13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
i cant imagine.. why a guy in NC ... would bother putting anything in the garage.. you really dont know what a cold winter is.. lol ...
right now.. with 3 days of single digits... i have about 200 potted plants.. tipped on their sides.. sitting on the ground in MI ...
not to mention ... some of those you list.. are MI hardy ...
they are tipped on their sides.. because they freeze solid .. and we dont want water accumulating in a frozen pot.. during any freak warm spells ....
do not confuse air temps with soil temps .... as pots behave differently .. and mother earth is quite a buffer ... for any short term cold snaps ....
just never leave black pots in any winter sun ... they can heat up too fast ....
so if i were you .. i would just stack them.. on the north side of the house ... and ignore them until spring ... the house will buffer them also .....
there are different rules if you are zone pushing.... but i dont know why you would be doing so if you planned on putting them in the ground anyway .....
ken
Agree with Ken, zone 7 is not exactly a harsh winter zone. The plants you've listed are all pretty hardy, and would most likely be okay outside even in pots. Or you can just leave them in the garage until it warms up some. Just be sure to give them a little water every 2-4 weeks.
I overwinter 2 or 3 dozen plants in the garage every year. Some are tender, such as Salvia 'Black & Blue' and Magnolia grandiflora, and others are 1st or 2nd year seedlings that are still quite small.
I even brought in an Asclepias curassavica 'Silky Gold' and am growing it as a houseplant this winter! It's doing great, making some buds.
Nevertheless, I do have a few hardier specimens in pots outside in a semi-sheltered location (such as a Cornus alternifolia in a 1 gallon pot, hardy to zone 3).
Holly do replace dead leaves, but more slowly then deciduous trees. If they ever lose *ALL* their leaves they are probably dead. If they lose a few they will grow them back.
You could try using hollytone.
There are many species of holly, but I suspect some of the more common ones would be borderline hardy in zone 5. Shelter from the wind in the winter might help. (eg a tarp).
Thanks, mtnrdredux, but I do believe that mom is spelled a different way :) Thanks to you too, aftermidnight, for the link. I found another one which seems to imply that the seeds should be found at the bases of the petals. After tearing apart some of my shriveled mum flowers, I didn't find any seeds, but my plants probably just don't have time to make them here in zone 5.
Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Breeding As a Hobby
Mtrdredux- My mum gives me seeds every now and then. She's the one who started it all lol
I started a few mums from seed this spring, they did well in spite of my abuse and even put out a few blooms. Had I planted them out of their four inch pot prior to September I'm sure they would have clumped up and put on a great show, but I'm sure they will for next year now that they're in the ground.
Maybe three years ago I had mum seedlings coming up that had self sown off potted mums siting on the front steps. The parents died but the seedlings bloomed beautifully the next year!
I might even have a few seeds leftover in the packet I sowed this spring. They're not all that small.
A fun project I like to do, now and then, is to make my own sawhorses. I figure if I'm wanting to do so many wood projects around the place, I should be able to make my own wooden sawhorses, right? And then make more for friends, family, etc.
But also, I used them (and other standing objects that fit the role) as the things I can put around my garden area and drape any cloths on it to help protect a particular area if it gets an unexpected cold temperature, especially in early spring when late cold temps might roll through as plants are starting to come out of dormancy.
I make a living building furniture for others so I know my way around tools. I think starting with some saw horses is a good idea. Keep your eyes on craigs list for scraps of wood, and rock and MORE TOOLS.. Things are often given away. I got all the rock for free and half my wood. I did get the 4x4 wood at 1/4 price on craigs list.. The cedar planks I got for hauling away. The rock i got from a ranch that was being torn down and made into a mall. here are a few pics of different projects. I am not a professional rock person and I do this by myself. Things have to be done quickly and cheaply. I am a bottom feeder. I keep things simple.
I call this the Backwards garden because I planted the garden and then built the deer proof fence and raised beds. Still not bad for a middle aged broad.
I think you have Mercury Rising confused with one of the other Galaxy series--might be Start Cluster. Mercury Rising does not change to white, no matter what the temperature or time of year. Tthere is one that does (Star Cluster?), but not MR.
On Mercury Rising it was the outside edges of the flower that would turn white. Perhaps I was sent the wrong cultivar. Thou a picture on Monrovia site shows this fading to white edge. It was very healthy here but did not survive wet winter. Star Cluster did live threw same winter and came back strong.
Here is a really good place to get seeds in bulk, complete with growing instructions that you will also want to provide your guests. This is a great idea, by the way. Anyway, these seeds are fresh, they have an exceptional germination rate and I think if you call this company directly, you may be able to work a deal with them. I've called and talked to them on occasion and they were always helpful. Using a trusted vendor is important for your guests to have success growing their seeds. On the seed bar...say how much sun the flowers need, how much moisture, how big they get and provide a good picture. I think you can copy the pics off this site to use on your seed bar. Have fun with this! Another idea? Maybe buy plants that are the same as the seeds to have on the seed bar instead of just photos...though to have them all blooming when you want them to could be problematic and one more thing to worry about while stressing over all the details of a wedding...but a though. Enjoy!
Here is a link that might be useful: Source for seeds and advice
For my medical school graduation, my mom used live pansies as table decorations and let the guests take them home, if they wanted. You could wintersow several favorite perennials and have them in Dixie cups with growing instructions paper clipped to each plant. I love the seed idea, but I agree that many guests won't go to the trouble of planting them, especially since June is a bit past ideal planting time for most folk. Best wishes for a wonderful day.
Martha
I am a fan of Sanguisorba. I grow 'Tanna", tenuifolia, obtusa and obtusa alba.
These var. have been in the ground nearly 10 years with no issues. (tenuifolia will seed about if not deadheaded)
I have just planted 'Pink Tanna' in the fall.
They are intolerant of dry soils but if too moist will flop. obtusa is pink but will turn white if the soil is too wet.
I really like them all but 'Tanna' and obtusa alba are the ones I like best. I am sure I will like 'Pink Tanna' as well.
Red Thunder sounds quite nice. Could not find the height of Midnight's Child but it looks nice as well.
They have gone to town on seed selection / hybridizing. Wow
Edited to add
Hope arbo_retum shows up, this will teach me to check the OP date.
This post was edited by Peren.all on Sat, Jan 3, 15 at 18:43
There is a good article on Sanguisorba in the journal The Plantsman (published by the Royal Horticultural Society).
J. Sutton, "Sanguisorba in Cultivation". The Plantsman 6 (2) 2007, 78-83.
Unfortunately I can't find this article anywhere online (it used to be on the RHS website).
I did have Sanguisorba hakusanensis in my garden for some years but got tired of because it flopped. Now I have Sanguisorba "Pink Brushes" which SEEMS to me a more sturdy plant than S. hakusanensis. Love the fluffy flowers!
Me too - going for the garden equivalent of bear vs shark.
So, I have campanula rapunculoides against hesperis matronalis,.......symphytum officiale with angelica archangelica.
I am hoping the combined efforts of selected thugs will overpower the brambles and nettles which have previously held sway.
Have taken note of your suggestions - aster cordifolia definitely has legs, I think.
I sadly lost the last of my chocolate joe pye last year. It did great for a few years, but I think the soil dried up too quick where it was. It was in part sun. I was constantly having to water it, and it never stayed moist. It wasnt too close to anything that would harm it.
I also have two pots of these bulbs, and give them about the same treatment as flowergirl. I think they are pretty nice. They bloom for me with just morning sun. Last year I repotted them into some new soil in the spring and threw the old soil out into the mostly shady flowerbed. They bloomed okay there with sun from 11 to one PM, but later than when the photo was taken. You can just see the buds starting.
I got a surprise one summer about 20 years ago when one came up in my vegetable garden. I like the plant a lot, but it has spread because I have tilled a bit. In pots it does not survive out side here in zone 8. I should move the dirt from the vegetable garden some where more suitable. I can imagine that mulching in the fall could allow them to survive eastern WA winters. I think that they could make a nice house plant also.
R. triloba is generally a short-lived, reseeding perennial. You can encourage perennial behavior by cutting bloom stalks to the ground when finished blooming and before stalks dry. However it reliably reseeds. Volunteers are easily pulled as it lacks a taproot. Great plant. Have had it for years here in Dallas, TX
Just so everyone knows (from above reading)...triloba is moisture loving and would only be found along streams or rivers in most of the Prairie area. Further east, it may be an upland species due to greater abundance of rainfall there.