CLOSED: Wanted: Lots of Perennials - Joe Pye, Honeysuckle, Phlox, &

I need to add more unusual perennials to my gardens. I have too many irises, daylilies and grasses. I need something different. I'm looking for unusual perennials that thrive in sun and are drought tolerant.

I'm looking for PLANTS, no seeds or cuttings. I need well-rooted plants that I won't have to baby. The plants themselves don't have to be large, just have a well-developed root system. The plants I send will be well rooted.

Some plants that I'm particularly interested in are:

Joe Pye weed
Named Penstemons
Named Garden Phlox
Meadow Rue (Thalictrum)
Double Peonies
Named double echinaceas
Unusual double roses, particular scented bi-colors - must be Own-Root, no grafts
Named Silene Coronarias
Named honeysuckle, any color but yellow
Duetzia
Variegated buddleia (Santana or Evil Ways)
Variegated caryopteris (Duet)
Unusual Beautyberry bushes
Unusual foliage--yellow, white, black, red, purple
Scented plants
Anything for a wedding or butterfly garden

I have daylilies, mints, perennials and water plants to trade. See the last post by me listing everything I have to trade. I'd love to work out just a few more large trades this spring.

Thank you.

NancyAnn

You can see how pretty this section of my garden is when the daylilies are in bloom. But when the daylilies aren't blooming, it's just boring old green, like below. You can see why I NEED to integrate some other perennials into my gardens. Please HELP!

ButterflyChaser--I don't have any plants that are on your list, but just wanted to say that your garden is beautiful!

Thank you, Mom! It's very possible that you have something I want; I just don't know it yet. LOL I've been so focused on daylilies, grasses and irises that I don't even know most of the perennials out there. If you have something to trade and want something I have, dmail me and maybe we can work something out.

NancyAnn

Nancy do you have any striped canna? Like the Bengal or Tropicanna?

I have tropicanna, but not enough to share since winter was so hard. Much of it died this winter. I was afraid I lost it all. I don't have Bengal. I didn't really like it. Tropicanna may be my favorite. And someone sent me a start of Red Stripe, which I lost last winter too. It's another favorite. Maybe I'll have some to trade next year.

I had left a couple out to give them a test to see if I could over winter them with a heavy mulch. No luck :( It got down to -3 here.
The burgundy leaf ones seem to be hardier.

The older cannas seem to be the hardiest for me--Richard Wallace, Florence Vaughn, Robert Kemp. The striped one are weaker because a virus is introduced into them to cause the stripes, as with many variegated plants, so I'm told.

Some tricks that have worked for me are:

Plant on a hill or mound. Instead of digging a hole, put the rhizomes on top of the ground and mound soil over them. They drain better this way in the winter so there's less chance of the rhizomes freezing.

Add some sand to your soil too, again for the drainage thing.

Find a warmer microclimate in your garden to plant them. You have several microclimates, some slightly warmer and some slightly colder. Find the spot that is the warmest in the winter--possibly the South side of your house in full sun. Even if you have tree back there, if they lose their foliage for winter, the sun can get thru and the house will keep some of the north wind from making the area colder.

And mulch, mulch, mulch.

I also don't plant or transplant cannas in the fall. They rarely survive. I plant them all spring and summer so they have time to really settle in and grow. But even zone 7, they're iffy. I used to have about 75 varieties. I now have about 10. I lost all my favorites, except the Tropicanna, which surprises me.

I hope you have better luck with cannas. They are truly wonderful.