Widows Tears (Tradescantia virginiana)
Lives forever, thrives in poor soils, sun or shade, spreads fairly quickly, blooms from spring to fall. Plant it and forget it.
Long-lived perennials
I love it. Mine doesn't grow as thickly as yours -- what do you do to get it so dense? Any particular variety?
Geez happy, I have several kinds to share. I thought aspenhill was the only other MAG who wanted any. I can give you some in fall. But for me, I thought it it blooms spring, then semi dormant in summer, then revives in fall.
Thanks, Sally -- I've bought different tradescentias, and they've done ok, but never flourished -- probably becasue I bought fussy cultivars. I had some Sweet Kate (I think that is what it was) that was, well, sweet, but I think it was sacrificed yesterday to our major get-rid-of-bamboo project. My neighbor has some that is pretty thick. I'd love to try some of yours.
I'm over getting special new delightful cultivars of anything that turn out to be less than robust. Bring back the tried and true!
Love the spring foliage on Sweet Kate (plus being named after one of my bestest friends) but it is not a big grower for me. I'll try to take notes over summer for you. I have a white, a pink and two kinds of purple.
I'll go hunt for sweet kate among the wreckage tomorrow -- I'm glad you reminded me of her.
Completely off topic, but if any of you has any expertise on nursing homes and Medicaid, would you dmail me? My FIL is 99 and had a mild stroke 3 months ago. We have to find a long care facility for him, and he has zero dollars left to his name (we just applied to Medicaid for him). He is in Florida. We are trying to decide whether to move him here or what. He is in good shape mentally, and was in good shape physically until the stroke. Still plays bridge....
Sorry Happy, not my image but my stand is as thick as that (or should I say was before my son mowed it down LOL). It was already well established when I bought my place 20 years ago, so I have no idea what variety, could be wild for all I know. I've never watered/fertilized/ fussed with mine other than pulling some every few years to keep it in it's place, so it seemed the perfect answer to your OP. Pretty sure mine blooms from early June to late Aug, but now sallyg has me second guessing myself so I'll need to watch it through the summer to be sure.
I have a nice looking variegated grass. It grows very thick and spreads. It doesn't grow in circular clumps but sends out runners. Could be invasive in the wrong spot, like a small flower bed. But would do well with room to grow.
I have Sea Oats also. Not sure if you are interested in grasses.
This message was edited Jun 16, 2012 12:00 AM
I am definitely interested in grasses, but I have heard sea oats reseeds with abandon. My neighbor put in some massive ornamental grasses that have reseeded a bit onto my side, and from what I have read they are a bear to take out so I am a bit worried and want to be careful not to introduce more aggressive spreaders. I got several books on ornamental grasses and I'm going to try to pick some that are robust but don't self-seed, if there is such a thing!
I love watching the wind blow my neighbor's Pampas Grass. She has two clumps that are about 4 feet in diameter right now. I would like to try the pink variety very soon.
This morning, my Spiderwot was only blooming a couple lfowers on the dark purple one . The other colors had no more open blooms today. I cut off a lot of spent stuff to see if we get reblooming.
Agreed- grasses are great but do avoid the reseeders. That would become messy looking.
Gosh Devan....the Monarda that finally took off and spread is in a back bed that gets mainly sun all day. The soil has never had much done to it and it would be considered red Virginia clay for the most part. Another large pot on my deck which has done quite well is planted in probably cheap potting soil.
The places it didn't take when planted was along a fence row and in my front bed which both had highly amended soil and every thing else planted there seems to love. It would be my uneducated guess that they prefer poor soil conditions versus good conditions. Don't worry if these don't do well for you. I will have more whenever you give the word.
Ruby
Ruby -- thanks so much -- I really appreciate the offer because I may be off to kill it! Though I'll try not to, of course.
Roses - I didn't think Pampas grass was hardy in zone 6.
Sally -- Do you know an easy way to figure out which grasses don't reseed? Other than researching them one-by-one?
All I can add is---STAY AWAY from the Northern Sea Oats!!!!! And to think I shared a lot of the seeds....
I have been trying to kill mine now for over a year. it still comes up all over my bed.
Last year--I even cut off all the "oats" so there would be no seed....Now it is Round-Up time...
I can imagine--IF one has a property by the beach somewhere--these would be nice...
NOT--NOT near any flower beds!!!!
Gita
Wanted to mention my favorite ornamental grass miscanthus senensis 'Morning Light'.
Mine grows in about 3 inches of soil on top of an old asphalt driveway. In the 15 years I have had it, I have never had to divide it. It remains upright and has few flowerheads late in the season. Has about doubled in size and never reseeded here. Will even survive not being cut back in the spring (oops, I forgot)! Grows 3-4 feet high. Mine is in morning sun. Obtained from grower from Kurt Bluemel a contemporary of Oehme out of Baldwin, Maryland. Worth a visit.
http://www.kurtbluemel.com/
One of Oehme's protagees has a blog you might enjoy. This article entitled "Perennials to interplant in grasses" has a chart towards the end that covers which perennials do best with which grasses.
http://www.groundeddesign.com/
Thank you coleup! I can't wait to look at those sites!
Good info!!
Northern sea oats--heehee. Mine took off this year. AAAAACCCKKKK!!!
Coleup, I absolutely love my "Morning Light." Two are in very poor soil (more concrete dust than soil) and doing fantastic. Two are in wet clay soil and also doing well, although not flourishing as well as the ones in poor soil.
Funny coink- the gal who bought my moms house--she let me come dig some plants. between the digging as she watched me, she mentioned, she would be planting things and figured she might find a knack for it because her uncle is "Maybe you've heard of him, I dunno... Kurt Bluemel?" ....I did an OGM thing, he's got some reputation.. she was probably mildy tickled at my reaction!
I wrote about diving grasses in spring, and KILLED the ones I divided for the article pictures. ACK
Boy, so many cool grasses on that site.
Happy, the Grounded Design site/blog has a series of four articles on how to use perennials and grasses in landscape design starting here http://www.groundeddesign.com/
He makes some good points and I can see some of his and Oehme's "new American Garden" coming to life on your slopes with your vision and the vast resources of your Mid Atlantic friends and their gardens!
Coleup (and everyone else) -- you guys are too wonderful!
Off topic, but do any of you know anything about Hypericum? I'm trying to ID this one, and got no responses on the ID forum: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1265148/. I took out a plant I was growing -- I thought of it as a shrub -- and divided it into 5, hoping to use it on my icky hill -- they are in shock, but I'm hoping they'll recover. What I have is a woody shrub, but I gather there are also rhizomatic ones -- are the latter really as invasive as I read? I'm thinking about my awful, dry, poor soil, partly sunny, rocky hill. (I'm starting to pull out plants that might work on the hill and divide them so I have a stash ready to go in if I ever get it designed.)
If you decide you want sedum I have golden sedum I'll be happy to give you cuttings. It gets loads of yellow flowers them looks kinda crappy for awhile then turns green again. I'm going to add some red sedum @ some point because I think it will look awesome with the yellow. I also have one that just stays green no flowers. I have another ground cover loads of purple blooms I'll have to look up the name.
the other ground cover is serbian bluebells campanula porcharskyana 'blue waterfall'
How about Clove Currant (Ribes oderatum) ? It is reputedly deer resistant, very fragrant, and produces edible berries as a bonus. In one of his books, Lee Reich suggests it for slopes.
haratzell: Thanks for the offer of sedum! For the moment, I'm just collecting ideas -- I'll probably try to plant this wretched hill in the fall -- i think it is asking too much of any plant to be transplanted into these awful conditions in mid-summer! I have a bunch of a sedum in the back that works as a light ground cover -- I wonder if it is the yellow sedum you have? Campanula porcharskyana 'blue waterfall' is one of my favorite plants of all time (I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't tried it), but it isn't long lasting (for me at least) and needs nice moist humusy soil (for me at least). Does it really work for you as a ground cover, in the sense that it expands broadly? Mine in low growing and I adore it, but it spreads to maybe 1' x 1', maybe a bit more.
Nokesvillain (hello, neighbor!): I had never heard of Clove Currant (Ribes oderatum) -- it sounds wonderful (Forest Farm writes: "If you have smelled the fragrance of the blossoms of this currant, you will not rest until you own a plant" (Zucker); pendulous clusters of yellow flowers, deliciously clove-scented followed by edible black fruits & red fall color.") It is thornless. (I have an elderberry and it is the prickliest thing!) Mobot loves it, http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plant-details/kc/m110/ribes-odoratum.aspx; so does Fine Gardening, http://www.finegardening.com/plantguide/ribes-odoratum-buffalo-currant.aspx. But it gets huge (Mobot says up to 12') and apparently a little raggedy when it gets old, so I wouldn't want a full wall of it.... But I love fragrant plants. It might be a good plant for the border between my house and my neighbors.
There also seems to be a cultivar called Crandall that is maybe smaller and maybe has more berries: http://whitmanfarms.com/all/edible-plants/currants/clove-currants/currant-ribes-odoratum-crandall-clove-currant.
For the record, Mobot says "this shrub can appear somewhat unkempt and ragged as it ages." Fine Gardening says "After flowering, cut back shoots to strong buds, and remove one-third to one-fifth of old shoots at the base." I wonder if that would keep it from becoming unkempt?
For fruiting, you need to have male and female plants. I wonder how many I'd have to buy to get a good chance of getting both? I don't think my Elderberry has ever produced fruit -- I thought I had bought 2 plants (male and female) back when.
I wonder how to figure out whether a plant is male or female? Hmmm.
Mobot says: "Although white pine blister rust is not a problem in Missouri, this species is an alternate host for this disease and should not be planted in parts of the U.S. where the disease is prevalent (particularly in parts of the East and Northeast). Fourteen (14) states still maintain various types of bans on Ribes, the most restrictive being the total ban on all species in North Carolina. Missouri has no restrictions on Ribes plants." I couldn't find whether there is a ban in Maryland.
Agreed- don't plant anything now- there's a heat wave coming later this week. Boy do I wish we could save up some of this mornings lovely cool.
Ahem-
"I have an elderberry and it is the prickliest thing!" No you may have a Gooseberry, but elderberry never has thorns (that I've heard of)
Jill's friend Theresa's brother gave out gooseberry cuttings and some were thorny. Prune out older branches of the gooseberry and see if the younger ones do anything.
Clove Currant was one of ladygardener1's beloved plants, for that fragrance.
Another rather funny gardening story from Day Lily Hill. Back the first year that I had money to actually purchase plants, I too loved ornamental grasses and bought several types. One of the plants was about two inches in height when we received it and at the time we were mainly working on the front bed which runs the length of house. Some of the ornamental grasses we purchased didn't make it but this one certainly did. Not being one to always read the recommendations on seed packets or nursery instructions, I didn't know that the Zebra Grass would grow to about 8 or 9 foot in height.
It didn't take too many years to realize the small ornamental grass I planted in front could no longer reside there and it had to be dug and moved, and since shared with many of our garden visitors who like it. I grew Pampas Grass only one year and it didn't return sadly. I have a gardening partner who insists that plants have blooms to be worthy of his time. Doesn't always suit him well when I buy things for their foliage and don't care about a bloom. He can't understand it.
Anyway......I am thinking of all sorts of gardening mistakes that we have made over the years, and there are plenty to tell. I feel as if I am in good company and I appreciate those of you who are willing to share your failures with me. I see that I am not the only one.
Ruby
happy: mine's been in bloom since I stuck it in the ground in April. :) It's also filled out nicely. I ripped the front yard out this spring & threw topsoil & random clearance bags of garden soil or something (it was 88 cents for a 40 lb bag) down just to fill back in what I took out. Then I threw miracle gro time release on the whole disaster after I mulched. It does well for me. I am a terrible waterer I usually just wait for rain. So far it's happy & hasn't tried to off itself. I was suprised how much it spread actually.
Your sedum might be the same one. Mine seems to explode into little yellow flowers overnight.
To figure out whether a plant is male or female, you need to check the flowers for stamens/pistils. Alternatively, you can put it in the driver's seat and determine whether it refuses to ask for directions or has trouble parking.
I don't think Clove Currant is dioecious (has separate male and female plants). People seem to disagree on whether or not it needs a "special friend" with which to make berries is at least somewhat self-fertile. In "Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden", Lee Reich says that Crandall was often propagated by seed, which means that it probably consists of a whole host of different plants under the same name. All of them are supposed to be extremely resistant to white pine blister rust, but still get lumped in with the rest of the Ribes species as a potential carriers.
I've been hunting around the internet and I don't see anything saying that it is illegal to grow them (or other Ribes) in Maryland, and other statements from people saying that they grow currants/gooseberries et al there so I think you're OK.
I shouldn't push it too hard, though! I only got mine this past year and it is sitting patiently in a pot waiting to be moved to a new home.
Hartzell -- yes, mine gets yellow flowers. I can't say that I love it, though. Sad but true.
SallyG: Thank you so much for the clarification on my Elderberry (not). I bought a bunch of fruit from Miller when we first moved in; I don't remember the gooseberries but I must have bought them. EXCEPT now that I look at a photo of gooseberries, that doesn't look like what I have either. I'll take photos tomorrow and post them -- see what you think.
nokesvillain: I am so grateful to you for the suggestion -- I love plants that are so fragrant that the surrounding air smells wonderful, and it sound as the Clove Currant will do just that! I just hope the spots I have in mind for it are sunny enough. I don't have much sun so everything here gets less sun than is desirable.
In case any of you did not see it--i have had this Gooseberry bush for at least 25 years.
Unfortunately--it does not bear fruit too well--as it is in an extension of my "YUK" bed.
I imagine--IF i could amend the soil with compost and some manure--it would do much better...
When I am able to disassemble this small bed and get rid of all the edging ties that hold it up--
I would also like to be able to dig up and transplant my Gooseberry bush to a more fertile area--even a big pot.
One year only--in the past--it made enough berries for me to make several small jars of jam.
AHHH---SO good!!!
Here is my Gooseberry bush at the end of a completely defunct bed that I was growing N. Sea Oats in.
An extension of my YUK bed--it neither gets enough light--nor not good enough soil--as i cannot
dig around it to amend it...It is 3' from my old Maple tree.....
I do not want to lose it--it has a sentimental history.....
Yes, happy, let's figure out what this stickery mystery plant of yours is.
Gita, like so many fruit things, Gooseberry has recommended pruning. I think you are supposed to take out the older stems. And oh yeah not have it in a YUK bed probably helps too. My dad loved gooseberries when he was growing up in Wisconsin-I'm afraid I won't have time for my little baby bushes to make fruit for him.
Vinca Major would cover your bank it's pretty hardy and aggressive.
Actually, it won't fill in on my bank - the soil is that bad. It might on SS's.
Here is my mystery plant. It definitely has thorns.
No clue- hie off ye to Plant ID forum!
I agree with g; to the plant forum with ye; And how about some kind of rose? Sure looks it to me.
Yeah, my poetry could be better(lol)
tee hee, nice poetry!
Yes it looks very rose like
I was thinking the same thing. Maybe some kind of carpet rose?
Wow. I wonder if it is a weed that has gone amuck. I don't ever remember planting a rose there. It is up on a hill, and has no-bit-deal white flowers in May; it never dawned on me they were roses!