i really like the reds and apricots and bicolors. but somewhere in the back of my mind i think i read somewhere that these don't do so well in texas. can anybody tell me if they know better? i live just east of dallas......the blacklands. also where is the best place to get these? thanks. barb allison
are the non-blue agastaches tricky in texas?
I have tried them to no luck here.... but others might have been able to make them stay alive in TX - we have some great gardeners on here and if it can be done they know how to do it!
If your talking hyssop--the bicolor apricots do fantastic for me--they receive at least 3/4 day of shade in the summer (under a deciduous red oak tree) and bloomed continously all summer and fall. They are still alive now too....I'll post you a pic tomorrow when its not dark..lol
Debbie
That might be it - tooo much sun. It is still hard for me to read full sun and plant in a lot of shade...
me too, mitch. i have learned now to ask if it's ohio sun or texas sun they mean. plants that can live in an unshaded texas west side are power plants as far as i am concerned. and yes, debbie i am talking about the reds and reds with purple and apricots and all those warm colors that i love. so it's our sun? but there is a place out west.....high country gardens.......that grows them. is it that their heat is drier than ours? but they're growing in houston. this is confusing to me. i really want to try these plants but they are costly and i hate the thought of the poor plant that gets the short straw and gets sent to me. hahaha
I had one that did fine in the summer but drowned from wet feet in the winter, I think. I have heavy clay soil and have lost a number of plants that way, including some salvias.
hey deb, if you're still watching this thread.......is your soil sandy? i am thinking i might dig some clay out and mix heavily with garden sand to help with drainage.
No my soil is clay but I have "sheet composted" for years (heavy mulch constantly) so it is fairly loamy now. It's in a raised island bed that incorporates two large oak trees (one a live oak and one a shumard red oak). It drains well but usually stays moist (that is when it rains on a semi-regular basis). They get morning sun until about noonish in Aug and Sept.; pretty full sun in winter (they are about 5 feet east of the deciduous red oak).
so do you think the real trick is just really good draining soil plus the afternoon shade? and another thing do these things seed out? or just spread by runners?
Mine were planted late spring last year--haven't noticed them seeding out and definitely not spreading by runners. I think its the shade--alot of things do better in more shade down here in late summer than the "experts" would lead you to believe. I'll post you a pic this weekend (its not blooming yet) for sure--had an "unexpected" guest this weekend--which kept me from getting alot done. But I'm off next week so I can hopefully get more done.
thanks deb.
Mamajack---went out just now and got these two pics....here's the close up
And this one shows much more of the plant and leaves--forgive the weeds--its in an area I haven't "tended" to since last fall. It really does have orange and pink blooms simultaneously (sp?).
I will try to remember to get out there in the morning for sunny shots.
This message was edited Mar 14, 2006 6:12 PM
that is such a pretty plant. i am going to try them in a place that gets only morning sun. but i am mixing my native clay with some storebought dirt that has green sand and a bunch of other stuff hoping to get maximum drainage. wish me luck. is your plant thriving, would you say? it looks really healthy. i just love that bloom.
Yes--I'd say its doing pretty good--competes with the weeds good! lol It was planted last spring; inspires me to get out there and weed around it tomorrow! It's got alot more blooms on it than are showing.
thanks deb. wish me luck.
I had planted one like in the photo in ffull sun and it did not do very well.
It's in predominantly shade but still blooms like crazy--will give you an update shot in a week or so when blooming more profusely. Many plants will do really well in more shade than the "experts" lead you to believe in June-Sept. in Texas. I like the plant mamajack, and think you will too.
Debbie
Ive been meaning to revisit this thread.....as you can see, this plant is clearly thriving in a totally neglected area; and holding its own quite well amongst the overabundace of nutgrass. lol
I could easily propagate this plant from cuttings if anyone wants a tough plant for a neglected area.....for fall Dallas or Bryan RU? A close-up.
edited to add: Here is a link to the PLantFiles for the variety I have.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/76286/index.html
Debbie
This message was edited May 23, 2006 7:02 PM
Hand raised... me me me for the Dalllas Ru if you are coming!
yeppers..I'm coming. I would prefer to grow with a purpose over the summer....1 hyssop for Mitch (or 2...lol...oh yes, we have to plant in 3's, right?)
Debbie
Everything in pairs.. or trios... or mass swirls :-)
i want one or three, also. hahaha never did get these this year. when is the RU in dallas?
Oct 7th
I read somewhere that the Orange/Apricots actually do better in humid/hot areas like ours. This year I bought several from High Country Gardens and so far they are doing well: Shades of Orange, Dessert Sunrise & one other that I can't find on the web. Anyway, so far so good!
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/results.html?page=1
where is the round-up?
I think we settled on the same place we had it last year just at the wild scape rather then the park itself. Vetrans park in Arlington - it is a great place to go visit and our own Josephine helps take care of it!!!
veterans park in arlington? at the wild scape? i will have to look this up. thanks, mitch. barb
When we get close Frostweed will post how to get there again... It is a great place to meet and tour!
Ok -2 people for hyssop...I love this, I need projects.
Debbie
thanks debbie. i missed the spring iris show so i hope to get to meet all of you in oct.
I've had some issues with agastache (coral/pink blooms - container planted in full/part sun) as well (in Houston)... planted a small one in a mixed full sun large container, and it seems to be wilting in the heat quite a bit - I guess move to a shadier area (so much for the blue bonnets in that pot... they aren't exactly thriving either though...*sigh*)?
Like kcadams, I had a terrible time with the apricot colored agastache in full sun.. It survived last summer, came up and then died. I think I had to water it so much that I killed it.
'Heather Queen' (Agastache cana) has done very well in about the same type of dirt and in full sun for most of the day. It is in one of the the hottest parts of my yard.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/79844/index.html
well i am growing blue fortune in a morning sun spot. i removed a lot of the clay and filled in with prof. bedding mix and sand to help out on the drainage. i had read somewhere that the blue ones do better here. and i couldn't figure out why. this is blue fortune's first year here and it has never seen july and august in texas yet.
All I can say is in the ground, semi-shade; this plant is almost beating out the weeds. I'll get out there this weekend and clean up for better shot. It's sprawling 5' across. One plant 3rd spring.
edited to add: who was the person that wanted to see pics of nutgrass? lol
This message was edited May 26, 2006 4:43 PM
april, is your soil sandy? and are yours in the shade? of course, they haven't lived thru july/aug. or the wishy washy winters here. what zone are you in? hahahaha
April is in Houston too.
Debbie, your agastache is really beautiful. Thanks for the information. Yes, your nut grass looks healthy too, just like mine. I spent most of the day trolling for nut grass "nuts". My shady areas do not have as bad of a nut grass problem as my sunny areas.
yes--trolling the front beds for nutgrass--top of my agenda. I'm looking for some new plants to go with this crinadonna and the hyssop (Smother the nutgrass out...lol). Any suggestions? Something white I think would look good in there.