i am not sure whom here in texas gets allota wind....but here in
waste(west) texas get TONS of wind; i am rethinking my
plant choices for next year; i have full shade in my front
yard so i have lotsa coleus and caladiums; whelp the WIND
strips the coleus and the caladiums....what types of plants
do you have that can take the wind and still look good?
i am trying to limit the types of plants to container plants and
shade plants....but boy am i REALLY being picky...
Alrighty folks...lets talk WIND; what plants withstand wind?
Are you asking about plants to put in pots?
Of course if they are hanging pots it will be even worse.
I think for your situation you need plants that are woody at the base, such as Coral berry, Esperanza, White mist flower, Flame acanthus, even white Salvia greggii, if your shade is not too heavy those plants will do well.
I am sure we could find many more.
Josephine.
yes i am referring to plants i can plant into pots...on the ground pots...
Trailing Lantana makes a beautiful tall planter. Wind shouldn't bother it and it can take full sun too.
Rosemary looks good, smells good, blooms, is evergreen and there's a trailing one that looks great in pots. Wind and sun won't bother it and it's drought tolerant. Gotta' love all that in one plant!
sheila...durrrr i haven't thought about lantana...the only thing i hate is that i can't keep um alive over the winter....ie i will have to buy them the following year...but i may just have to consider it cause it would probably be easier than the alternative of growing 300 colues so that i will have enuf to replace the wind stripped ones....and start the process over again and again
crow...so just regular rosemary?
Sicks, the rosemary I'm talking about is prostrate or trailing rosemary. I think any of them would work, even the uprights that they trim as topiaries for Christmas that look like little trees. I just prefer the trailing one in pots because it hangs down over the side of the pot and looks really neat. Put something taller and spiky in the back of the same pot for color and texture contrast. Maybe even one of the ornamental grasses would work. Most of them are pretty tough and would tolerate the extremes of heat/cold and wind.
ahh heck...i even had forgotten about grasses....they do hold up very well in the wind....; my only brain thing is i am not sure how to keep them alive all winter so i don't have to buy them again next year....am i cheap or what?
No, not cheap, practical. I don't think most of the grasses would be a problem to overwinter. Some are, but most aren't. I especially like Purple Fountain Grass and it should be fine in the winter. The color of it againt the green of the rosemary would be pretty and the lavender blooms on the rosemary would also work well with that one. That's one thing I like about gardening, so many options, so little space! Let us know what you finally put in and how it does for you.
crow...i have also loved purple fountain grass...is that the one that is an annual? i have wanted to buy some but again the ones i see are annuals and i have banned myself from annuals.....unless of course they can be overwintered in one of my thousand secret locations(g)....
My fountain grass made it through several hard freezes here in Houston. It must be pretty tough stuff because I see it planted in some of the esplanades in the area and it's been there a long time. You do have to trim it back sometimes if it gets to looking a little scraggly, but just about everything has some maintenance to it. There's a new one, at least to me, that I think is called Ruby Grass. I love it, but don't think it's as winter hardy as the purple fountain. I was going to try some of that until I saw it "treat as an annual". I'm like you, I don't want that many annuals unless they're like Cosmos that will reseed themselves.
crow...it is my understanding that there are 2 purple grasses one annual and the other perennial...apparently you have the perennial?
i just ordered 2 new grasses....so i am gonna give um a try....; i have one pot of pampas grass that lasted the winter here and some of the days were below zero...it was in a stryofoam pot unprotected...
Sticks, there's a new one call Pennisetum orientale "Karley Rose". It has arching emerald foliage with upright smoky pink flower spikes. It's max height is about 36" and it's supposed to be hardy in zones 5 through 9. It's really beautiful. Another is Panicum virgatum "Prarie Fire". This one has bluish stems and burgundy foliage topped with pink flowers in late summer. It has an added bonus of turning fiery red in early fall. It hardy in zones 4 through 10. It gets about 4' tall. You might have to mail order them, but they're both spectacular. The Karley Rose is my favorite, but the other one does have the fall color.... decisions, decisions! You might have to mail order these because I'm not sure of local availability.
crow...i definitely am gonna be adding more grasses as i have seen alot that would go nicely with a cottagey look...is this a self seeding kind? hubby is very resistant to that if it is....the ones that i have ordered are not self seeding ...and one in particular was 36 inches also
I've not used these two newest ones, so can't say for sure. I never had a problem with the purple fountain grass reseeding or spreading out of it's designated spot. The clump will increase in size, but it's pretty well mannered. If you put it in a pot, you shouldn't have any worries with it. Keep in mind that things in pots won't be as cold tolerant as things in the ground though.
have you tried bringing any indoors to keep for the winter?
No. I pretty much gave up on hauling plants in and out. They have to be tough enough to survive or cheap enough to replace if the cold gets them. I've never had one of the grasses die on me though. This past year we had a prolonged freeze here and it got several plants that had been in place for a number of years. All my pentas died and I've had those here for close to 10 years without a problem. Several other things froze back to the ground but came back from the roots. The pentas and some blue daze were all that I lost. Even in pots, if they're watered before a freeze, they'd probably be fine.
i think you are warmer there than we are here....i wish i could do that...; i had 50 geranium that i was really sweating bullets with....they were in my store and the temp in the store got to 20 degrees....and they never died.......also there were ferns, ivys and spv ....nothing died; in my sunroom which was stuffed and heated all was well but i am growing out of both of those places....i told hubby i had to have a green house....altho, i am not convinced i really need one....i just need to store smarter....; i cant believe pentas lived there for 10 yrs....amazing; i so have been lusting after purple fountain grass...so i shall have some as soon as i can't figure out what else to buy(grin)