A.
How did your Carp corym. turn out? I'd love to get those to take and put them in my purple bed for the butterflies.
Weeds or Wildflowers?
Mike - haven't sown them yet, but I expect to try to start them indoors under lights like last year. I had excellent germination (seed came from the wild from a native plant propagator who collected them for me on special request!). When I planted them out from pots into the ground they were just little slips of plants, but I had my eye on them watering carefully, etc. It didn't occur to me to try to protect them from hungry critters. This year I won't be so easily fooled by their cute twitchy noses. :/
Will let you know how it goes. I sent a bulk of the seed to someone in TX with a greenhouse. Thought he'd be able to grow enough for everyone to share, but apparently he gave the seeds to someone else he thought would have more success, but the person at the tail end of the exchange up and disappeared with the quite rare seeds. Blah blah blah. End of story, but not the end of Carp. corymb! :D
You can try your hand at some seed too. If I get them to grow I can have one for you before the end of summer!
I'll do my worst then! Ha!
hahaha
More good news - I bought an ostrich fern 'The King' on the clearance rack in January. I thought I had done permanent damage to it in March when all of a sudden the days got longer and it found itself in the sun. I noticed today there is bright green showing at the nubs that had turned brown!
I don't know what I was thinking except that I had always wanted one. Except as I keep mentioning I don't have shade anymore due to powerline easement clearing last year. I posted a thread somewhere asking if anyone had ever kept one in a pot so I potted her up (oops - Him) and have been waiting for this good news. Just had to share. :D
The tag says 'The King' can get to 84" WOW! Can you imagine?!
BirdieBlue, I am new here at Dave's so not sure of the procedure. How do I get your address and can someone give me a clue as to what is the best way to package some wild ginger. Bare root? Best way to send? Priority? 1st class?
I did start digging and moving some things today, mainly to "rescue" them from areas that will be cleared or planted with other things. Also, the trees are mostly leafed out now so I can get a better idea of which areas get sun and for how long. Unfortunately, not a lot of sun!
I have Chrysogonum virginianum in two places. The patch in the third pic has struggled a bit but I think it will hang in there. By the way I saw and bought some of this plant at a Lowes in Sylva, NC last week. It's a ways from Greensboro, I know, but hopefully it will be in your area soon. These plants are here in Decatur, GA.
Sure, thanks. I'll keep an eye out.
I saw a hybrid once a few years ago at a landscaping company garden center here. An 8" pot cost $24, and at the time I thought that was a little much to pay for a fancy weed. ;)
Has any of the green and gold occurred naturally? Who knows, right?
What a pretty little ground cover. I love yellow. That is nicely mulched....something I need to have done.
The ones at Lowes were in qt pots for about $6. I hope they come your way.
Good morning! Things are really popping now after all of our rain. I knew it would be a good week to put out the plants that had spent the winter indoors. Plenty of clouds to diffuse the UV/sun so they don't get burned.
I'm still waiting on things that I grew from seed last season. I know there's plenty of spring left before I give up on anything. In 2 places I see heart shaped (sort of) leaves where I planted:
Pink Fuzzy Bean vine (Strophostyles umbellata) and
Spurred Butterfly Pea (Centrosema virginiana).
Does anyone else have these? I was delighted with each of them. I let them bloom and they disappeared. The pink fuzzy bean vine fizzled out mid to late summer. Did I just read it wants shade? Then it must be moved! The other climbed all over that giant aster up top, and I forgot about it until a week or two ago while I was going over the survivors in my Journal. I hoped I didn't pull it out accidentally as a weed, but there are hardly any there. And I'm pretty sure the foliage is different enough for me not to confuse it with a violet. Crud. I just rememberd that I dug that aster and gave part of it to a neighbor!!! :/
I spotted these little treasures a couple days ago. Huge swath of them growing thickly on the bank of the roadside ditch across from my house. Viola pedata. Want to move a few to my property, but I understand they are pretty picky. Interestingly, everything I read said they require full sun, except here on DG plant files, where it said full sun/part shade. This stand of them gets maybe three hours of sun a day, yet they are thriving.
Nice find. Violas are some of my favorites. I have seeds from Everwilde Farms if you should want some but sounds as if you've found an ample supply. They also indicate full sun to part shade on their packets. This is a charming variety, V. pedata 'Eco Artist Palette'.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/160930/
My V. pedata grow fine in part (1/2) shade and I usually see them in less than full sun. Give them good drainage like sandy or gritty soil on a slope and they should do ok. I usually see these at the crest of roadside ditches or about halfway down the slope.
They are lovely! I see some infantissimally small white violas in the grass/lawns in my neighborhood. By the time I get around to looking to dig some up they are gone or mowed under. They don't seem to mind the sun, covering whole lawns!
I have not done anything with native violets but occasionally see a johnny jump up, though it's been awhile. I am still pulling chickweed! between study breaks. I hope everybody in earshot is enjoying our mild temps in the east/southeast. If you don't remember what spring is like, this is it!!! :)
Yes, it's a beautiful day here as well. I, too, pulled chickweed today. Methinks it will never end. :( But I did also discover several new Joe Pye plants that have sprouted up from the self-sown seed and are looking good. I had grown my two original plants from roots someone sent me. I've collected seed and am now happy to see how well it has done on its own. :)
Holy cow! I got chewed up by mosquitoes today while I was pulling weeds. Definitely weeds. I am still looking for new life poking up from the ground.
Has anyone had luck with Rudbeckia maxima? I tried to start from seed in pots last year received in trade. Will see what happens because only one survived to the end of the season. I planted it out and am watching the area next to the plant tag.
What about Rudbeckia nitida? A neighbor has this giant Rudbeckia - she's got 2 of them actually. She doesn't know much about what she's got so I did some searching and it looks like the R. nitida. I collected a bag full of seed, all excited. Then I read that seed from the R. nitida cultivars are infertile? :/
Well I can't be deterred can I? I mean, I also read that the Agastache 'Black and Blue' was not supposed to produce seed, but I collected some and grew! It didn't come true, that's for sure, but still. I guess Mom was right. You can't believe everything that you read. ;)
A.
Everyone here is in awe because we are eating snow peas from the garden...in May. Evidently, that has never happened her before. Spring normally consist of a few weeks in late February and early March.
Still raining here, but it cleared up long enough for me to check out what is new. Yarrow is blooming. A itty-bitty bee took advantage of the brief respite from the rain to see what was new in the garden also. (Jim)
Great bee shot, Amargia. Love that! The bees are busy here. Yes, indeed. I also spotted "our" raccoon yesterday. Hadn't seen him yet this year which is unusual. I think the flood waters may have driven him (or her) back up from elsewhere in the woods. He has done a lot of dining in our backyard in the past. We call him The General.
Those Rudbeckias look interesting, Amanda, but I've not grown either of them.
Rain coming in later today.
Good afternoon! It's me again. :)
My weed of the day:
Polygonum.
I am not sure which one I have. I just read there are over 75 different species. The year before last I found a small sprout with the characteristic "Lady's Thumb" on it. Several years before that I'd identified from memory a short flowering weed that grew in my grandmother's yard in PA. We'd strip the flowers off the stems and throw those small round balls at each other.
I think wildflower gardening is in a big way, about knowing which weeds are weeds and which ones might turn into something special.
This Polygonum grew to be about 6' high and had the most spectacular pendulous blooms. I let it go to seed - actually I leave everything up over winter to provide seed and protective cover to whatever wildlife might be afoot. It's a mess, but it's in the backyard not the front. I suppose the City would be knocking on the door with a "nuisance" hang tag if I let it happen out front. :D
Well last year a few came up again and I let THEM go to seed. Holy cow, now they're popping up all over. That's very cool. The leaves are very distinctive so I'm not afraid of mixing them up with the common evening primrose that is everywhere. I just keep pulling that chickweed and watching for some interesting foliage to spark my attention.
Happy day!
A.
P. lapathifolium
http://www.wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=15653
P. pensylvanicum
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=POPE2
This message was edited May 4, 2013 4:00 PM
Is thee 1 that is ...maybe 6-8" and deep purplish-pink bloom? I think it's pretty
I sometimes get confused between which to call Polygonum and which to call Persicaria. I know a lot of the Polygonums have been reclassified as Persicaria but can't keep up with all the changes. (Who can?) I have several of the latter - all with the signature mark on the leaves.
I have this one which can get very invasive in shady places. But I like it.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/82422/
I also have this one:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1134/
And just got this one (Vietnamese coriander) to add to my herb garden: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/310/
That red dragon looks alot like something that grows here that is a deer browse.
Nice Carole! The foliage on the Vietnamese coriander looks like mine, but the flower is very different.
The very first one is very short, yes? That's about the size of the ones in my granny's backyard. The ones I have now won't be caught blooming before they get to at least 4'-5' high. My monitor is looking rather blue today, so I can't see the colors in the Red Dragon, but it's pretty. Can you tell me about it's growth habit/rate of spread, etc?
I just came in from out. Preparing for a Nor'easter I guess. As our seasons got warmer and weirder, I stopped talking about the crazy weather because it seemed to be becoming the norm.
This cool spring is something else though, nothing I've experienced here in NC. Plants don't seem to mind much though, but I'm going to have to bring in my cucumbers again. :/
Arrgh.
MN Wildflower App for iPhone. I have an android. :/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mn-wildflowers/id633270324
No kidding Amanda!
It got to 45 here on Thursday. 45. In Texas. IN MAY. It is unheard of.
Hi, Amanda
I have been lurking and thought I would drop in. I have Amsonia ( love the steel purple flowers in spring) and Baptisia Australis and swamp milkweed and Rudbeckia's and Silphium Pertoliatum (cup plant) and many liatris. I also have Cone flowers. (just species no cultivars) I also have Elderberry and Prairie Ninebark.
I have many natives mixed in with my non-native daylilies. I think the cup plant may be one of my favorites. It blooms late summer with yellow daisy flowers. The plant gets it's name from the way the leaves meet at the stem. They hold water for wildlife. Very tall it helps to keep my perennial sunflower in check.
I order from Prairie Moon every year to add to my native collection. I'm trying Royal Catchfly this year. I wanted some Hairy Mountain Mint. I was to late ordering and it seems I missed out this year. I will get some next year.
They also have some great books on gardening with natives. I have Bringing Nature Home How you can sustain wildlife with Native Plants.
Hi Taylor - glad you decided to post. :)
I LOVE Prairie Moon. They've done a great job over the years refining their marketing and I am always excited when the new catalog comes!
I have had the Silphium on my wish list for a long time. Isn't also called Compass Plant because the flowers follow the sun? It has a great history, and it sounds like it does well for you. Which perennial sunflower(s) do you have? I have collected a variety of seed over the years and have had difficulty with germination. Maybe I'll pull those out and try try again.
Carey - wow - that's no joke! We're up to 61 already here in NC with the sun at my back (east) and more clouds to the west. this is one of those giant weather systems that is just swirling on top of us with the wind coming down from the northeast and the natural system wants to go up the coast. So it sits.
At least we're warmer! AND I have had my spring. I am almost done pulling chickweed!!! There's always that to be thankful for. :)
A.
Hi Amanda,
I have maximillian sunflower. It's really tall grows to 10 feet here in Ohio.
I could try to dig some cup plant and sunflower for you if you would like. I have never shipped plants before. I'm sure they would do fine. The cup plant does not spread like the sunflower. It forms a clump. I leave my garden stand in the winter to feed the birds and other critters I share my yard with. The cup plant has never reseeded anyplace in my garden. The sunflower will reseed a bit. It is not hard to pull the extras you don't want to keep in check. As long as you get them early in the growing season anyway.
My backyard friends love the cup plant. My chippie drinks from it in the summer as do the birds.
The cup plant does take a big space. It has big leaves. Well worth the space if you ask me. It is on of my favorite plants. Miami University a college up the road from me has a native plant sale every summer. It is great, They have plants for 1-2 dollars. They only sell Native plants it is great.
I just may take you up on that. :)
How are things coming along in your zone? A friend gave me a Jerusalem Artichoke, I think, just one plant. She didn't know what it was and I'm unclear where she got it. I think it "came with" a plant she bought at the curbside farmer's market downtown. Good golly, there must be 50 plants this spring. I see now why it is grown as a food crop. Certainly doesn't waste any time.
Taylor if you know about a plant sale in FL, could you put it on this thread:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1311365/
I posted several native plant sales this morning. Thought it would be a good resource to share if you have information leading to the purchase of more native plants!!!!
It's not the Miami University in FL. It is in Oxford, Ohio. Sorry about that I should have been more clear. I will post about the sale when I know a date.
I have never grown Jerusalem Artichoke. It sounds like a thug. lol! Do you know if wildlife eats it? I have so many critters in my yard, I don't even try to grow food for me. I'm out in the country. The neighbor to my left has cow's and the neighbor across the street has goats and pigs and other farm animals. I do not have a farm. I wish that I had a small farm. I would take in all the animals that get dropped off by my house. My area seems to be a dumping ground. It is sad what people will do to animals.
Oh poo. :/
Sounds like you and I both need more land!
I know we lurk on the same threads so I also know we have the same soft spots for critters. Yes, animals (domestic and wild) are much abused. I guess that's part of why I like having the natives and the wildlife habitat out even in my very small yard. It's just one small way I can give back. It's also why I have more critters that I can shake a stick at. Don't know what that means, because I've actually been able to shake a stick at each of them, but not all at one time. hahha hahahaa
I don't know what if anything may eat the J.Artichokes. Not the baby bunnies or anything else that i've seen. The edible part is the root, which is grown as a crop. I think it has a lot of uses. At least when I decided years ago that I'd like to grow it I did that research.
I know you meant Ohio. :)
If you find out about a local sale please share. Or a vendor. I started a thread or two today with links to small nurseries that specialize in natives, and a thread or two about plant sales.
Well it looks like I am about to get another series of thunderstorms so I'd better get the dogs out before it happens!
A.
I do need more land. I have been looking at my sons dirt box, thinking that would make a great raised bed. I'll just have to wait for him to out grow it. He's only 7 but it does not hurt to have plans.
Have never tried shaking a stick at them. lol! My neighbor on the right side of me already thinks I am crazy. They are pissed over my skunk and other friends. The skunk really got to them. They are not anything lovers, people or animals. I grow my tall plants to block them out.
Your kitty is cute as can be. Is that the look out spot? Looks like it would be a good view.
How many dog s do you have? We have 2 little peeks. They are old and crazy dogs. I love them anyway. But they are crazy.
Plant for today?
Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla).
I received some of this seed in trade last year - it's so pretty, but I've only seen images of it. California native that likes shade? Interesting. I like it for its upright form.
Does anyone grow this? Have any tips for starting from seed? If in the east, I wonder about culture requirements. I don't have shade anymore, so it might not be for me, though I've read some grow it in containers.
A.
Mmmmm. Yes, neighbors. A touchy subject for one who lived in a condo in a "development" here in NC for 10 years. I shudder shudder. They didn't like my wildflowers. Or the geese that came to my door for me to feed. Or the possums that came in the evening. It got ugly. We moved. 'Nuff said.
We are down to two dogs and (counting) 5 cats. In a week or two I'll be down to 4 cats. A friend is traveling for work and she brought her kitty to stay. :/
Still, I am honored someone would trust me with their critter. We used to have about 200 gallons of fishtanks. Now down to about 75. One giant Oscar fish rescue in a 55 gal. One very large old friendly clown loach in a 20 gal.
The iguana, yes you've heard.
The picture above is Willie, another rescue. Once in awhile the BF will leave the bathroom window open upstairs for a cross wind (or something!) and once in a while I will hear Willie's very meek "meeoooow" from above. hhahaha. Happened overwinter this year, one dark late night when I took the dogs out. I was like, what the. . ..? Willie on the roof in the dark in the snow. Jeez.
Yeah, neighbors think we're crazy. Or something. :D
There are a handful of folks in our rather eclectic neighborhood that appreciate the native meadow/prairie/powerline easement style of gardening. We like those folks a lot.
My son has small tanks of fish. He has a 3 gallon with gold fish and a 5 gallon with tropical fish of some kind. He does good about feeding them. I get to do the cleaning. Then our 2 crazy dogs. Then my husband.( I take care of him. That counts as a pet does it not ) lol
Sorry to hear about your nasty neighbor. Maybe I could trade you out for my nasty neighbor. What fun we could have.
I only have the one nasty neighbor. My other neighbors are farmers and love my plants. I love them as well. I get farm fresh eggs and never have to leave my house.
I'm going to watch the Reds baseball game. Have a good night. My name is Karen. I live on a street called Taylor School Rd.
It's a mile back in this thread But I think the original aster is Aster Vimineus ( in new books this is Symphotrichum vimineus) the many small flowered white aster. Blooms very late in Sept or Oct in central Alabama. My wife thinks its a weed but in turns the bed it is in into a white wonderland late in the fall.
Ahhhh - you must be right! I looked at some images and they look just like mine. White flowered asters/symphotrichums are so difficult to identify! I am not a serious botany student, or I'd pull out some keys!
Thank you for enlightening me. I have other plants that seem similar that look very different when in bloom.
Do you grow other weeds in your garden?
I am chagrined at that giant aster. I had several pop up last year in different places. I'd grown it from seed on purpose the year before! Now, I find myself pulling them like (excuse me!!!) weeds!!! And I have probably mentioned this, but the solidago too.
So now that they are IN the yard and so abundant that I can treat them as weeds....I will be pulling common evening primrose all year, I think. Last year, common mullein. Now the solidago and the aster. Chickweed. almost there. Strawberries - but not Walsteinia fragaroides!!! Clover. Funny to think I had none last year so I transplanted that into the yard too.
Today's plant:
Showy Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa).
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=OESP2
Does anyone else grow it? My absentee owner next door has a very large lot. She is in a nursing home - actually I have never met her, but speak frequently with her elderly daughter who comes to stay in the house/visit her mother. I can only wonder what plants used to be there, but along the wall beneath my yard in the spring are patches of the showy evening primrose. They bloomed prettily the first year or two we were here. Then someone "new" started cutting the grass there, and they mow/whack all the flowering plants down before they bloom/set seed. I wonder if the primrose will survive? It does seem to be spreading farther away from the wall. I wonder too if that is to get more sun.
In any event, I've dug ajuga there, some very odd plant that MUST be a flowering plant of some sort though it hasn't bloomed yet, and of course the primrose.
Photo is courtesy of Wikipedia.
Hymenocallis, I wish you would let me know who you are??? Got your dmail and sent you one in reply. I am thinking and thinking of who you could be????
Hi Amanda,
Sorry to hear the Aster has became a thug. I love your pictures of it.
Have wanted to grow solidago and been scared to because of the spreading thing. I have thought of growing out at my ditch line. I never plant out there, do not want critters and flying friends to get hit by cars. The speed limit on my street is 55 , they drive way over that. I'll find a place sooner or later for some.
The Primrose looks like "Siskiyou" showy evening primrose. I grow it around my pond. It spreads fast and does well in full sun or shade. The back of the pond is in shade the front is in full sun all day. It needs good drainage. It can become a thug and over take other plants. I like it, You just have to make it behave. I have big pretty night moths that seem to love it, and the frogs love it for cover from the birds. It does behave better in the shade as far as the spreading. The blooming in shade is less than full sun.
What kind of Ajuga did they have? I have Burgundy Glow and Black Scallion. I'm not that fond of the Burgundy Glow. I like the Black Scallion, It hold up to full sun here. I like to push things and see what I can get away with. I keep my ajuga contained in closed off beds. It will spread out into a lawn or any place if not contained.
Have a great day! I'm going to go out and try to weed some today. Really behind this year! It has been raining for several days, today the sun shines. Hope it shines on you today as well!
Karen