Updates on Plants

I would like to use this thread to give everyone an opportunity to bring us up to date on something you tried. Could be from just this past Spring or from a year or more ago. What inspired you to try it to begin with and how has it panned out? I'll begin with one positive and one negative.

The negative - Agastache ''Golden Jubilee'. Billed as a drought resistant, deer resistant perennial that will keep its bright gold color in full sun. The flowers are supposedly edible and both the flowers and foliage have a wonderful licorice aroma. Yes - the aroma is very nice - as it is with most plants in this genus. But guess what the description did NOT say? That it produces gazillions of offspring that find their way all over the place! The seeds are very tiny and the wind can take them far. To boot, I am finding the color bleaching out. I will probably rip them all out - how annoying and what a waste of time and $$. I have grown this from seed and have purchased larger plants. Started planting it two years ago.

The positive - Geranium 'Rozanne'. Exceeded my expectations in one important aspect - its potential as a decent ground cover that will crowd out weeds. They do not grow 'tightly' like Geranium macrorrhizum, which are great ground covers but do better in part sun than full sun. Also, I don't want the same ground cover everywhere! So with their free, meandering style, I was not expecting sufficient density to make it a good cover. But now, in their second year, they are getting there. I will try to post a pic. The foliage has a kind of mottled variegation. They bloom from June through frost for me. So far the deer don't seem to have bothered it. I'll keep you up to date on it.

So feel free to relate your experiences - good and bad. It will help others decide to plant or not. We obviously cannot trust the growers and sellers to be 100% honest with us!

One positive to report, Victor. My DH grew Crazy Daisy from seed last year and, being a perennial, it is now in bloom. It's in with Oriental lilies and Cosmos (I know!) in one area and with Star Gazers in another. Even if it does self seed I get a kick out of it. Somehow it's wild hair do reminds me of Al's white cactus dahlia but on a much smaller scale.

We only made the Agastache error once: that was enough to keep us away from them forever.

Funny thing I was thinking along these lines last nite. What have you coveted and then got and then did not like? I have wanted a Maypop for years (sorry cannot think of it's true name at the moment) I got 2 of them this year and so far, I'm ready to pop them out of the ground. Just not what I was expecting at all. A let down to say the least.
On the other hand, I have "coral reef" Monarda putting on a show that will give the Fourth of July fireworks a run for their money.

How did I forget Delphiniums? They're all doing so well...and flowering, which I didn't expect this year. Let's see if they will come back next year.

Oh ditto here on the delphs. I'm hoping they'll continue cause they are electric in the garden. I just chopped my dwarfs yesterday and now the big guys are firing their guns.

Maypop is passeflora.

Thank you Lou for jogging my memory banks. Passiflora or passion flower which I have no more passion for.

Mine need a hose running in the pot to keep from going limp, Venu. Do yours need lots of water, too? The flower is also much smaller than I expected it to be.

Mine are in ground , haven't noticed any bigger desire for water than anything else, but definately a smaller bloom than expected. And just lacking the pizzazz that I expected.

Venu and I seem to both lack passion for our passion flowers.

I did receive many lily bulbs through a trade and simply couldn't be more thrilled with their growth. The same person followed up with a huge box of plants that are all thriving and yet another person sent one shrub and two trees that are healthy as can be.

negative - planted very expensive sweet pea seeds far too early ( I was following the directions of the seed company) half the seeds never germinated. I did give away a lot of plants, and the sweet peas I planted - well, they are hardly spectacular. Next year I am planting just ordinary Spencer mixed. - and I will grow them on towers, placed where they can have more sun.

Positive - how many seeds I sowed actually germinated! All the annuals in the gardens this year were started by me!

I love Agastache ''Golden Jubilee' - and if it makes little babies - great! I will pot them up and give them to my neighbours!

Crazy Daisy was the name I could not remember yesterday when talking about Al's Dahlia!

Micaela, it doesn't make babies, it makes armies. Do you have it in full sun? I'm disappointed with the color fade.

Hey that dahlia eats crazy daisies for breakfast.

I have been thinking on this a bit with nothing really to add yet.

I do know we had gerbera daisies one year and they got that root fungus that causes them to wilt if not watered hourly. I'm not very excited about gerberas because the best looking gerbera daisy looks the same as a decent fake one.

Well, Agastache ''Golden Jubilee' is mostly in sun - but it gets morning shade and evening shade. This is its first full year in the garden (it was planted last fall) so we will see if I get gazillions of babies. :-)

Armies, Victor? You're right on the money or the Agastache! I couldn't keep up with removing them - it was hours at a time and year after year. What a waste of garden space, time, energy, etc.

Yes, that's the conclusion I've come to as well. I will pull them out before they go to seed. I have not had this problem with any other Agastache.

Remember - this thread is not just for things gone wrong!! It's for reporting plants that have done well also. What did you take a chance on that has turned out positive? Al, you're always trying new plants (one each!) for example. How have they done? What Dahlias are outperforming, etc.?

Another great one for me - Spirea thunbergii 'Ogon'. Great shrub!! No re-seeding. Keeps great gold color all season. Fine, soft foliage. Wonderful in April when it's both in flower (small white buds along each stem) and in new leaf. Beautiful gold Fall color. Great 3 season easy shrub.

LINARIA! Each flower is sooooo tiny - but a mass of them is perfect for a fairy garden. I winter-sowed these and MG - I think every seed germinated - there must have been 300 seedlings! I have them everywhere - I am definitely going to have these in my garden from now on :-)

the seeds were a kindly donation from pixie to a newbie. I hope to have lots of seeds to pass the favour forward to other newbies :-)

How appropriate - a gift for a 'fairy' garden from 'Pixie'!! Any dust mixed in??

Well, there was definitely magic involved - these are fabulous! I haven't tried them as cut flowers yet. I wonder how that would work - you know, as fillers, kind of like baby's breath.

Here's another for me. Last Spring or the previous Fall I planted a few Physocarpus 'Summer Wine'. Last year I thought I had made a mistake as more than one of them proved to be very floppy - or floopy. Glad to say that this year they have picked themselves up and are dynamite. Can't beat that color and form.

Victor - You know I went back and changed my rating of Diablo to nuetral after seeing borer in it on 3 different locations. I actually have a seedling of it coming up.
I know this wasn't a 'trash' thread and I am thinking over plants. I have been happy with my Black Lace sambucus and Quickfire hydrangea for new plants.

That's interesting Al. I never got one - was too big and the ones I saw at the nursery never looked healthy. Also was not crazy about the form. This is my second year with Black Lace and I like it, though it's growing kind of slowly. Also planted Quickfire - one last Fall and one or two this Spring. So far so good.

Based on the few I've planted and many photos I'm seeing, it seems that many, if not most, of these new Echinaceas that have come out in the past few years are not so hot after all. They seem to have very few petals!! What's going on with them??

These look mighty fine. Al, can you tell us if these pics are true to the actual plant or does their photo software do a great job? This is from a recent J&P catalogue featuring perennials. Tempting

Yes, Al, inquiring minds want to know . . . I am also tempted by these beautiful images of echinacea

My Green Envy flower was as the picture shows - last fairly long too.

I posted this in perennials.
Here is a list of my ratings for coneflowers(ratibida,rudbeckia,echinacea)

Stars:
Pixie Meadowbright
Ruby Giant
Razzmatazz
Sunrise
Primadonna White
Fragrant Angel
Fatal Attraction
Rudbeckia Takao - you'll never find it though
Henry Eihler's rudbeckia
Rudbeckia Goldsturm

Less than great/undecided
Jade
Primadonna Rose
Sparkler
White Swan
Harvest Moon
Vintage Wine
Orange meadowbright/Art's Pride
Rudbeckia Green Wizard
Doubledecker

Not as good:
Sundown
Sunset

Natives: Nothing wrong with these, they might have less flowers and more plant for some settings - Echinacea pallida is nice,Ratibida pinnata has a lot of flowers, Paradoxa has great color but fewer flowers.

Still a lot I have yet to flower or see that are missing. These are my opinions only.


I will update this as needed.

Are you seeing 'petal-challenged' Echinceas, Al?

Getting closer to some new ones opening yet.

Well, yes - Sunset and Sundown for sure. Art's Pride is thin by nature. Not surprisingly the purple or dark purple varieties have the least amount of problems.

Here's what I mean - I think this is Pink Delight.

You posted that one open already - it was fine. Those double ones open the droopy petals first and then the puffy middle later.

So first comes droopy, then puffy. When is floopy?? I know a few people who have gotten puffy middles later.

If you were a woman you would absolutely know what and when floopy is.

'Floopy' is a copyrighted term by Pirl!

Hey Al, there are 2 dg members who have Rudbeckia Takao plants for trade.

http://davesgarden.com/trading/view/search.php?search_text=PFPID:119658

Positive-I always loved maidenhair ferns and bought them as houseplants so many times, but they never survived. So I'm thrilled that I have some little ones in the garden now (adiantum venustum) and they've made it through two winters.

Negative-I just threw out some little columbines (flabellata nana alba and pumilla rosea). They're so sweet during their short blooming time, but then it's leaf miners forever.

Seandor,

I planted some sweetpea seeds about three years ago and they're just growing now. No flowers though (yet??).

Loretta

I'm just used to the miners. They're always after the blooms anyway. They provide mid-season dynamic variegation!

I take that attitude also, they don't kill the plant and after the colombines are done something else is springing forward to hide the miner melee.

After the bloom, my attitude is "What's miner yours".

Wow, that's weird about your sweetpeas, Loretta. Mine have been blooming for a month now.