Hello all, I have a bunch of new blooms to share so I figured I'd open a new thread.
We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1360279/
I'll start with the Columbines first, none of which I have a name for.
This message was edited May 23, 2014 10:36 PM
1 Anchusa capensis (summer FMN)
2 Geranium Dilys
3 NOID plant, maybe a cerastium variant?
4 Tiarella Susquehanna
5 Sonic Bloom Weigela
1 Rhododendron Kokardia
2 Rhododendron Weston's Parade
3 Rhododendorn Mt. St. Helens Exbury
4 Rhododendron Nova Zembla
5 Rhododendron Polar Nacht
This message was edited May 23, 2014 10:49 PM
This message was edited May 23, 2014 10:49 PM
1 Rhododendron Catawbiense Album
2 Wood phlox amongst tiarella
3 Rhododendron Roseum Elegans
Ok, that's it for now :)
Beautiful Seq! I especially like the blue and white Columbine. What a lot of pretty Rhodies you have!
Thanks Cat! I'm sort of a collector of them. We have 10 different deciduous azalea, which are also called rhodies just not in the traditional sense and we have 15 different evergreen rhodies.
wow Seq!! such gorgeous blooms. great columbines. you have so many interesting rhododendrons. I really like the phlox/tiarella combo - has cottage garden charm
Seq, I love your rhodies! Are they all in the same part of the garden or spread out throughout the yard? I recently picked up a Roseum Elegans for my Death Bed. I don't know why I do this to myself, since I can just predict what's going to happen to it. I read that Roseum Elegans is one of the toughest cultivars, so I'm hoping for the best.
This message was edited May 24, 2014 8:33 AM
Good luck with that SSG. What kind of growing conditions are in the Death Bed? Our Roseum isn't our most tolerant Rhodie and where it currently is, it's the slowest growing one. I didn't plant it and I think it was one of those pot bound HD plants that the previous owners jammed in the ground to sell the house. There were two and the one died the summer of '10 when we had a drought. I think they are good once they are established and they can grow pretty tall as well. Best of luck with it. A lot of the evergreen rhodies are in a single bed but there are a few scattered about and all the deciduous ones are scattered about as well.
Seq, it's on the north side of the house; dry due to tree roots from a large oak nearby ending right at this point; boulders a few inches under the topsoil/clay (some of boulders have been dug up); and a history of fungal infections, including phytophthera. Whoohoo!
I'm sad to hear it's a slow grower for you. I read that it had a dense habit, which is what I wanted.
very very pretty Seq thanks for the show!
What a lovely variety of blooms you have, Seq. Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed seeing the Tiarella forest, too.
Geez SSG, sounds like a rough spot. Perhaps pachysandra?
Haha, pachysandra and ajuga were the first plants I ever bought! All the pachysandra died the first year, but I didn't know what I was doing at all so that was probably my fault.
Plants that have lived: hosta, carex, hellebore, heuchera, muscari
Plants that have died: camellias/rhododendrons/azaleas (multiple species), heucherellas, impatients, begonias, hakonechloa, ajuga, pieris japonica, pachysandra
I was going to get a Otto Luyken laurel, but Muddy showed me a diseased one that her neighbor has, and the ones in the nurseries seemed to have the same kind of fungal disease.
This bed is also prime squirrel digging territory. It used to also be the preferred litter box territory for feral cats but I haven't found as "presents" recently.
I'm going to try a rhodie just one more time!
Hi SSG. It sounds like the shade lovers do better there than the morning/ dappled sun lovers?
I don't think there's a sun/shade plant pattern, but more of an issue with the soil and water. There's either too much water (due to poor draining clay soil and the rocks underneath) or too little (due to the tree roots).
Today I dug up a bucket full of rocks before planting the rhododendron. I really really really hope it survives!
Yes, ssg got to see why "Muddy1" is such a perfect name for me : ) We did a little mud wrestling in order to wrench 2 hydrangeas out of the ground, one of which had been swallowed by my Rhodo 'Cunningham's White'.
ssg, I don't know if you noticed the half-dead looking Rhododendron uphill from one of the hydrangeas. That's a Roseum Elegans. It was severely damaged this winter - not because it's a weak cultivar, but because it's in a very exposed position in the yard. The half that was buried in snow is fine; the half from which I shook snow suffered greatly. I'm happy to say it is bouncing back.
This message was edited May 24, 2014 8:03 PM
Muddy, that's so interesting about the Roseum Elegans. It's supposed to be hardy down to zone 4! Those poor zone 4 folks probably lost quite a bit of their shrubs.
That 'Cunningham's White' is just gigantic! I've posted this link before but it's a fun one to revisit. Look at this house being eaten by rhododendrons!
http://outlawgarden.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-house-eating-rhododendron.html
Sounds like you've got a tough bed there SSG, I hope your rhodie lives too! You should have left the rocks in the amended soil with the rhodie. If the soil is really as poor drained as you say, the rocks would help with the drainage.
Those photos are hilarious! I thought they were photo-shopped at first.
This is the first time my Roseum Elegans has had any winter damage. After the huge maple shading it was cut down, its placement went from really good to really bad. It had zero protection from the cold north winds and winter sun.
I can't remember if this was mentioned earlier, but Oaks are allelopathic trees under which many plants have trouble growing.
Here is a link with a little info about allelopathy - http://www.americaswetlandresources.com/wildlife_ecology/plants_animals_ecology/plants/allelopathy.html
and another suggesting 3 (! there's got to be more) plants that will survive near them -
http://www.ehow.com/list_7575399_flowers-planted-under-oak-trees.html
Sequia, Very pretty columbines, WOW on that Red & White one. Rodies are really looking good, too. That new camera Ric brought really is nice. It really helps with my mild tremor that had been making my pictures with the old camera a bit blurry.
That's good about the camera Holly, I can imagine that would be tough to cope with while trying to take pics.
I just checked out that link with the rhodies, super awesome!! I bet that helps with the heating bills in the winter!
Mostly it isn't even noticeable but it was showing up in my pictures with the old camera and it makes using binoculars very difficult if not impossible.
Seq, it's not rocks but a layer of cement-like hardpan clay/boulder underneath the soil. They're just rocks now because I had to break it up while digging. The soil has been amended from all the formal planting attempts, so it's in pretty good shape now, but it had never been dug up too deeply before. I'd followed all of the advice online about planting high and not digging too deep in clay soil, but this time I dug out as deeply as I could and still planted high to compensate for settling.
Muddy, I was thinking the same thing! I think the older rhodies in my neighborhood were planted when the oaks were much younger and their roots weren't encroaching on the foundation beds. That would also explain why I have no weeds out front. Well, also no grass, either!
SSG I didn't realize it was an oak tree! Fingers crossed on your new rhodie.
when we were at the rhodie show in Westminster, one of the growers was telling Jill ' Plant them high,". He said plant about half the root ball deep, then mulch deep around, and cover the rootballl with mulch.
Tell ya, ssg, embrace the moss. Offer free "meditation moss grooming" sessions.
Sally that is sound advice and a great tip.
Moss grooming really is a form of Meditation and I only have a small patch. I would love a large expanse.
Sally, I've tried that method before. It worked on the other beds but not on the Death Bed.
The front yard is too dry for moss, but I'm getting ready to convert it to a sedum bed!
I can imagine me letting my azaleas get dried out if I planted them high like that. That's probably why my azaleas haven't been too happy.
Holly, the moss just seems to pick it's own place, doesn't it? I have certain old bricks totally cloaked in moss, other brick and rock next to it totally bare. I might try to move some moss and mayapples and get them going together. Actually- I should just try to insert the mayapples INTO my existing moss.
This blue spruce sedum, or the other aggressive growers, like graveyard moss- I'm thinking one could chop it into bits and spread it like seed almost. Mix with soil and spread it out, keep moist, stand back...
Churn it up in a blender with a little milk and pour it on.
A few pics from the Garden.
Pink Hawaiian Coral Peony and Princess Bride Iris
Luckily when Jamie rolled over my tub to fix the plumbing he missed crushing this allium by inches.
A few more Iris pictures.
1st Picture Sedum Ternatum (from Happy) blooming.
Does anyone know what this blue flowered plant is. I am sure one of you gave it to me at one of the swaps. Very pretty.
Gorgeous pictures, Holly! I love that sedum.
I think the blue flowering plants may be amsonia.
My oakleaf hydrangea's about to bloom!
Gorgeous Holly! I love those iris colors! And the peonies look full and luscious.
The mystery blue flowered plant reminds me of Amsonia hubrichtii but I can't say for sure.
our oak leaf is about to bloom too, I noticed the buds today
beautiful pics Holly
agree on the Amsonia ID
Thanks guys yes that is what it is. I figure I brought it home from one of the swaps last year. It sure is pretty.
went for a morning stroll with my coffee in hand and noticed our Tulip Poplar is blooming! The tree was a freebee from the birds I guess. We cut it down once initially. We moved regrowth another time. Then, another grew back in the original spot and we let it grow... coming into its own now. beautiful tree
Clematis Huldine started blooming today too. was glad to see the winter didn't kill it. we have it intertwined on an arbor with jasmine (Jasminum x stephanese). I wanted it high so we could appreciate the markings on the underside of the blooms
Happy Memorial Day!
