Failures, Disappointments & Lessons

Okay. We are well into Spring. We have heard and seen the successes of our gardens so far. I want to hear about what hasn't worked out. What didn't return from last year. What new problems have sprung up this year. I'll start.

Weeds - turf grass in the beds is a biggie for some reason. Nightmare when growing through the plants. Returning 'favorites' include Gooseneck Loosestrife, Northern Sea Oats Grass, Eupatorium 'Chocolate' - all three of which I made the mistake of planting. Clover, Crabgrass, Beggar's Tick and a bunch I have not identified and don't really care to know. I just know I want it dead.

A number of perennials did not return, including a dwarf Delphinium, Viola 'Etain' - not one of three, and a pink Scabiosa. There are more that I just don't remember now. My front bed (of all places) has empty spots that I don't remember last year. This is one reason why I am trying to go for more small shrubs instead of perennials - more reliable and less work. Also, in the Spring I can see them and not crush any emerging perennials or cut through one with my shovel - the plastic tags always seem to disappear during the winter. I think the animals pull them out and laugh as they watch me destroy the old ones as I put new plants there.

My plan to get away from mulch in favor of ground covers is going well in places, not so in others. Some beds were so weedy I had to mulch them. I am finding it more difficult with full sun areas. Golden Creeping Jenny works great, given sufficient moisture, but I don't want it everywhere. Having success with some Geraniums and a few others. For shade or part, Hellebore is hard to beat, as well as Hostas and Creeping Jenny. Ranunculus 'Buttered Popcorn' grows from full sun to deep shade and when it works, it really works. For some reason, it has virtually disappeared in some areas. I'll try to post some pics.

Well that's a start. Let's hear some of your trials and tribulations.

weeds weeds and more weeds this year. Its just awful. I'm trying to think back if I let the beds go to sleep with weeds in them because it sure looks like it. The extra warm weather and nice timely rains haven't hurt either. I'm thinking of laying newspaper down under the mulch to keep the grasses from poking up thru the mulch. I bought topsoil last year that turned out to be absolutely full of weed seeds - its obviously topsoil that got stripped off a field because all kinds of field weeds are popping up that don't belong here.

A nice organic weed killer is vinegar. I use an old salad dressing bottle so I can aim it right on the roots - kills em dead right away.

I lost a favorite Tricyrtis that I'm going to try to replace - Hatatogisu. Everything else looks pretty good - I've already killed out the weaker things in my garden.

I've got cinquefoil that got loose in some beds and it is running wild. Also wild buttercups that spread by runners in all directions. You have to get after that stuff or its uncontrollable.

I heard about vinegar but haven't tried yet. I have a propane torch which works well. Of course you have to be careful you don't start a fire! Another big weed problem this year is false strawberries. Same thing - they spread quickly by long runners, just like real Strawberries.

I had several foxglove that had returned a couple of years that disappeared. I had DOZENS of seedling foxglove I put in my veggie garden last fall. They all disappeared too.

Weeds everywhere.

Did my usual heartbreaking, stepping on a couple of plants and killing them.

I think that covers my bad news.

my battle is with horsetail (equisetum arvense). it is all over one bed. I suspect my landscapers tracked in the spores. I read an article about crushing the stems and painting on the weedkiller (glyphosphate), so I'm trying that. I can't spray. it's coming up in the middle of all of my plants. I thought I had made some headway last year, but it's worse than ever. now I'm seeing it starting in other beds...I've got my work cut out for me.

I still have to check on what was planted last year and didn't make it. I think I saw green on Eupatorium 'Gateway' today. I know there's been a whole thread going on gaillardia. I had 6 plants of 'Arizona Sun' that never did get off to a great start last year. A couple of them looked pretty good. But no sign of them yet this spring. One thing that has been disappointing is scabiosa. I planted 'Butterfly Blue' and 'Pink Mist' a couple of years ago and they haven't done much, although they do come back for me.

weeds... same spots as last year... grass growing where it should not... so far I am pulling it out and transplanting to bald spots ...

lost all foxgloves, hollyhocks from last year... :(
lost 7 miniature roses ... that's a disaster.... a catatrophic crisis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

several irises from last year are dead... how did I do that??? anyway I am glad Andy gave me new ones!!!!

I killed the nice grape Andy gave me... the poor thing was fried... never grew much... my heart is broken...

containers look lame... I need to take a lesson!!!

I had four salvia greggii that were probably six to eight years old and only one made it through the winter. My salvia "hot lips" is also perished. Last fall I planted thirty six Dutch irises,twenty of the came up but only eight bloomed. My knockout roses have always bloomed early and continued to bloom until fall. This year I had a few blooms in March but there isn't a single bloom or bud on any of them now. I have two large kerria plants that always bloomed from spring until fall,same story as the roses. The kerrias are one of my favorite plants with hundreds of yellow rose like blooms. I also had a rose mallow,rock rose, (photo) that was very old and its now gone.
I made the mistake of planting a trumpet vine many years ago. I cut t down about ten years ago and since then have them popping up all over. I have finally decided that it can't be killed. I have a sumac that is about ten years old and have little sumacs popping up over thirty feet from the mother plant. I plan to keep the sumac because I like the fall foliage. I toured our extension service gardens many years ago and received a tiny plastic pot with a single northern sea oat plant,now I have them everywhere. It's like a sea of oats here! The oats probably can't be killed or contained.
I am also planting more small shrubs rather than perennials. The only perennials that I have planted recently are ten astilbes.
There are a few more disasters and lots of weed stories but I'll stop here.

I feel your pain Rock. It's always nice to know that I'm not the only one with failures! Misery loves company. Too bad about the Kerria. It's one of my favorites as well. I have a few. Blooms in pretty deep shade. The Sea Oats should be outlawed. They are not easy to pull out - even when small. You need a trowel. I'm ready to throw in the trowel with them!

Kass, we're all in the same boat. Some losses are complete surprises. I'm sure you miss the Roses the most. I may take your advice and yank out some of my kids' hair and plant it on my head.

lol.... poor kids... if dog hair is a good substitute I will mail you some... just cut Lilly's heair yesterday!

One of the perennial Hollyhocks that are on each side of my front porch didn't come back this year. I dug the other one up and gave it to a friend and ordered porcelain vine to replace them. So far only 6 of my 10 purple asparagus have come up but I'm not cutting any this year (year 2) so maybe there will be more next year. The tulips were very disappointing - think I will just put in daffodils instead - they do much better. The tea camilla is all but dead. Maybe it needs more sun? I think the apricot that I just heeled in is not alive. Sigh. I hope the company will replace it - everything else I got in that shipment is going gangbusters - just the apricot (my favorite fruit) is not leafing out.

I'll take anything. Even hare hair! Actually, I am quite used to my shaved head now. One fewer chore to deal with.

Cat, I have considered an Apricot for some time. I have heard that they are not easy to grow. You're not helping! I really love to eat them.

Victor you're right about the strawberries - I forgot about those - have them too. And wild Prunella - spreads by runners from the central plant. Forget it if that thing gets to set seed. I did get almost all the garlic mustard pulled from the woods.

funny about those Sea Oats - all those nurseries pushing them as a shade tolerant beautiful grass swaying in the breeze. I have Imperata popping up everywhere - that stuff is just like...a grass. I threw away a wheelbarrow of it last fall which is really too bad but nobody wanted it at the time.

Mother Earth Living just did a piece on organic methods of spraying fruit trees. I can imagine it would be hard to grow the soft skinned fruits without chemicals. I wonder what our grandparents did.

As far as weeds go, I have a big false strawberry and spurge problem. I think I finally got all of the spurge. I am still pulling strawberries and grass. Last year, I had a little bed of Johnny Jump Ups under a fire bush. This year, they are everywhere. I finally yanked most of them. They are so pretty but such a pain.

My son yanked out my stargazer lily yesterday. He held it up over his head like he had just won a gold medal at the summer olympics. He also trampled a lupine and killed it.

My columbine mysteriously dropped all of it's leaves but still has a ton of flowers on it. I have no idea what happened with that. Any ideas?

My tulips look terrible this year. I was embarrassed for them.

My foxglove seems to be gone.

I lost both new coneflowers I planted last year, and my Wisteria has maybe 2 green shoots on it! It's not dead, but it's not looking to good either. A few lilies I planted have not broken ground yet, but the rest has. I am hoping it's just because I planted them deeper than rest and it's taking them longer to emerge. I thought I had lost my Buddelia but it has one green shoot on it. Not dead but hanging on by a thread! I have several daylilies that are looking pretty bad due to crowding......they need to be divided pronto but have no place to put the extra's!! I have been potting them up as i go and anyone who comes to visit gets sent home with pots. DD's friend came yesterday and I sent her home with dahlia's, forget me nots, polemonium, and 5 different daylilies. She took "Autumn Blaze", "Fruit Loops", "Siloam Little Girl" and 2 un-named due to lost tags.

Among other mistakes, four years ago I planted some dwarf cleome in a front yard bed. It was ok, though not especially showy, and I was out of town when it went to seed. Ever since then it has sprouted up everywhere...flower beds, paths, between stepping stones. Even though it is easy to pull up (I wish other weeds were as cooperative) I always seem to miss one or two and it pops up again next year.

Victor, I would consider shaving my head a chore. have you tried elfin thyme? it's a good head cover and it smells good LOL ChiaVic!

LOL... gram you are good!!!!

Here is what I lost - 2 hellebores, all my delphiniums, 4 irises, valarian, a redbud tree in a container, the mums, all the lavender (it looked lousy when I planted it - all the phlox, except the David's lavender which came as very healthy plants from Wayward. On the other hand, I am absolutely amazed at what has thrived! Foxgloves coming on strong, lupins blooming, the irises that survived with blossoms as big as my hand, veronica - huge! Hosta - huge! Astillbe - thriving!

And TONS of weeds! I am hoping that by planting lots of wintersowed seedlings, after I weed sections, that they will grow faster and overpower the weeds.

gram, I was thinking of trying Chia-Pet, but I have to water, fertilize, etc. Astro-turf is easier. Lemon, did you notice anything on the leaves before they dropped? Leafminers are common. I get it but rarely lose the leaves completely.

Michaela - three perennials that I have NEVER lost - not one - over the years are Hosta, Daylily and Sedum. They are as close to bullet-proof as you get.

I haven't lost anything. I was fairly disappointed at the location where I moved my azalea to last fall - they got a lot of snow and ice pile damage. I moved them already.


I had little green worms worms eat all the leaves off my columbine this spring.

Right you are, Victor - I moved some daylilies this spring, and they are going great-guns - or at least they are growing lots of lush leaves. Hosta I have - most were freebies we found on the lot when we bought the place, plus I have bought Fragrant Bouquet and Sum and Substance. All seem to be doing very well.

I was given sedum for the first time - a gift from Kassia. It also appears to be thriving.

BUT the great joy today is that two of my irises are blooming - one called "Total Recall" has a pale, frilly, yellow blossom the size of my hand - and I have large hands! The Earl ofEssex is also blooming . . . I have never grown irises before . . . and although 4 died, I can hardly wait to see what the remaining six look like :-)

I love Irises. Have three of four different ones in bloom now. I have to take some pics. They are very reliable as well. I never lost one. Don't plant them too deep - that's the most common error. You can see how they are closely related to Orchids.
Fragrant Hostas are wonderful. I have quite a few. The scent is intoxicating. Please them near your windows.

The fragrant hostas are planted in front of the veranda - so i am hoping that I can sit in the shade of the evening (veranda faces east) while appreciating the scent of Fragrant Beauty.

Victor, How do you please your hostas? And why do you do it near the windows?

Freudian slip. And - I am an exhibitionist.

I think that's the second time you told me that and you are beginning to scare me.

Sorry I took so long.

Seandor - if you are ordering from Bluestone they have hellebores and they were healthy when I bought there a few years ago. Hellebores like a loose rich soil a lot and will set seed all over if the soil is right. I have a Mantis tiller and I till in a lot of organics - leaf mold, bagged composted cow manure, my own compost, Sweet Peat, peat moss, etc. to make beds for hellebores.
The delphiniums are sometimes hard to winter over - esp if they stayed wet or their crowns were covered - they really like a raised bed I have found, but I've never had them last more than 2 yrs - just my luck maybe. Valerian ( a totally underused plant I think- nothing else smells that heavenly in the spring) you ought to be able to grow from seed, and the irises - I'd check to see if they are planted too deep. I had a sunshine-yellow one that never would bloom till last yr I read that you almost lay them on top of the soil and hill up around them so I replanted it and hit it with some Bulbtone and voila - its blooming for the first time in 4 years wtih 5 buds on the stem.

The irises were not planted too deep - but were probably in the wrong location - sat in water a bit too long this spring (even though I have great drainage). The valerian, the lavender, and the phlox were bare-root perennials from Michigan Bulb - before I knew about DG - The delphinium were older, and grew in spite of my neglect, so they owe me nothing. I now know I am supposed to pamper them a bit. I may get hellebores again in the future, but I would probably relocate those to an area where they are more likely to thrive.

Anyway - lost plants is a built in excuse to buy/grow more plants :-)

ok, just went to Bluestone and got clematis... 50% off... could not let it just pass!!!
I failed to keep my word to myself!!!!!

Well - 50% off is okay :-)

amen sista

There was a lingerie sale recently. Bras were half off.

Wish I would have went - unless it was senoirs day - sorry Jan.

Man, where do I begin?? Since having a baby last Aug. the weeds just took over one of the beds since my hubby doesn't touch the gardens. I was out there today doing some major weeding. I had to reorder carpet phlox, magic roses, coreopsis, hellebores, fire king yarrow, fiesta daisy, 1 purissima tulip didn't come up(why only one didn't come up I'll never know), the wacky winter killed my fragrant pathways gardenia(boo hoo), my red flowering dogwood didn't make it either. Stinking rabbits are eating my one hosta that's on the end of the row next to my shed.
This year I'm trying seeds for the first time, so we'll see how this works out. I didn't realize how early you have to start petunias, so my babies are still only little sprouts it will be awhile before I can plant them in my whiskey barrels. I do have to contact Jung because the white ones only had about a 25% germination rate. I may have to hit the garden center to just buy some. So much to do before it gets really hot.

My petunias are really dinky too - until I planted them in the ground - then they really took off :-)

I lost Blue Moon Rose (really wishful thinking that it would survive anyway), 1 of 4 flowering almonds, a really nice cream-colored coneflower (the only one I had), a couple of carpet roses (a couple survived), 1 of 2 Knock-Out roses and all of my hollies.

Dandylions are doing great and wild strawberries are having a field day too! Any kind of grass that we would like in the yard has migrated to my flowerbeds (the yard is weeds only now). Some sort of tree/shrub has set seed all over and when they sprout, they grow about a foot in one day (both up and down) - I don't even recognize the seedlings for anything that is in our area - grrr! Maples have also seeded freely this year(a nice change up from all the oaks last year).

Just one question, how in the heck does anyone kill iris or creeping phlox? Not that I want to kill any, just that with my benign (and sometimes not so benign) neglect, those are always something I can count on to survive and prosper!

Over the last two years Hairy Bittercress has invaidid my lawn, shrub borders, brick paths, perennial beds, and I am just waiting to see signs of it taking over my livingroom. Has anyone else experienced an invasion by this one? kt

http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/hairybcrs.htm

This is a total failure - kind of plant related - I just had a new boiler installed and they vented it under my front, picture window. That was the only place to vent it other than tearing up the deck - they said. OK Big white plastic pipes sticking out of the house. I emailed the manufacturer of the boiler and they said that I can't plant anything to cover up the pipes. Guess what happens when the furnace runs? Plumes of steam pour from the pipe. Is this totally gross or what? The only thing I can think to do is get a huge concrete dragon and make the vent pipe come out of his mouth - so he "smokes". That wasn't my plan for the landscaping - guess it is now. Jeez - I hired a contractor for this job and it still turned out to be a mess. And the contractor is my girlfriends husband - so I really can't complain. I have go to be the only idiot in the world venting a boiler in the front of the house!