Any ideas for black thumb proof plants?I have been working with my mother-in-law the past two years to give her a small garden that all she would have to do is water occasionally.I have amended the soil so that at this point it is better than most of my beds. The area isn't big (about 25 feet by 15 feet so I have to be careful about putting in a lot of big plants.
She has killed most everything i've put in there and most of the things still alive in there are not the size and vigor that i expected. I live in the same general area and the same things in my garden have doubled in size during the same time span. Here's what still looks good from the plantings: katie Ruellia,monkey grass, basil,a red verbena,asparagus fern
Here's what is struggling but is still alive: Knockout rose,society garlic,Mexican feather grass, a tree hisicus that was a gift from someone,an amaryllis.
here's a small list of what I've put in there over the years that has died:
Every type of flower(marigolds,zinnias,begonias,dianthus( none have lasted for one entire season)
Several varieties of sages(annual and perrenial),butterfly iris,rise and shine miniature rose,rosemary(when I thought she wasn't watering enough) and mints (when I thought she was over watering),oregano.
She really seems to like the few herbs I have tried even though they died. Are there others I can put in there that are tough??? Any other ideas for plants?
I was thinking of starting over again with the plantings. Leave the Knockout in one corner, The tree hibiscus is now in the center and I won't move that. Maybe put some dwarf yaupon on the other corner and front it with the feather grass for some texture.Move the society garlic to in front of the Knockout.That would leave a significant area in front for something else that wouldn't be too high. I would leave about 1/4 of the area for basil in the summer
thanks for any and all ideas as I would like to give her something fun to play with that will make her feel successful.
Black thumb proof plants
Rosemary is a hard to kill plant.. ummm ok Frostweed, ironweed, boxwood, lantana, canna, verbena, wormwood, lady in red salvia, vitex, goldenrod, any of the musa if she loves to water... criniums, old Iris...
i will keep thinking...
Are you certain that the builder or previous homeowner did not possibly dump some type of toxic chemical into the area?
Seems to me that most of those should have thrived with very little attention.
What type of soil does she have?
Are there any predators such as maybe neighborhood cats spraying the plants or digging into the roots, etc....what about grubs...?
Something is thwarting your efforts.
Good ideas to look at but they've been in the house over 40 years so i don't think it would be anything to do with chemicals..One of her sons takes care of the lawn and it looks good. The soil in the bed was pretty much dust when I started but have added a lot of compost and it is lots better now.When digging in the bed I don't find a lot of grubs and the plants don't seem to have animals digging at the roots.
At first it was shadier than it is now, but we had to remove some dead limbs in a tree that partially shaded some of the bed so now that it is sunnier I think I will try rosemary again and lantana.Iris is a good idea and I thought maybe daylilies also.I can't remember if I've tried Lady in red Salvia there yet. At my house it grows great as well as Profusion Zinnia so maybe I'll try them next spring.Any other suggestions from anyone??
How about coneflowers and rudbeckias? Oxeye daisies? Pavonia? Blue-eyed grass?
I grow the coneflowers with almost no attention. They live and spread no matter what kind of crummy soil I move them to. Rudbeckias should do the same thing. Same thing with my blue-eyed grass.
Around here, the highway dept plants rock roses in medians and highway areas, where they get nothing but nature.
Pbtxlady,I hadn't thought of coneflowers and rudbeckias.They are good suggestions. I haven't grown blue-eyed grass so I'll have to research that one.thanks!
wine cup. white ruellia. 4 oclocks. bog sage. guaranitica sage. turk's cap. mexican marigold. red spider lilies. rock rose. this is a funny story. eupatorium greggii. spiderwort. all these plants lived thru the drought of '06 and the monsoons of '07 and never missed a beat. firespike. ajuga.
Hi Teacup, You didn't say if it was full sun or shaded. The Lantana and Indigo Spires make a great showing even in part shade for me. If you have a partially shaded area Elephant Ears will not dissapoint you. You might try some mulch too if you haven't yet. That will help on the times she forgets to water! ☺
Sheila
Sheila,It is more shaded than my yard so what is working in mine doesn't do as well in hers.About half the bed gets at least half day sun and that is where I have the Knockout rose.The rest gets dappled sun. I got some yaupon today on sale to put against the garage that serves as a backdrop.It will be easy to trim them up to make them look nice. I plan on moving a New Gold lantana that she said didn't do much this year to over by the Knockout Rose that is doing OK. The asparagus fern I put in this spring is looking real good as is the Katie Ruellia.The mexican feather grass looks OK as does the Society garlic.I hadn't thought about Elephant ears. That would provide some nice contrast of shape and colors.thanks for the idea!
Mamajack,The sages and Turk's cap are among my favorites, but I think they would be too tall for the small space.I'm not familiar with the eupatorium greggi. I'll have to research them.thanks!
This is the first time I've heard of mint dying---amazing. As far as shade gardening goes, the following plants have thrived with minimal care (z8a).
Wild woodland strawberry http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1013/
ajuga reptans carpet bugle http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53506/
carpet bugle comes in so many different varieties
Teacup...If you were coming to the RU in Arlington next weekend, I would load you up on EEars! My backyard is shaded a lot in the afternoon, and with the rains we had this year, I have a bumper crop of them. I will bring some in the Spring to CS round up if I make it.
Thanks for the offer Sheila. We'lI see if this round of planting survives...I spent this morning redoing her bed. I put three yaupons in and moved the lantana over to the sunnier side. If the lantana don't make the transplant I'll get new ones in the spring. I rearranged the society garlic so they are in front of the yaupon and provide a nice texture contrast with the asparagus fern that is doing well..She said she didn't like the mexican feather grass(the small brown fronds that were at the bottom bothered her i think because she thinks it's dying)So I took it out and am trying evolvulus (spelling??)that was on sale. Some snapdragons went in for the winter and I put in a big bag of soil amendments as i was planting everything. Superthrive to settle everything in and three big bags of mulch on top...My brother-in-law stopped by her house around 4 this afternoon and called me to tell me the yaupons looked good and hadn't died yet..
LOL..."yet" he said!
My Mom was not one to do anything with the yard, or flower beds either. I got all of my love of plants from a Step- Grandmother and my Aunt.
It is a family joke between my husband and his brother that someday they could put her in a car, drive her around to places that have plants they want to kill and make some money.
She keeps her house very dark inside and then can never figure out why any houseplant she buys dies. I knew better than to ever try to grow anything in there for her.But I keep trying outside. She really had good luck with the varieties of basil I put in this year, and she really likes using the fresh herbs.The chives are still doing ok too.So I have decided to plant some more of that next spring and with the green perennials I've got, just a few annuals will provide a few spots of color. Then I can just replace them every two months of so with whatever is blooming at the nursery.She gets some color and I'm not spending a ton of money twice a year to replace everything.