it is disease free, which is more than I can say for a lot of my other Phlox, which I removed from the bed they were in. I had Franz Schubert, David, Nicky, and a seedling that resembled Delta Snow. I had moved all these from our last house so I know they were at least 8 years old. Some of the clumps got smaller through the years, and every year the mildew on them would get a little worse. Last summer, we pulled them all out and I'm starting again to add phlox to this area.

I still have Minnie in another bed. And Eva Cullum is in another bed.

As far as disease resistance goes, I'd have to say that Minnie Pearl is very, very good. It's in full sun and does not get overly tall. It doesn't fall over in the rain either, which is another plus. My Minnie came from a garden friend who worked at a green house. She said that it was the only phlox there that didn't come down with mildew during the summer, even with all the abuse the help there heaped on the perennials. At times, workers would forget to water them, or they would get too much water on their leaves from the hoses. In spite of that, the leaves on Minnie Pearl stayed clean and healthy.

Linda

Excellent Linda. You have sealed the deal. In my garden it will go this coming season.

Thank you for sharing. Those are what I daydream about.

â¢Posted by emmarene 9 (My Page) on Mon, Jan 26, 15 at 22:29

Daydream about?

Found it here:

Chinese Dragon

Rina

Rouge, come to think of it, I'm not sure my Osiris has ever bloomed! It's not something I really kept track of because I love it for the foliage. I'll have to pay more attention this summer!

Great shot TR...I love seeing pics of trees.

I noticed yesterday the daffodils are up 4" tall and the peach tree flower buds are swelling

I am truly happy for you. Please be sympathetic to me as I look out and see this scene late this afternoon:

Ah don't get too downcast, white is prettier than brown. If you want to see a brown winter, come to Oklahoma. My brother made a trip to my grandparents farm where we used to spend a lot of time, its pretty typical of the countryside in winter. Their last name was-- of all things-- Brown.

you can not take greenhouse or indoor grown plants.. and throw them outside ...

w/o hardening them off properly ....

and if they are already in bloom.. let me suggest.. that as grocery store plants.. they were sold for immediate gratification on the flowers..and after they are done blooming.. they can go out to see if you can winter them over for NEXT year ....after hardening htem off.. of course ...

good luck

ken

Even when hardened off properly, these may not be varieties suitable for growing in the OP's zone.

No harm in trying though.

Appears to be an interesting plant, for those that are able to grow it.
I suspect that a Hardiness rating of Zone 4, is a result of someone's misunderstanding or a vivid imagination!

Ligularia hiberniflora is endemic to the neighboring Japanese Islands of Yakushima and Tanegashima, where it is companion to Ligularia tussilaginea.
As a result of several high mountains on Yakushima, the climate varies from sub-tropical to sub-alpine, but as we have determined from growing Ligularia tussilaginea, it would not be reliably hardy below Zone 7. In fact, I make it a practice to protect my several different cultivars, when the temperature is predicted to fall below 10°F.

Let us know how your sun-burned patients progress!
In the meantime, I shall be on the look-out for them to appear at my local nurseries, who will sometimes offer something out of the ordinary!

OT...
I am of the old, old school and still prefer the familiar Genus designation of Ligularia!
After all, the change to Farfugium was ignored by the scientific community for almost 70 years, why the urge now to recognize it?

I have it in my yard, bought it last year and put in a wooded area. I think I may have watered it times, it bloomed for a long time and tripled in size in the first year.

It is very hard to do but try to remember that depending on when you start you will probably have to pot them up at least once and need room under your lights for this. I like to plant large plants outside so I plan on having them in 18 cells/flat at plant out date.

There is no general rule as when to start, unfortunately. My last frost date is the same as yours and I just started some of my slower growing cool weather plants this weekend (Pansy/Viola and some bulb onions for example). I also sowed some of my perennials and roses.

morz8 gave you a great list for perennial seeds. I also suggest looking at a site like stokes seeds and it will tell you when they suggest the commercial growers to start for bedding sales. It often gives you approximate transplant and bloom times as well as what size pot to expect in the given time frame. Also it will suggest whether the seed needs to be frozen etc. I have found the info they give to be quite accurate, YMMV.

If it was me I would start at least a few seeds of each now. It will give you practice and any mistakes won't set you back considerably. Plus you will know what to expect from each plant. And it is a fun way to break the winter blues!!!

SCG

Another good seed-starting calculator:

when to start seeds

Thanks, folks. I'm probably going to winter sow half of both the echinacea and the gaillardia. The other halves I'll sow under lights. Guess I'll give the ech some refrigerator time first.

Hi Barbara,
I'm in IL as well - far NW Chicago suburbs. Last year I planted a bunch of Arizona Sun from seed - probably too many! Assuming they come back this year you are welcome to some if you are close to me! Also, if you are looking for good compost I really like the Organimix from Midwest Organics. Check the link for places that sell it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Organimix

From one website's description of the Campfire rose:

"Campfire Rose variety starts to flower in early summer and remains in bloom until hard frost sets in. Can a passionate gardener ask for anything more?"

Well, yes. Fragrance. This particular rose however is described as having a "mild" fragrance, which in my experience means you have to stick your nose deeply into the flower to possibly detect a vague hint of scent. Sadly, that's common in modern roses that otherwise have fine attributes. I have a carpet-type rose that bloomed steadily this past year when other roses had an off-season.

In terms of having hardiness, disease resistance, good rebloom and marked fragrance, rugosas generally score well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Purple Pavement

Growing to a max of only 3 ft, one can forgive 'Campfire' for not carrying much of a fragrance. If rouge wants to instead go for a very different style of rose, then yes, 'Purple Pavement' is a very good rugosa selection.

Duplicate

This post was edited by mnwsgal on Thu, Jan 22, 15 at 20:35

Thanks Bobbie I'll do that :).

Annette

I finally killed ours dead, it took 3 years. It was a massive thing growing on a chain link fence when we bought the house and always looked ugly by the end of the year-- something was always eating it. Maybe it was chili thrips? anyway, it was hugely big, messy and ungainly, rather weedy looking to me and I gagged on the smell when it bloomed. The orange daylily's planted thickly in front of it made it over the top offensively ugly. For added charm, it always had vine milkweed growing up in the mess too twisting around the other green sloppy mess and into the chain links. It took some diligent whacking, picking out winding stems, digging and round-up but the whole disaster (including the gosh-awful row of messy daylily's in the forefront) is now gone.

This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Wed, Jan 21, 15 at 14:19

In addition to undertaking routine maintenance to keep them playing well together whenever climbers are combined in the same space you also have to be sure the kinds chosen are of comparable vigor.

I'm probably going to yank both my main perennial bed clumps of "Autumn Joy" this spring.The plants look promising up until bloom time, but hold color only briefly before going a dull russet-brown.

Sedum "Autumn Fire" has been much more showy and dependable over a long blooming season in my garden.

Just realized my Sedum Autumn Joy has lost all its glorious beautiful leaves and now just a sad looking green bare stalk. I tugged at the root it is still firm. Is it normal in the winter? It flowered quite a bit from Oct - late Nov but hasn't grown much (at all) and is still fairly small from a gallon pot starter that I planted in the ground.

One that used to be used a lot in hanging baskets and containers around here but hardly seen anymore is trailing nepeta, it comes in both plain and variegated foliage.

Another that goes dormant in winter but comes back in the spring is Kenilworth ivy (Cymbalaria muralis ), a pretty little thing but you have to keep an eye on it it has the habit of spreading itself around.

Actually they have been selling Dichondria argentea in Texas for eons amongst the native loving crowd. It is a standard in Nurseries here that have a stock of natives. It is native to the Big Bend area of Texas and Tucson . Big bend area is Z8b - 8a. Tucson is Z9. I have been growing it for 30 years in and around Austin and it was only damaged when we had a freeze to 12F. It comes back up from the roots every year. I think it grows in moist canyons there because it appreciates a tad more moisture than desert xerics. The common name for it in Texas is Silver Ponysfoot. It is a great spillar for pots and raised beds and will appreciate a draining soil in houston. It wanders all over my garden. I love planting tires with it.

My earliest bloomers are Hellebore/Lenten roses. My soil is sandy, slightly acid loam and we get consistent snow/rain/moisture here. Hardiness zones for them go from Z4-9. Mine form buds in December every year and they bloom between March and April. The flowers are long-lasting and there are many cultivars available.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hellebore

I forgot to mention Euphorbia rigida and Sedum palmerii ( blooms in february but would need drainage in houston gumbo and rain) does a beautiful drape if the deer don't eat it.

If you purchased this so you would have winter flowers, you might want to consider investing in some heavy weight spun-bond row cover such as Agribond. On nights when freezes or frosts are predicted you could wrap the plant in a couple of layers. Particularly if it is in a sheltered location such as next to a building or if you add a string of holiday lights under the row cover to add a bit of warmth, it might save your flowers and reduce the branch die-back.

here in MI ... when i get frost or freeze damage on various plants ...... i give the plant AT LEAST.. a month.. maybe two .... to get its act together.. before i go cutting on it ...

often ... its just leaf damage.. and the branch itself.. can releaf ...

but how that all works in TX .. in winter .. with a winter blooming plant.. is beyond me ...

ken