Can anyone tell me if I plant some Mudkenia with ferns and astilbe would it take them over eventually? I just want to get an idea of how much it's going to spread about three years from now.
Do they take plants over or is it a more well behaved groundcover?
I've had too much experience of groundcovers taking over as you can probably tell from my question.
Mukdenia - crimson fans how much do they spread and how fast
I'm working on getting any mukdenia to survive,
so I certainly haven't noticed any invasive tendency.
Unfortunately, more of a death tendency for me.
I still have one or two pitiful looking plants, but they're definitely not happy.
Mine all died a horrible death as well.
Doesn't seem you'll have a problem with it, Lea! LOL
Gosh thanks you all LOL That doesn't sound very encouraging!
Mine are just plugs under lights right now but soon they will get too tall for the lights and I will have to set them outside and really dreading that in the August heat. I only have three plugs didn't figure I would need that many so now I'm wondering what they need to live?
Pirl I just can't imagine yours not living so that is really giving me a challenge I want to win ;)
So what kind of sun do the both of you have yours in, knowing Pirl she probably put them in full sun just to see if she could get them to grow there with her astilbes lol
Mine had more sun than shade and regular watering so all I can do is wish you good luck. I'd be afraid to put plugs in full sun since they're so new but do what you think is best.
Good luck. I bet yours live.
Well they are under lights for right now but when they grow to where I have to put them outside from under the table top lights I have set up in the kitchen they will be in shade I'll just switch them back and forth from the front porch to the back like I've been doing with these other plugs I have for now nothing is going in the ground until after August it's our hottest month and if it gets any hotter or more humid outside I may not make it LOL
Where I want to put them it gets morning sun and a little dappled afternoon sun not much of either or for very long thank goodness! Even the morning sun now is so hot!
I just wish I knew how much they spread and how fast maybe someone will come on and let me know that has had better luck I know people grow them on here that have had luck with them I've seen their post but no one has mentioned how fast they spread and if they take anything else over like some groundcovers do if they did I missed it.
I can plant them under the holly but really want them out where I can see them but don't want the hassle of having to move them later you know me Pirl I hate moving plants once I get them in the ground :) They can have their own space if that is going to happen but think they would go very well with my astilbes and ferns that I have in this one spot to fill in IF they are well behaved!
Here's the first of all the Google results on Mukdenia:
http://www.perennialresource.com/plants/general-perennial/1684_mukdenia-rossii-karasuba.aspx
It specifically states that it's a slow grower and forms mounds like Heuchera. The article called for semi-shade.
You might want to send a Dmail to the person who has had success with it as shown on Plant Files.
The article you sent the link to Pirl says 4-6 hrs. of sun I would be afraid to put it in that much sun from what I have read on here, that spot is pretty fertile and stays moist all the time I could put it in more sun but not sure I would feel good about it, I'm keeping a close eye on this sun where it is this time of year in that spot.
My best surviving mukdenia is in open shade under a high canopy of tree cover.
It's basically a woodland setting.
I'm cautiously optimistic for it's survival.
The spot where I want to plant mine gets a little morning sun then a tiny bit of afternoon sun with a dogwood and huge holly on the other side so it gets quite a bit of shade there.
I sure hope yours makes it Weerobin :) I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!
I'd give it dappled shade if I were putting them out in August. By September they might do fine with a bit more sun but it does sound as though the spot where you want to plant them won't be too hot. I would use compost around them, as I do with most plants.
I'm planning on that Pirl have my big compost tumbler going this year and I'll be sure to put some around the top they won't be big enough to plant until fall probably just got them a couple of weeks ago they are just plugs.
Good luck. From all I read they are slow growing so they won't crowd out your ferns and astilbes. I would definitely make markers for each of them so you'll be alerted to them in spring.
A girl from across the street that lived in a trailer and bought a house she had those mini blinds in the trailer and they are taking the trailer apart I grabbed a whole mini blind so you know what I will be doing even in the side yard where my new bed is this year lol Last year it was flags this year it will be mini blinds at least I can put them further in the ground and take those awful flags back to my cousin :)
Mine have done quite well in quite a bit of shade underneath hydrangeas. I kept them quite well watered the first year, this year they have been on their own, but we've had a goodly amount of rain.
They have gotten just a little bigger than when I planted them last year. But at least they haven't decreased. I planted 10, and lost none. You will do fine with them. But I would suggest quite a bit of shade, especially in your area.
I even had some left in the flat I received them in, over winter, just to see how tough they were, and they survived.
Just to add, the mukdenia will work well with ferns and astilbes. They aren't much different then heucheras.
The only thing I was worried about in the more shade was if they would color up properly. And I think it's too early to tell that yet.
This message was edited Aug 1, 2010 10:22 PM
Yep Polly I was thinking about there color and too much shade too and this sun does get hot here. They will get some dappled sun so that may help seems like a good place to plant them where I want to but if they are too happy I'm afraid of the outcome you know lol I'm getting to the age I just don't want to move a lot of plants around that's why I'm trying to get a lot of them in the right place this year so I won't have much in the future to move around of course a lot of us are always moving plants around I seem to be doing it more and more :)
If you left them in their flats over winter and they made it they must be tough as much cold weather as you get these will be pretty sheltered in between the dogwood and holly unless one of the limbs just fall on them but I don't think these stay up all winter do they don't they die in the winter and come back in the spring?
I'm going to listen to what you all say and just go ahead and plant them there and hope for the best I'm one of those people that are careful with what I wish for lol I'm a gardner and always learning but have learned one thing I don't like the groundcovers that take over if I don't know it first! Ha!
Mine were slightly evergreen last winter. There was still some green on them that didn't die off. But don't forget how much snow I have, which is a great insulator.
Just make sure you keep them well watered.
I bet they will really look nice under the dogwood.
We'd love to see photos of them.
That area stays moist pretty much all the time guess because that's the area the water comes down from the hill but hopefully they are going to fix that next year they have been out measuring it this year not sure if they are measuring that area to shut me up or they are really going to take care of it :)
I've got plenty of soaker hoses to take care of it if they happen to really fix it but now I very seldom water that area and everything is happy it doesn't get a lot of wind there either on windy days just breezes because the holly sheilds it so it doesn't dry out fast at all. Oh and my hose is on that side of the house too.
Yes, do you have pictures of them Polly :)
Not without tunneling under the hydrangeas at this point. remind me in the spring Lea, and I'll take pics. My hydrangea Snowflakes are just getting ready to bloom, and they are hanging down to the ground.
The area you have sounds perfect.
Such problems Polly just don't know how you stand it lol
I will remind you :)
OK Lea, only for you would I go climbing under the hydrangeas. These are under the paniculatas. The rest are under the quercifolias, and don't even ask me to go under there, it's scary, LOL.
What you see on the ground are the mukdenias, I would say they have grown about four inches since last year.
Here's the part of the hydrangea row they're under.
OMG that thang is huge!
So you said you have only had your Mukdenias for a couple of years I wonder what they will do next year doesn't look like they are multiplying that fast yet I wish someone would come on that has had them for a few years :(
I may try Pirl's suggestion and ask someone in the plantfiles that has had them a while but every time I dmail someone like that they don't respond...
Thanks Polly :) I don't think I would go underneath that thing either lol There's no telling what is under it lol
I just got them last year, I think, Lea.
Well I'm really looking forward to my new ones next year already I have blooms on a couple of them :)
Hey you! I think yours are ahead of mine, then.
Yep, have blooms on Quick Fire they were white at first and now they are turning red or a dark pink can't tell which and Little Lamb is blooming have two blooms :)
You grow the best plants, Lea!
Just think what I could do with your soil Pirl :) One of these days my soil will be right up there with yours! Maybe lol
Just keep making and using compost and you'll do fine. Your Gaillardia was more than spectacular this year and it's still in constant bloom even with all the heat we've had.
Those do go wonderful with your daylilies Pirl :) Better deadhead though you'll have those puppies all around the plant I can't keep up with the deadheading by the time I get done they are back still haven't cut them back though guess I need to do that tomorrow morning. It was 105 with the heat index today :) I did good to water plants in pots going to be worse tomorrow a good day to waste in town :)
Deadheading the gaillardia is a job! I have been putting the deadheads in one area where I'd like more of them but I don't have your talent for making things grow so well.
At 105 you can find me inside enjoying the AC.
It does need a lot of deadheading that's for sure!
Yeah right Pirl :)
I've got things I really need to do outside that I have to be out there but I try and have them done by lunch when I go out after lunch my lungs go WOW! lol You are the same you go out early in the mornings too don't act like you sit in the AC all the time :)
I got a Mukdenia last spring that I planted in part shade. It is surviving nicely and spreading slowly. I have one that I planted a few weeks ago, also in part shade, that seems to be thriving. My soil is very sandy, so I was worried about them getting enough water, but so far that has not been a problem. I guess being up in zone 4 has its advantages.
Did you know anyone that had some for at least four years to find out how much they multiplied after they planted them by any chance? Can't believe no ne has come on to let me know how much they multiply in a few years :) I may have to bring this thread back up in the winter when people aren't so busy outside but by then I'll have mine planted.
Wasn't it introduced in the U.S. just three or four years ago?
I thought the same thing!
The Mukdenia ~ crimson fans have been here at least since 06 according to this thread:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/705401/
Here is the post tht says she planted it in 06:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=3335824
Terra Nova was the first place I ever saw it.