FIRST FLOWERS SPRING!!! Memorial Day Edition

They look beautiful, Gita--so full of blossoms! I know I'm going to enjoy mine this year--and thinking of you and your generous spirit every time I look at them! :-) I remembered what you said about them spreading, so I planted them in a tree island in the middle of the backyard and hoping they behave themselves there!

cat--
What I love the most about them is that--even fairly close-up--you DO NOT
see the stems. Just the blooms--and they "POP" like Neon in your eyes.

You can collect seeds from these very easily.
When the blooms are done--there will be these little "cup like" seed pods--
on top if the stems. They take a bit of time to get dry--but it all goes fairly quickly.
These "cups" are open at the top----so if you even "mess" with the plant
at this time--the seeds will spill all over. Hence--a zillion seedlings....

I usually carry a good-sized cup with me and a pair of scissors.
Then I wade among the dying stems and snip away--right into the cup.

Besides----they require ABSOLUTELY NO CARE! Not even watering....
Very drought tolerant.
What's not to love? G.

Thanks for the tip about the rose campion seeds, Gita! :-)

SSG: Yeah my knockouts both died to about 4" from the ground. I was surprised too. They were first year plants but I still never thought that would have happened. Tough winter I guess. They both came back great though. I got my first bloom on the red one today and the first on the yellow a few days ago.

Catmint: Nice blooms! I'm surprised to see an echinacea up and blooming already. I'm a big sucker for penstemon :)

Wind: Dollars to doughnuts that's a Sweet William variety

G: I wanted Rose Campion ever since the first time I saw it last summer. It was on here somewhere and I loved it. I bought mine from Bluestone. I guess the key is to not deadhead if you want volunteers? I'd take some seeds if you were willing. I'll send a DM, thanks!!

Knock out roses seem to go with just about everything...I am so glad they grow and bloom for me in just a bit of morning sun!

1 & 2: Rose and Eupatorium 'Chocolate'
3 Rose and Heuchera
4 Rose and Deutzia

Coleup: What is that purple/green leaved plant in the foreground pic 2?

Seq, glad to hear your knockout roses came back! Yes, I'm surprised by the early echinacea blooms as well--and then this evening I noticed that echinacea 'Secret Affair' had its first blossom open as well! It must be the cultivars.

Coleup, those are gorgeous roses! The photo of them with the deutzia is especially beautiful. Okay, now I want to rip out the old floribunda rosebush that the previous owner left me that is so prone to disease and pest damage, with blossoms that wilt and turn brown within a day or two of opening-- and replace it with a nice knockout rose bush!!

Thanks Catmint. Maybe tomorrow I will post a pic of how awful two of my other Knockouts look right now. The hot to cold from deluge to dry has not treated them well. The two in the pics are much more 'sheltered'. Also, the Preying Mantis is still to small to tackle the onslaught of various leaf eaters.

Jeff, the purple leafed plant is Eupetorium rugosum 'Chocolate'

thanks Cat and Seq... I'll look it up

hi Coleup, it's the same plant as in pic #1; and, by-the-way, your spiral plant bloomed!! I was expecting red blooms and they were a chocolate color, which was a pleasant surprise - thanks again and hope all is well

edited forgot to mention Cat, yes, the spot has sun/shade; probably more shade than sun

This message was edited Jun 3, 2014 5:42 AM

I guess my rose campion came from Gita! Good to know it's a biennial. I'll dig it up after harvesting the seeds. The native azalea I got at from the gift table is going in its spot. :)

Coleup, your Knckout combos look great! I don't think my praying mantis eggs have hatched yet.

SSG, why dig up your RC after seed harvest? I still don't fully comprehend the meaning of biennial.

RC mostly dies after seeding, like other biennials. But you'll likely have plenty of seedling in the same area. And some seem to keep going, rebound from the roots. Or maybe I just lost track of how many new ones I had, and thought they had overwintered..

Seq, biennials die right after blooming. The first year is just for foliage growth and second year for blooming/dying. Like parsley and foxgloves. I can't let this one just self-seed because it's next to the raspberries and it's a pain (literally) to weed around these thorny plants, so I'll just collect the seeds and dig up the roots.

Hmm...I'm saddened to hear that my new RC is going to die this year :( I had a 'biennial' foxglove last year and that came back and is blooming right now. Maybe it doesn't know it's not following the rules :)

Cut the RC stems back after bloom, let it be, and maybe it will grow more later.
Foxglove blooming two years? Does sound unusual. but great!!

Sally, you mean you can get a second set of blooms later in the year?

Thanks for the tips Sally! I'm getting a Foxglove from Lazy S&S this week that is supposed to be perennial. Hopefully it is. It's Digitalis 'Gold Crest'.

I haven't had ANY luck with the biennial common foxgloves (digitalis purpurea). I've tried them at least 10 times - seedlings from Gita, nursery bought, seed - nada... I love them but I guess I don't have the knack for growing them.

I didn't realize it until recently, but there are other foxgloves that are true perennials. David and Pat have many kinds in their garden. One that I have that has been doing really well is digitalis thapsi 'Spanish Peaks'. It is not the giant towering spikes of the common foxgloves, but is pretty all the same:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/38369/

Gonna add my 2 cents worth here.....right or wrong---from my experiences....

Like Sally stated above--I also used to think that R.C. came back from seed
b/c there were so many new plants coming up around the old root clump.
I believe that is just b/c so many seeds drop straight down into the root mass
of the old plant. Then--in the spring--they all come up. I am pretty sure
that the old plan's roots are all dry and dead by next year.

I don't dig up mine in the fall--no big reason--just that they are, usually, buried among
or behind other plants.
Rose Campion's dropped seeds do not come up in late fall. They come up in spring.
So do Foxgloves. I swear, sometines though, I see Foxgloves coming up in fall
and living through the winter to "pop" in early spring.

I have one of David's perennial, yellow Foxgloves, but they struggle a bit in the bed
they are in as it is kind of wet from rain run-off from my shed roof.
I have seeds from this one too.

Jeff--Your seeded RC's this year will not die--because they will not even come up
until next spring. That is why I have a slew of them in my bed--and I was digging
them up and potting them up--just because.....
If you already had a RC growing and blooming this spring--those will die.

Scatter your seeds where you want them--backs of beds is a good idea.

Terri---
I don't know why your fox=glove seeds would not come up???? Too much shade?
Mine are all over the place in the spring. Try a sunnier spot in some nice. loose soil.

Here's a picture I just posted...This was all from ONE plant. It was behind my big fern-
and behind my Hydrangea. I did not gather the dust-like seeds--so they all fell down.

Gotta go and mow my lawn before the rains come--can't sit here forever....
Gita

Foxglove seedlings---potted some--will pull the rest.....

Interesting G. My foxglove did have a basal florette that hung around all winter and popped up in the spring. I was surprised.

Jeff---I have to say that i have also seen that. maybe in the bigger, older plants?
So--there must be some that do last all year---or maybe all of them.
You know--I am an old geezer--and often don't remember what is--was--or may be.

It is SO amazing how fast the new Foxgloves can grow in the spring!
BAM! and they are 2' or 3' tall with a bloom spike.

One thing--you MUST stake them--as the bloom stalks are heavy with the blooms
and in heavy rain they just flop over.

Here is a picture of a clump in April of 2-10. Obviously--that had to be already there
to grow this big by April.

Could not find the picture where these toppled over--but this gives
you an idea how tall they can get. G.

These are in my neighbor, Olga's, bed--but they are all from me.
Mostly--I have shades of pink and white Foxgloves.

I liked the different types of Foxglove in Ecnalg & Greenthumb's Gardens, too.

NIce G. My basal foliage didn't look close to that nice. Maybe I'll take a pic of it later and post it. I do have some new things blooming out so I should get around to it.

My foxglove tends to bloom once then lose all its blossoms and not send out any additional blooms. is that typical? just wondering if I need to consider a different spot for it. Currently it gets direct afternoon sun.

I could be wrong but that kind of sun might be tough for it. Mine has morning sun and dappled sun until about 3 and then it gets another hour or so of full sun. I thought they were a once and done type of bloom. Not like Penstemon where they bloom over a several week period.

Yes, it might have too much sun. It's definitely been a 'once and done' kind of plant for me.

Just thinking..............................smell smoke?.....................:o

Maybe IF you cut back the bloom stalk as soon as the blooms look so-so--
It might send up side shoots?

I have never done this--as the big stalk never, actually, stops blooming...

Anyone????Have you ever cut it back to get new shoots to bloom?

Gita

A few pics from the gardens

A few iris and clematis

SO nice--Holly!

I need a better camera that will show blues the way yours does.
Always had issues with blues and reds....

I guess you get what you paid for. My little Nikon camera is OK--
but it has shortcomings...OK! I only paid $69 for it--and it was
being discontinued....

There may be a connection......G.

Thanks Gita, This new camera that Ric brought really does take nice pics.

Beautiful pictures, Holly!

Gita, that's amazing that your foxglove never stop blooming! What kind of sun are yours planted in? I'll try cutting back the main stalk once the blossoms are fully gone and see if some side stalks grow.

Nice Irises Holly! Very beautiful :) That peony looked pretty sweet.

A few of my own:

Geranium Purple Who
First of our Knockout Rose blooms
Rose Campion and Painted Daisy
Silene Virginica
Foxglove - this is the one that grew back from last year

nice, Seq! That's a great photo of the geranium blossom--looks like you were able to get up real close and focus. I like the silene virginica! Looks like a very dainty flower somehow...

Only one new bloom for today (although I have some strong bloomers right now that are ongoing for a while--like the roses, blanketflower, coreopsis, sage, penstemon, ageratum, heuchera, marigold, lavender, and so on):

1) Echinacea purpurea Secret Affair just got its first bloom of the season. I was enticed by this one last season because it was actually fragrant!

2) The area where a lot of my heuchera are--guess it is my 'heuchera garden'! ;-)




This message was edited Jun 3, 2014 8:15 PM

I love learning about new plants from seeing all of your pictures!

Seq, this geranium is called Purple Who?? What a strange name. :) I really like that Silene virginica. I've never heard of this flower, either.

Holly that peony is gorgeous! It's funny how every peony picture looks like it's photoshopped. It doesn't seem possible that a flower would stick out of a bush like that, like a lollipop.

I've had foxgloves in blazing hot afternoon sun and they did really well. I've given up on them, though. The basal leaves got enormous and took up a ton of room for two years, only to bloom for a short period. And they got some sort of a fungal infection last year.

Catmint, I have one heuchera that's gotten all floppy this year. It's a shame because it was so pretty last year, but It's not looking so good now.

You know what's been a surprise? The purple one with the red sparkles... what is that called??? I think it's the same as the bottom purple one in your picture. Doing much better this year!

thanks, SSG. It sounds like I'm not the only one who experiences a very short blooming period with the foxglove! They are so beautiful when they're in full bloom, but it seems so fleeting, and there's not really a second flush of blossoms like there is with so many flowers. Heck, my viola cornuta have been blooming nonstop since March! And the dianthus have also been going strong for a while now. Well, the foxglove is beautiful while it lasts...

SSG, that's 'Midnight Rose'. I had a rough time with it last year--it was just gorgeous for quite a while with a beautiful, long-lasting bloom, but then it declined dramatically in the midsummer heat and pretty much died back to the ground. I moved it and several other heuchera to this new spot, and I'm curious to see how they do this summer. How did yours do last year?