Funny story Ric
Cool moth, Gita...my son currently has a moth casing in his enclosed habitat waiting for it to open it's about 3" long...wonder what going to come out of that????
Hidden garden tour that I went on today, if anyone is interested
https://picasaweb.google.com/jerseyjenflower/AllentownGardenTour2013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMyboef_2v2f8AE&feat=directlink
Neck of the Woods CHAT Summer 2013
Great pictures Jen, I saw the Japanese Lilac Trees in the one picture, they are a new interest of mine.
Sally sounds like you had a great trip looking forward to your pics.
Sally: Yes indeed, picture please!
And FlowAjen -- I loved your hidden garden tour photos - thanks for sharing them. HollyG, there is nice blue wine bottle tree there for you! For some reason, what really caught my eye, other than the flowers, was the little pond that was bordered with flagstone piles.
This message was edited Jun 9, 2013 4:56 AM
thanks for the tour Jen!
See new thread for
Casual Thursday- at Sallyg's
Thursday June 20
anytime after 4:00
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1317810/
This message was edited Jun 10, 2013 10:00 AM
I'm suddenly bent on getting maybe 30 Asclepias syriaca plants (common milkweed) for my awful front hill. Have any of you grown it from commercial seed (I don't have access to fresh seed)? How long does it take from when the seeds are planted to when it germinates AND grows big enough to be planted in a tough spot in the ground?
Hap, sorry to butt in, but you should dmail AmandaEsq as she's quite knowledgeable about milkweed.
Happy---
Sally has a yard-full of Milkweed....get in touch with her...
She can say--"Yay"--or "Nay" from experience....it IS kind of invasive...
Did you ever follow up on getting the "Piilu" Clematis?
Did you see, where I posted, that brushwood has 33% off of ALL their Clematis?
They sent me an e-mail--as i am on their list....
G.
Happy, I have grown 8 different Asclepias species from purchased seed. Asclepias seeds generally display slow and sporadic germination unless subjected to 30 days of cold treatment. It is too late to start new plants to bloom this season. Also, there are many attractive species of Asclepias other than A. syriaca, which tends to seed around quite aggressively. I did collect and winter sow some A. syriaca seeds last fall, but reconsidered when they started to sprout. I may have info on where you can obtain plants of a number of species.
Darius -- Thanks for the suggestion, and I'll dmail AmandaEsq I'm glad to see you in our group!
Gita -- Thanks, I'll check with Sally about Milkweed. I decided against getting the Piilu for now.
Happy, here is link to a thread on milkweed seed sources including ones made by AmandaEsq and Greenthumb.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1299280/
Also, North Creek offers plugs and plants
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/_ccLib/image/plants/DETA-548.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/548/index.htm&usg=__dl8-yChMEeeMx8kGu8MUOAn2Ojo=&h=200&w=300&sz=21&hl=en&start=1&sig2=GGtn0VFpY9ARiyZyPnn3Dw&zoom=1&tbnid=mRtK3lOi0DZRUM:&tbnh=77&tbnw=116&ei=ZH62UbXuDqjl0QGznIGQDQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dviola%2Bwalteri%2Bsilver%2Bgem%26sa%3DX%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&sa=X&ved=0CCwQrQMwAA
Thanks Coleup! I was hoping to avoid seeds (I don't think they'd be ready to plant out if I get them this year), and I didn't want to get a whole flat (fussy, I know). I can check local garden centers....
Asclepias incarnata, Swamp Milkweed is widely available at local nurseries.
Ok, I've got to look. What are its downsides, greenthumb? I don't think I've ever seen it in the flesh.
Happy, assuming you mean A. syriaca, while a native, it re-seeds abundantly, and in agricultural areas is often considered a noxious weed. Downside would be neighbor's displeasure. I'm sure there is plenty in nearby Rock Creek Park already. It is commonly seen in large stands along rural stretches of interstate.
I am starting to fear that I will never get the gardens in shape and all the plants in the staging area planted this year. Between weekend events, bad weather, and just being tuckered out, there is not much happening here. Finally, all the issues we've had with the irrigation system over the years seem to be resolved, and it is working well now. Too well - I looked out last evening and the sprinklers were going in the midst of the thunder storm LOL. I guess I need to play with the rain gauge sensor.
Happy - You may want to check this out: http://www.prairiemoon.com/plants/potted-plants/mix-and-match
Happy and Greenthumb I would think that Asclepias tuberosa aka Butterfly weed, would be a better choice than Common Milkweed (incarnata) or Swamp Milkweed (requires too much moisture) for the Awful Front Hill .
Here is what Missouri Botanical Gardens has to say about A 'tuberosa'
Common Name: butterfly weed
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Apocynaceae
Zone: 3 to 9
Native Range: Eastern and southern United States
Height: 1 to 2.5 feet
Spread: 1 to 1.5 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Color: Orange, Yellow
Bloom Description: Yellow/orange
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Wildlife: Attracts Butterflies
Tolerates: Dry Soil, Shallow, Rocky Soil, Drought, Deer
Uses: Erosion Control, Rain Garden, Will Naturalize
Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Drought tolerant. Does well in poor, dry soils. New growth tends to emerge late in the spring. Plants are easily grown from seed, but are somewhat slow to establish and may take 2-3 years to produce flowers. Mature plants may freely self-seed in the landscape if seed pods are not removed prior to splitting open. Butterfly weed does not transplant well due to its deep taproot, and is probably best left undisturbed once established.
Noteworthy Characteristics:
Butterfly weed is a tuberous rooted, Missouri native perennial which occurs in dry/rocky open woods, glades, prairies, fields and roadsides throughout the State (Steyermark). It typically grows in a clump to 1-3' tall and features clusters (umbels) of bright orange to yellow-orange flowers atop upright to reclining, hairy stems with narrow, lance-shaped leaves. Unlike many of the other milkweeds, this species does not have milky-sapped stems. Flowers give way to prominent, spindle-shaped seed pods (3-6" long) which split open when ripe releasing numerous silky-tailed seeds for dispersal by the wind. Seed pods are valued in dried flower arrangements. Long bloom period from late spring throughout the summer. Flowers are a nectar source for many butterflies and leaves are a food source for monarch butterfly larvae (caterpillars).
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plant-details/kc/b490/asclepias-tuberosa.aspx
Thanks so much Coleup. Do you know if that will seed around in our area the way the common milkweed does? You quote Mobot as saying: "Mature plants may freely self-seed in the landscape if seed pods are not removed prior to splitting open." The awful front hill is so hard to weed that I can't add any self-seeders.
We had some luck growing scarlet milk weed and not having it go viral, it grew 4' max and didn't cause any problems and the butterflies loved it.
You say that in the past tense. Did it not last long?
I ask because I'm trying to put fairly permanent planting on my awful front hill. I don't want to re-do it each year!
This message was edited Jun 11, 2013 3:43 PM
Please contact HGTV by any means possible... Website, Facebook page... and tell them that you disapprove of the use of an American Flag as a table cloth for a 4th of July setting! How disrespectful to the men and women that put their lives on the line fighting for our freedoms!
http://www.hgtv.com/entertaining/classic-fourth-of-july-table-setting-ideas/pictures/page-4.html
Happy, It is a more tropical Milkweed and not hardy in our area. I always save seeds from it to plant the next year but I really haven't gotten them started this year probably will wait for next year to plant them.
I have always wanted to have a couple plants of the Butterfly Weed.
I bet it would do OK in my "YUK" bed.....dry....sun....etc.
Happy I have a friend from work who has no lawn, their whole property is a xeriscape of mostly native plants. Ironweed, Joe Pyle weed, clumps of fescule, and notable dwarf milkweed. It is manageable, lovely and most of all fragrant. So look here: http://www.prairieflora.com/dwarf-milkweed/ It's funny the town they lived in cited them for not mowing their weeds. Her husband taught horticulture at the Milton Hershey School, the school was responsible for much of the landscaping not only at their school but assisted at the Penn State Campus. Well he went to court, the judge basically laughed the ordinance out of court for the council's lack of understanding. I still loved their weeds! LOL
Ric -- I LOVE that story! Thanks for the suggestion on the dwarf milkweed -- and the others. Now I'm going to look up the other plants you mentioned!
Gita -- Which Butterfly Weed are you talking about?
Holly -- Thanks for clarifying.
I can't do ironweed because it likes it moist and my hill is often bone dry. Joe Pye weed I have in the back, and it self-seeds a lot, so I can't use that. I wonder what kind of fescue he had.
But the dwarf milkweed sounds lovely. I don't see plants for sale, so I'll try growing it from seed....
I've heard Asclepias syriaca (is that "common" milkweed?) puts a tap root down to China, so if it turns out to be invasive then it's also very difficult to remove.
Will do Rose!!!!
Of the twelve varieties of Asclepeas (Milkweed) listed on the Mobot site
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plantfinder-results/basicsearch/asclepias/displayview/profile.aspx
most prefer medium to moist growing conditions which is not what the Awful Front Hill provides. Even the variety Ric mentions above is of the medium to moist persuasion.
The Milkweed varieties that prefer medium to dry moisture conditions are all drought tolerant once established. They are Common Milkweed (A syriata) and Butterflyweed (A tuberosa) Only A tuberosa tolerates less than full sun. A. tuberosa also does not spread like A. syriata though it will self seed if the seed pods are left on the plant to ripen and split open. It does not spread by underground rhizomes like A. syriata and is considered well behaved enough to grow in a border or bed.
As to the question of self seeding meaning weeding on the AFH slopes, I would consider a once a season cutting of the large, quite obvious seed pods to be a lot less 'weeding' (no bending!) than whatever other weeding you will be doing on that slope!
And if you want more plants of A tuberosa, just let one seed pod ripen on the most easily accessible plant and harvest the seed to make your own starts.
And the Monarchs and all of the other butterflies drawn to the AFH will thank you.
Ric, I think the dwarf milkweed is one of the ones I grew up with in Illinois! But I just hated getting the 'sap' on me (the latex milk in Milkweed).
Some other Asclepias species that tolerate/require dry conditions are A. purpurascens, verticillata, viridiflora and viridis, with A. purpurascens providing the most attractive floral display of the group.
Happy--
I guess the common. short, orange/yellow Butterfly weed- the A. Tuberosa
is what I am talking about. I have not seen it all that often--but when did--I loved it...
G.
Ok, so the choices seem to be boiling down to A tuberosa and A. purpurascens (if the latter isn't too seedy). I do want lots of butterflies. Several of my neighbors use "Insect Mist" (like this one, though this isn't the right brand: http://www.mistaway.com/ ). EPA says: "Since pyrethrins and permethrin are toxic to all insects, they may kill beneficial insects such as honeybees, ladybugs, butterflies and other non-target species. In addition, permethrin is very highly toxic to fish." http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/misting_systems.htm Ugh -- plus we are 1/2 block from Rock Creek park. So I'd like to show how lovely it can be to permit a few bugs. One of my neighbors stopped by to say the AFH looks like Disneyland because of all the fireflies. I don't think she has fireflies because she uses the insect mist system.....
Pyrethrins and especially synthetic pyrethrins are great in a greenhouse where pest management is critical, and controlled, they are one of the safest for mammals with a very high LD50. They are however to effective for uncontrolled applications in that they are indiscriminate of beneficial insects. I'm also not sure what their effect on amphibians and avians is.
Happy---A short story for you....
In "ancient history'---about the late 50's--Ihad started to plat Villeyball, and used to take
the Grayhound Bus from downtown here-to downtown DC, Then transfer to another bus
that took me to Rock Creek Park--where the Latvian Volleyball team held their practices.
We played--and then I would spend the night at my GF's house in Silver Spring and come
back on Sunday the same way..
Got my first car in 1961--a pea-green Valiant--and then drove myself to these practices.
I call that devotionto a sport......the beginnings of 20+ more years of seriously playing
Volleyball--meeting my Husband-to-be throught it--he was also a diehard player-- and on and on...
for many years to come.......
Gita
Gita: That's a great story, Gita; reminds me, in the funny way that we make connections, that my mom drove a Valiant for many years. And that I had a bible teacher in 7th grade named Vesta Valiant who never gave A's because only God was perfect....
Ric: I think spewing chemicals on a daily basis over one's entire property can't be a good thing! Especially with the plight of the honey bees. We try to use them only as a last resort. Of course, greenhouses present special situations.
Glad this is the response I hoped for from HGTV
"This was a regrettable use of our flag and it never should have happened. We sincerely apologize and have removed the post from our website. We want to assure our fans that HGTV is proud of the American flag and everything it symbolizes for our people.
Sincerely,
Scripps Networks Interactive Customer Service"
That's terrific. I tried to post a comment but couldn't find a place for it.
They must have gotten a lot of comments on that. I loved that comment they made something about "after you use it on the table you can hang it up and fly it proud". I am thinking yeah with the mustard and ketchup stains.
If you ever want to send them a comment on their home page all the way down at the bottom is says "contact us"