Deep Shade II

Oh I see I thought you have that baby in the ground!!! You will really enjoy it. So cute. I love the coloring of this plant. Ronna

Today, I received in the mail some plants that I ordered from Wayside Gardens. The one that I'm most intrigued with is a Tiarella called Heronswood Mist. It has pink stems and leaves that are cream colored and speckled with pink and green. It should look wonderful in shade. It's rated for shade to partial shade. Blooms in Summer. 16 to 18" tall.

Im going to look it up:)

Nice I do have several foam flowers but do not have that one... But in the spring they are really neat. I have stargazer mercury. Nice I love the leaf shape and color. Ronna

Wow, Ronna, that's a pretty one. I like the leaves. How big do the leaves get?

Stormyla the leaves are around 5 inche long and 4 inches wide. The plant its self is only 10 inches high but boy does it ever blossom in the spring. Very pretty. Here is a photo of mine. I really like this plant a whole lot. Ronna

Gee Ronna, I might have to get one of those!!!!! How old is yours and how big around or wide is it?

Ooo, love the leaves on that!

Mine is now two years old and has really grown since I've planted them I have two. They are now about 18 inches around. They have really filled out nicely... They blossomed really nice this year full of flowers!!!

Ronna, I'm hoping the Tiarella Heronswood thrives here. I've planted other Tiarella, in dormant form, but so far nothings emerged. The wildlife could have gotten them, or maybe they just weren't viable. There are so many pretty Tiarellas.

I'm thinking that when ordering plants, I may start doing some of it over the phone and not on the web, because it seems that more dormant plants die than others. Does anyone have similar experience?

I also have had frustrating experiences with dormant plants never coming up.
But I wouldnt think it would be different whether ordered by phone or on line.
I guess the only sure-fire way to do it is to buy them directly from the nursery in person.

Ive ordered lots of tiarellas on line and I dont recall any of them arriving dormant.
They do beautifully here.

Hey Weerobin! I meant that on the phone, I could ask if they would be shipped in dormant form. I could send emails to the websites, but that seems like a lot of work. Usually, I work later than what most Nurseries stay open and weekends need to be spent working in the garden and not out shopping. Most of my plant purchases are made online. It's a rare and great treat for me to get to a nursery!

Now Tiarella are of the same family as the dragon tails correct??? Sorry Im not really good with all the sci-fi names.. To hard most days for me to remember my own name... LOL. But I really love the dragon tails!! Good luck. Im going to look up the rest of the family. Im in love. Have a great week. Ronna

Ronna, My Dragon Tails is a Hosta.

Oh well then thats a different story!!! LOL. This is my dragon tail its a tarella!!! It get really neat "flowers" on it they kinda look like a small jack in the pulip flower. Really a neat looking little plant. I do not know if you can see the flower or not. Its really wet we just had a t-storm... Ronna

Ronna, sorry to break the news, but your plant isn't a tiarella.
But it is a dragon tails!
It's a pinellia tripartita 'Dragon Tails'.
It's a very charming plant, so I understand why you like it.
I have one also, which is pretty darn cute.

LOL, Are we the blind leading the blind????? Sometimes I feel so clueless...........

Hey, we're all here to learn! I learn so much from everyone here, and have fun doing it!

Ronna, that's a pinellia not a tiarella.
http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/606/index.htm
Pretty all the same.

Oh my mistake. LOL. But your right I still really like this plant. Pin...Tia.... its all so confusing!!! Who really cares as long as you like the plants correct? Have a great day... Ronna

It's a great plant but it was sure the strangest looking tiarella I'd ever seen! LOL Very pretty foliage.

I wanted everyone to see my clematis,,,, "Rooguchii". I absolutly love this plant. Wow it has been blossoming for about 6 weeks.!!!! Absotuly georgeous, the bells are so elegant. The shade of blue is beautiful. Its the most perfect clematis Ive ever seen. The best thing is that its for shade to part shade and let me tell you it blossoms profusely. So if you have shade they are very nice. I have had to tie it up on the trellis but thats fine I like seeing all of the flowers. Ronna

Beautiful, thanks for sharing this, Ronna!

Ronna: Thank you! I had never heard of that one!

Ronna: Thank you! I had never heard of that one! I now read that it can get mildew when in shady locations. Has that been your experience?

I grow Rooguchi in the shade too and it does beautifully. I've never had problem with mildew and believe me it mildew is possible, I'll get it. I do get some mildew on other clematis even in full sun but not this one.

No not at all. Mine is in dappled shade until about 3:00 pm. Then it gets some full sun. So mine is not in full shade all the time. Thanks for the info and I will keep a watchful eye. But isnt it beautiful??? There are three plants there. Now I have to find out about pruning when to do it. I think it blossoms on new wood so probably in the spring huh? Thanks, Ronna

Rooguchi is type 3. Prune to approximately 12" to a pair of leaf buds in the early spring. I don't know how early for you because I'm low zone impaired! LOL

It's a beautiful plant, Ronna!
Can it sprawl on the ground or does it need to be staked?

That's pretty funny Doss! Do you live in a humid part of California? I'm surprised that you get Mildew. Yesterday, I tried to get a friend to visit my garden, but she was staying home to scrub the mold off of her house. I suppose we shady gardeners are the only folks with that fun chore!!!

Today, it finally stopped raining around 10AM, and I was so glad because I took the day off to pot & plant. I worked in my semi-shade garden all day. I planted 3 Trollius Globe flower, 15 Yellow trillium, 8 Asiatic Lilies "Fangio", 2 Heuchera Southern Comfort, & 2 Heuchera Autumn Bride, 2 Hydrangea "Unique", 1 Hydrangea "Limelight" & 1 Hydrangea "Little Lamb".

I also built cages to go around the Hydrangeas to keep out the critters!!! In the winter, I'll fill the cages with leaves to try to prevent some of the bud loss we had this year when the late March freeze followed an unusually warm winter. I sprayed everything with fungicide before planting, because it's been "duck soup" here in the east for weeks. My best garden crop this year is mushrooms!!!!

Plus I dug out over 40 Volunteer Black Walnut seedlings!!!!! I also dug out 4 large Elm seedlings & potted them up for a friend whom lost hers last month in a thunder storm.. Of course, I also did another 5 or 6 misc. garden chores. Whew, am I wiped out!!!!

Some gals in another forum told me that they always keep really small shrubs in pots until they are at least 18" tall. So, I also potted up 3 Buddleia "Sungold", 2 White Lilacs and 5 Kalmia, "Olympic Fire". I also have some other small shrubs that might get this treatment. I don't want to have to bring these into the garage, so I'm thinking, I might dig a trench and bury them all in peat & Mulch or maybe set them all outside inside a rectangle of straw bales. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Tonight I gassed another ground hog. I still can't plant in my deep shade garden, because I'm still battling an unbelievable vole infestation there. I have a lot of plants waiting to go in there and caring for them all both bare root and in pots in this unbelievably rainy season has not been easy. If it's still not resolved by next week, I may go buy 3 large troughs and plant everything in there to hold them over. Well, now you all know what I've been up to!!!

I have an incredible vole infestation, or maybe chipmunks. There are 1" holes in the dirt all over my yard. Drives me nuts.

I am losing my Kerria, that another DGer gave me last year. It is supposed to be disease and pest free, but mine looks awful. I wish I knew what I could do to rescue it -- I think it is a goner.

Happy, What are it's symptoms?

You are busy storm!

We have warm dry days and very cool nights and the combination of the two is perfect for powdery mildew on plants. We don't have humid weather though.

Doss, I would have never thought that those conditions would case powdery mildew. Do you get morning dew?

Stormyla: The reason I think my Kerria is in trouble is that each plant (there are 2) is down to one what I will call "healthy" branch. The plants were from small rooted divisions last year, so the size alone wouldn't be determinative, but the leaves on the "healthy" branches are spotted with brown and in one case, the leaves are actually white. The "unhealthy" branches are basically dead. There is no sign of new growth. The plants are in two very different locations in my yard, so I can't figure out what the problem is. I've really been watching these babies because I really want them to make it, so I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. I googled Kerria, and can't find anything it requires that I'm not providing. It is not supposed to be fussy.

I can't believe I haven't found this thread sooner! You're all posting lovely photos of some of my favorite plants :) Dragon Tails is one I love! When we purchased ours years ago it was sold as Pinellia 'Golden Dragon' but I think basically it's the same plant - in the photo it's on the lower right. This one is in deep, deep shade but we've found that in brighter shade it's much more "golden".

gardenlady, your Rooguchi is stunning! We have an area along the house that needs a complete overhaul and I've been considering adding a few Clematis to cover the foundation wall. This might just have to be added to my list :) Your Stargazer Mercury is lovely as well - I've found this Tiarella to be a real vigorous plant in the gardens and great bloomer! Although we've got a lot of Heucheras and Heucherellas, I tend to favor the Tiarellas, they're usually better growers for us and I like their habit and flowers better :)

Happy, sorry to hear that your Kerria isn't doing well :( If you ever have the chance to visit us, you can pull as many suckers of our Kerria (http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54605/) as you want! My "trimming" back of our shrub hasn't worked, I think it actually stimulated the darn thing and it's creeping even farther into my Hosta bed :( Someone gave us a couple pieces of the variegated Kerria http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/76639/ and I'm going to be careful where I plant it - the monster bordering our Hostas is turning into a nightmare!

Happy, It sound like they have a fungus. Have you used a fungicide? When I get that, if it's not a large shrub, I dig it up and hose off the dirt completely exposing the roots. I remove all spotted leaves and cut off branches back to the healthy part. I throw away the used mulch and remove the old soil. I spray the hole and the entire plant with fungicide. On non-evergreen ones, I use Neem. Then replant as usual. Most of the time, on non-evergreens, the improvement is immediate. Sometimes I think the poor things get such wet feet they're just happy to get the fresh air.

It's important to leave no diseased debris near the plant floor. Also, I keep dipping the pruners in bleach between cuts. I've had a lot of fungus this year what with all of the rain. So far, this treatment has saved everything. The owner of my local nursery normally only stocks organic products, but he told me that fungii have been so bad this year, he's had to use and sell chemicals.

RCN, Thanks to KYWoods and all this has been a wonderful thread. If you have the time, go back and read the predecessor thread. There's lots of great stuff in it.

Already been there, done that! LOL Found Thalictrum kiusianum there, another sweet plant I adore :) Too many plants I want - Vancouveria (sp?), more Epimediums, etc., etc.

stormy, I got the new Wayside catalog a few days ago - that Epimedium and Thalictrum you mentioned are gorgeous but EXPENSIVE - I'll have to wait until I can find them cheaper :(

RCN, I thought so too, so they're still on my wish list! I've recently seen those types of plants for sale for $50 each. Who buys them???? I lose too many to spend that.

RCN, I have tried Vancouveria several times without success.
I don't think it enjoys heat and humidity, but who knows.
My epimediums and thalictrums do great, however.

I also have found Kerria to be awfully rambunctious.
It's suckering is difficult to keep in check.
Mine is particularly bad, because a nearby calycanthus is suckering just as determinedly.
They're duking it out, it seems. Quite a mess.
You really can't afford to turn your back on either one of them for very long!