I dont typically plant mgs either. You can tell by th abysmal failure I've had at all attempts. They are always out competed by the grape vines and Jasmine that grow wild. Last year I started some yellow (!!) I received in trade and was very much looking forward, but they fizzled. This year I started some Spanish flag. Very excited! It's very pretty. Not native!
I do love the native Ipomoea coccinea which shows up on the mailbox 2 seasons ago. I have since learned it is listed as a noxious weed in 46(!!!) States. Ha ha ha.
Weeds or Wildflowers?
It's a possibility the PO works with a subversive group to spread invasives. Mailbox is where I first discovered I. coccinea.
That's hysterical Crystal! I have sort of felt alone on th black helicopter thing here on DG. ;)
Carole, let me see what I can find first and then we can discuss particulars. 8)
You want to talk invasive? I have campsis radicans everywhere and nary a bloom but since it spreads by runners, has taken over a corner of my yard. Phooey.
It's wild grape here. I don't care how native it is, it's still a stinker sometimes. The former owner of the house liked to "transplant" things from the back woods to the yard. It's one of the things that I will spray, if necessary. We have a lot of campsis radicans around the area too but it does bloom. Here's the seeds from one seed pod. No wonder it thinks it can take over the world.
I have always sort of thought that invasive a take the thuway and highway... Literally... When they spread sand/salt/calcium etc. because I always see invasive a in ditches along highways where native plants have been displaced, and then new seeds have an opportunity to be introduced and take foothold in the disturbed habitat.
WOW. Since I've never seen it bloom I didn't realize it was that crazy!
I'd love to find bignonia or the Texas Wisteria to plant along the fence by the driveway now that I think about it. There are some cultivars of the bignonia that are brick red but they are hard to find. The native 'tangerine beauty' is everywhere. I may just have to get that and deal with it!
Here the campsis dies down somewhat during the winter depending on how cold it gets so that helps keep it in check a bit. It isn't like there are tons of seed pods on a vine ... but it doesn't take many like that.
I have 'Tangerine Beauty'. I like it a lot since I have the 'Alabama Crimson' crimson honeysuckle which is red. Gives me some other color.
Wow. That seed pod says a lot. I still haven't decided what to put on the arbor this year. Have my rare tropical, corkscrew vines I grew from seed last year. Maybe they will bloom more this year...?
Any suggestions?
Wonder if you are talking about Vigna (sp) corkscrew vine. They will not return after frot unless by some mirackle they germinated, which is not likely i think. I have a vine and I have rooted pieces, but mine had very few blooms.
Maybe you could just plant running butterbeans and have something to eat! hyacinth bean never blooms that much for me either. One year I had some cup and saucer, also disappointing. How about Kudzu? That will fill up quick and make a nice shade. heehee. also grape smelling blooms in late summer. o come on now....
Kudzu. There's a thought.
Yes the V. caracalla is th plant I have. I brought them inside for winter. By the time I get around to deciding what to grow there the sun will be will be half over! This cold spring has slowed me down.
Things are popping this week. The Bradbury's monarda is very unusual. Someone sent it last season but this is the first it's bloomed.
My Monarda citraodora is about to bloom. I found a huge stand and harvested the capsules and sprinkled them all over, so I finally have some in the yard. LK and I found some spotted bee balm on the way to Joy's last month, but they didn't survive the trip back so no luck there (boo!) I think I might just buy some seed and sprinkle into my beds so they don't get mowed down.
Carole, the crossvine does look nice! Hmm, Maybe I should plant both the crossvine and the wisteria together? I think the wisteria only blooms early in the season, and then the crossvine would take over for the rest of the year. The vines would get plenty of water and cool roots most of the day (our neighbors water their yard as much as the city lets them).
I tried M. citriodora last year and blew it somehow. I think I saved a little seed though. I will be more careful!
Carey do you direct sow a lot of plants? I'm not having as much luck this spring with germination - I wonder if it's the "seed starting media" my neighbor lady gave to me?
The monarda was direct sow this 'winter'. I can send you seeds by the hundreds if you want more. :)
For the most part I just take great pleasure in what does show up in my yard. We're on a drainage lot so most seeds that I throw out never make it. I spread a good half pound of seed this past fall and I don't think any of them came up. Phooey. If I really want something, I usually get some starter plants at the nurseries. Most of them do come back without problems once they're established.
I keep waiting for winter so I can prune back some plants, but since we haven't had one in a couple of years, plants are going dormant like they should. My roses look insanely bad and leggy.
Thanks, Carey. I've been that same way lately ... just see what comes up and does well ... and enjoy it. I have so much in the yard I think maybe I should never plant another thing. lol. But there's still plenty of room. I noticed in the crossvine photo how well the ground ivy is doing this year. This is the first time I've had so much of it. It tends to die back some in the summer when the weather gets hotter and drier. It can be a real pest, but I understand it is sensitive to boron so I am going to sprinkle it liberally with that. And cover what I can with some cardboard. It can be eaten in salads, cooked as a pot herb, and can be used as a tea if you don't drink too much of it. It contains something that is an irritant to the digestive system and liver if consumed in large quantities.
Amanda, no doubt you will have many new acquisitions from your RU this week. Should be lots of fun!
YEP! I still gave a lot of digging to do. Will keep you posted. ;)
Omigoodness.
I've been to two roundups in less than a month, and I have more plants than I can shake a shovel at.
Here's a list of the native plants, off the top of my head, that have come to rest on my front and back porches waiting for their turn with the trowel:
Celandine poppy
Ginger
Triliums
Christmas fern
Spigelia marilandica (I can't believe received four of these from a friend from Alabama who has them sprouting all over her property! I've wanted for so long)
Elderberries (3)
Tradescantia 'blueberry sundae'
Phlox paniculata 'David'
Good grief there are so many plants out there my mind is gone!
This message was edited Jun 2, 2013 8:15 PM
Wow, that's quite a haul, Amanda! Looks like the RU was a big success. We are all plant fanatics, that's for sure. I can't find the trillium I had and I lost my spigela last year when I couldn't get it in the ground in a timely manner. :( That made me sad. Great plant for a shady spot. Heck, I'm still behind with planting this year. May never catch up. But I was so happy to see two hardy gingers that are still stuck in their pots send up nice new growth. I got them from Plant Delights and they weren't cheap. I was sure after such a long time and the freezes of last winter that they were probably goners.
Have fun with all those. But of course you will! :)
T. 'Blueberry Sundae'
Ooops. Losing plants makes sad too. I have triliums to share and perhaps the spigelia too. I just remembered the Chrysogonum! Another plant that I've wanted for some time. Of course there are the not so natives which outnumber my native list by about 4 to 1.
And seed! More seeds. :)
Carole, you had thought about attending one of our RUs. We will have to bring it to you since you can't make it to us.
I know I posted a list above of natives received at the VA RU. I have some serious work to do!!!
Amanda, that is a nice thought. Would be fun! Several of us were going to meet at the KY RU year before last but it got cancelled and nothing going on there since. Were you one that was going to attend it? Susan was. The closest thing I've gotten to an RU is when my former gardening buddy and a gal from the Hendersonville, TN area came to my house for a mini-RU/swap day. We had more stuff than three people could carry but isn't that they way it usually goes?
Yes, Susan talked me into going and then she changed her mind. A woman's prerogative!
I've been too busy to contemplate the garden lately, but I spent yesterday pulling chickweed, wild strawberries and crabgrass to put in this year's milkweed bed. I put down 5 nice A. incarnata from seed/ winter sow and 8 A. curassavica. I still have about 27 tropical MW seedlings and I've promised to ship seeds and/or live plans to folks around the country. My conservation project.
Things from seed last year that did not bloom but should soon are the red TX star hibiscus and the Cherokee Bean. Very excited about that one.
Some lovely monArda from seed a few years ago making a nice comeback thanks to TH clearing of the power line easement. Bunnies still abound, so each seedling is wearing the protective gear of a milk jug top or cat litter container. Quite a sight, but noted sadly yesterday that my purple prairie clover I tended so carefully last season is gone.
Well, the whole RU was cancelled that year so that's why she changed her mind. They haven't had one up there since and I don't think there are any plans in the works.
I need to get out and pull/treat more ground ivy and plant a few more things. It's always something. But I am starting to get at least a little bit caught up after last year. Maybe. My goal is the end of June before the dog days of summer set in. :)
I am chagrined for letting the weeds take over so thoroughly last year. The crabgrass in particular. I'd love to let these wild raspberries keep going, but I'm afraid it will be the first time to have to use roundup(glyphosate, not a DG gathering) to eradicate the runners.
I finally got out to get some images of the spring blooms.
A few more...
What is #4 in the bottom row?
Stokes aster 'Mary Gregory'
She is pale yellow.
Wow! I never saw any but blue!!!
I was amazed too, when Susan/FOTV presented it to me for Max's Memory Garden.
Really great looking shots, Manda. Wow, what a difference from a couple of weeks ago.
What are the tall spiky plants with white blooms?
If you're referring to second row of images, no. 3/center. The white blooms are of Cimifuga racemosa/Bugbane. It's a woodland shade plant but the one in the part sun is gangbusters while the one in full shade has decided, I think, not to bloom this year.
Amanda, that little passion vine is blooming it's little head off. Those blooms smell soooooo good too!
Not many caterpillars. There were a few, and then I didn't see them anymore. Thought maybe the rain had knocked them off...no, I saw the reason tonight. Assassin bug was chowing down on I think the last one!
Can you help me ID these? Plant ID forum no help.
First two pics are same plants. They were dug(!!!) at a rest area in NC which sowed its new construction area with mostly native wildflowers. It is not mullein. It is currently about 5' with no blooms in sight. Glabrous, silky hairy smooth oblong leaves with upright habit.
Could the third be my elusive Monarda citriodora? I grew it from seed and all my plant tags got mixed up. :)
It has red leaf margins, but in all respects resembles a bee balm. It's gotten taller since I took this pic, and it appears to be budding. ID or no, I will find out soon enough.
Funny, when I took the "plantsman" exam in NC it was so hard to find resources for plants that showed foliage without the blooms.
Edited to say I've been looking, and the foliage does not resemble M. citriordora. But you already knew that.
This message was edited Jun 20, 2013 10:24 AM
Does the plant in the first two pics have round or square stems? I can't tell from the photos.
I've seen a Monarda with red leaf margins but for the life of me I can't remember where. :(
She's identifying what she photographed (with the red leaf margins) as wild Monarda fistulosa.
http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/food-drink/wildcrafting-bee-balm---the-smell-is-the-best-part/
Amanda, could the 5' be Pawpaw? http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ASTR Neat tree if so! I had a seedling but managed to kill it before it got planted. Phooey.
Gosh no. It's an herbaceous perennial. Too bad you lost your pawpaw. That stinks!
Carole, the leaves look somewhat different. I think I had it tagged either as R. maxima or E. paradoxa. Ooops!
What is the lovely pink multi flowered middle top one??
That is common milkweed. The flowers smell like spring hyacinths. :)
Oh m, I must have one!! That's a butterfly host right?