Failures, Disappointments & Lessons

Yankee Cat,
I have seen this on other homes as well so know that you are not alone. On one house a ranch that had your typical foundation shrubs they had to remove the shrub in front of the vent but I did notice later they installed well in front but at the edge of the shrub border a free stanting section of nicely framed lattice that looks very nice. Don't panic I am certain there is a solution just right for your home. You might consider posting over at garden design. kt

Yankee, I feel for you. I like your dragon idea!

Since we're talking about invasive weeds... I've got bindweed that I'm afraid will strangle my dog if I let him stray too close. I've got poison ivy that is rampant along the creek that feeds the lake where our drinking water comes from... is Brush-B-Gone toxic? I've got tons of jewelweed growing amongst the PI. Creeping Charlie has got to be the worst offender in my yard. There's no getting rid of it. Talk about a thug.

Disappointments? I never should've planted that crepe myrtle they said was hardy to my zone. I had to treat it like a baby and it still looked awful. This year I'm digging it up.

I went gung-ho in a plant co-op earlier this year. When many of the plants arrived (bare root), they looked like they needed to be planted RIGHT AWAY, but I didn't get to it that quickly. That was a big bummer. I planted them, but most didn't make it.

I planted 75 dutch irises last fall that are coming up looking awful. I think I planted them too deep. Should I dig them up?

That's pretty much it. Everything else looks great.

Harper

I would NOT use Brush - B - Gone if it's going to end up in your drinking water!!

runktrun - I feel better now that I know other people have the same problem. The furnace is really, really efficient but the venting design just wasn't well thought through. Now I know what chimneys are for besides fireplaces. Had I any clue, I would have gone for less efficient and something that would have vented through the chimney.

I don't think I'll do anything to that PI. It's on the opposite side of my fence, where I hope it will stay. Maybe the birds can enjoy it.

Cat - how far away from the pipe can you plant? You probably can still hide it.

The company hasn't returned my email asking for specifics. They just said that I shouldn't put anything near it. But the air coming out has to be hot and it is moist as I had a steam cloud this morning and all I was doing was refilling the hot water tank. The good news is that I can't even hear the boiler run! There is no way to hide a pillar of steam (jeez - I guess that it could be smoke - that is even worse.) Maybe I'll build a miniature volcano to make the steam/smoke look "natural".

Can't believe they could not do it out the back or side.

I think a front yard dragon spouted steam is waaaayyyyy coooool! People pay landscaping designers big bucks to dream up stuff like that!

Not to mention contractors!!

Exactly!

Thanks for the sympathy. I posted on the Garden Design forum for help. The exhaust coming out of the straight pipe is really hot. I am soooo disappointed!

Cat, why did he say it had to be in the FRONT?? I'm not getting it.

It could not be near a window or door. The contractor wanted him to put it over the driveway but he said it was too dangerous if someone hit the pipes with their car and broke them off.

Yankee, sorry! That's lousy.
I wonder if you could grow tropicals ;)

I have those pipes coming out the back of my house. They have a blue holly planted in front and its not too noticeable.

The holly doesn't wilt from the heat of the exhaust?

It has never bothered it. The holly base is set off to the side so the exhaust doesn't blow on the root stock. I think the constant change in temp in our winters would be very bad for anything above ground during the cold months. The branches are maybe a foot away from the exhaust opening. But I just thought of something that would matter a lot - my pipes are angled down so the exhaust is blowing on the ground, not straight out into the air. Could they change that for you?

Love this thread. I am very intrigued with the concept of lawn volcanos. Put in some dinosaur statuary and plant a bunch of large leafy plants like gunnera . . . you could be on to something :-)

My perpetual disappointments are gallardia and coreopsis. I officially give up on them. I know they are supposed to be easy to grown, but no dice here. I also have terrible luck with most of my herucheras, but still trying. Variegated holly has been shovel prunned along with a few azaleas and rhodies that were browsed beyond my desire to save them. Lessons include: Never use hosta as an edging plant without being completely certain that all weeds are gone from the planting area first. Never get lazy and leave the seed heads on Pardancanda (anyone want any Pardancanda?) My best discovery was Weigela My Monet. I bought them last fall and I couldn't be more thrilled. Victor, don't give up on the scabiosa yet, mine are just coming up. They are always late where I sited them, but this year has been completely unpredictable.

Funny how each garden, even those geographically close, has its own 'personality'. My gold Coreopsis (forgot the name) does so well, I am always pulling it out of new areas. Had good luck with Moonbeam as well. I hear you on the Pardancanda, but they are not too bad to remove, are they? I like them. Where is your 'My Monet' sited? Part sun? I have one Scabiosa struggling to return. There were three.

A new addition to my list. My mature stand of Clethra alnifolia 'Rosea', one of my favorite plants in the garden, is struggling. Leafing out very late and way down on the plants. These are about 6 - 7 feet high and usually leaf out right to the top. They literally fill the garden with a wonderful scent in July. They grow from full sun to just about full shade and are very tolerant of wet conditions. Anyone else grow it? Any problems this year. Have a similar problem, but not to the same degree, with Itea.

irishbelle - could you post some pictures of My Monet in your garden? I was thinking about that to replace a spirea that I have to cut back really hard every year - so a lot of the time its in the process of growing back and looking half baked. If they really stay at 12-18" around it would be a perfect size for my spot. My spot gets direct sun in the am, and then later in the afternoon. The online photos show a different colored foliage than the ones I found locally at nurseries.

my clethra are always really late to come out. I planted 3 itea last summer and they look chlorotic to me right now. Need a good dose of Mighty Plant

I was going to comment to Irishbelle - do you have heavy soil? Heucheras do not like to stay damp and they really like to be set up high in a well draining site. I only mention it because the other 2 problem plants you mentioned also need well draining soil. I have only been successful with heuchera when I literally plant it up on a mound in clay areas. Anytime I plant at the soil level they just slowly fade and eventually croak. I started mixing in mulch with my soil when I planted heuchera and that has worked ok to improve the drainage. I love that H. Regina for some reason - its the right color of like raspberry in the leaves - I've killed it now enough times I ought to know. Finally prepared a site that 1 likes.

I'd be happy to post pictures. I just got a new camera, and this will give me an excuse to play. The Monet's have an east/north east exposure with the house behind them for late afternoon shade. They are still small, but the coloration is very attractive, and they are also just starting to bud. Thanks for your advice on my problem plants. The soil in these beds is heavily amended to around 1.5' - 2'. There is clay under there though. It is better in some places than in others. I'll try mounding up the Heuchera's and see how it goes -- great tip!

I've always had gaillardia make it for me, coreopsis - yes I'm done with that one too.

Yellow coreopsis has been pretty easy for me (moonbeam & another similar one) Purple ones have disappeared quickly.

I have not had much of a problem with Heuchera. Where I have, it's been due to lack of water.

I planted Plum Pudding heuchera last fall - it is absolutely thriving! I am so pleased!

My biggest dissapointments this year have been the newer yellow and orane echinaceas- they just died on me over the winter. So did a beautiful poppy and two bleeding hearts.

Ongoing problems: Mugwort!!!! Achhh! Poison ivy, English ivy...

Oceangirl quote: "the newer yellow and orange echinaceas"
I lost both of mine too. I thought about buying them again.....but changed my mine.

Pixie, I have tried three times and lost them every time. I think they are so pretty, but they don't seem very winter hardy here. I always give something 3 chances before I give up, if I really like it.

Surprised to hear that, especially for you in ocean. They're supposed to be hardy to zone 4. I have Twilight and it's come back for me.

oceangirl,
I lost both sunrise and sunset twice. Although I do grow the more stronger forms magnus ect. I don't think they do as well for me as they would for others, I think (or would like to blame) it on my highly acidic soil. In non cultivated areas on my property I have a ph of 4.4 so you can imagine the diligence it takes to make sure I have added enough lime. kt

My columbine didn't come back up this year. My brother's girlfriend (brother died last July) gave me some dahlia tubers last fall from their garden and they didn't store well and were all mushy when I went to plant them. I replaced them with a similar dahlia but still not the same as having something from his garden in mine. My hydrangea (a macrophylla) pretty much came up from the ground - first year in and given to me by neighbors after my brother died. A macrophylla is supposed to have leaves on the old branches and the flowers develop on those as I understand. So I probably won't get flowers on it. I did not protect it enough this winter I guess!!

Reading about all these losses at least doesn't make me feel so all alone. I lost every Easter lily in one garden - more than 50 of them, along with all but one gladiolus (they won't be replaced - too much staking), lots of dahlia rot. Lost a campanula that was new last year and possibly two daylilies held over in pots and I thought were well protected but guess not. One miniature rose died (probably my fault) and the rosemary I expected to die didn't disappoint me at all. The big area of Euphorbia 'Chameleon' is gone but I see seedlings are growing. I used Heuchera 'Amethyst' to fill the void. Coreopsis 'Zagreb' is doing well, as it has for many years and I'm no longer trying the new varieties since I've lost too many of them. The lupine did better than ever but the storm on Monday flattened half of them.

Victor - want to have a shine contest with my son?

Eleanor, it's always a crap shoot with H. macro unless you cover them. 'Endless Summer' will assure you get some blooms. Mix in H. 'Annabelle', Oakleaf Hydrangea and some paniculatas. You always get blooms from them, though they are white for the most part. No pH dependence.

Pirl, do the Lupines normally get wrecked by the rain? I just noticed a few of my Oriental Lilies buds eaten!! It's the first real damage I've seen since I put down the Deer Scram. The shine contest would be a good one!

Yes, the lupine get wrecked especially if they're in a spot hit by the wind. The deer also got a friend's hosta but nothing else in her garden - not a rose or a lily. Seems to be their favorite food. Remember the money back guarantee on the Deer Scram.

This was before the storm. I can't face taking an "after" shot.

Pirl, I'm sorry about your lupine--they look so nice in your picture. My bulbs keep disappearing too--alium are much smaller and just a few left, and lilies are almost all gone. My anemone white splendor disappeared this year--I think voles ate them; I see little holes in the soil nearby.

I also lost quite a bit of vinca--no idea why--voles again??too dry?? Plus, some of my lavender died in April, I guess from the alternating warm and freezing weather. They looked fine all winter through March.

LemonMint, all the leaves on my little columbines were eaten too. Just the flowers were left. Slugs?

Alyrics, I like the idea of vinegar for weeds and will try it. I think I have more weeds than ever this year.

What's with the grass popping up everywhere (except in the lawn)?

Pirl, your lupins are FABULOUS! Mine, on the other hand are wimpy . . . do they normally have to be staked?

Pirl, what a magnificent front yard. Nice shot of your son and grandson too! Victor, where's yours?

As for failures, disappointments and lessons, I think I have all three.

I have new growth (finally!) on my crabapple tree. All the new growth has aphids! Boo! I see ants lunching on them, but not enough! I'll go hose them off, but I'm pretty PO'd. I guess that's the first real sign of summer. Bugs.