Please share! What are your longest blooming perennials? I am looking for perennials that take off in Spring and don't die down until frost! My favorite is probably my hardy hibiscus that I have in pots by the front door...
They don't look so pretty now due to a little neglet - I thought the rain was getting them after hurricane Ike and apparantly they were sheltered from the rain - oops!
These Stella De Oro's are in there 1st year and still small but are the most reliable bloom in my flower bed this year - they started in the spring and are still going strong!
Finally, this nerium Oleander hasn't let me down yet! I am just going to have to find a way to control the size in future years so it doesn't take over!
The only thing I have that blooms nonstop spring to frost is gillardia.
Another patch of gillardia mowed down this summer and coming back. It won't make it this fall will be back next spring.
I don't have photos, but my hot lips salvia blooms from April till frost. And it's the one thing that the hummers always make a beeline for. Now if only I could convince it to stop hogging all the space in my small perennial bed...
I'm gonna get me some of that salvia next spring. The SFA plant sale always has it.
I did finally plant a Turks Cap this spring and it seems to bloom lots. It's out of the way and I'm not sure how continuous the bloom is.
My turks caps come up a little late, like most things that bloom all season. Mine are in full shade, and don't bloom until about the first of June. But once they start blooming, they don't stop. They are also my other hummer magnet.
It's an annual but I too am fond of the Salvia ~ coccinea here... Lady in red. It will freely reseed and delivers cheerful blooms all summer when deadheaded.
Another annual that will reseed and can withstand the most drought stricken, gosh awful, agonizing summer Texas can deliver... Globe amaranth...
With little effort this perennial has delivered blooms thru out the summer. Texas Star ~ Hibiscus
A new group of perennials in my "bed" this year is the Agastache and I think I am in love. I have a few different ones. This is A. Black Adder.
Podster - I love your picture of the Agastache and think I might be in lust! I am going to look for a few to add to my garden - what variaties do you have?
Also, your Texas Star bloom looks amazing - mine didn't do very well this summer but they were planted in the heat of the summer so I am hoping for better luck next year!
My batfaced culphea has bloomed all summer long and grown like mad.
The TX star did bloom well and this year I got seeds from a DGr for the white TX star. The plants have spent the summer getting established but I don't think I'll see blooms. Maybe next year...
The Agastache I have tried this year are A. Blue Fortune, A. Black Adder, A. Raspberry Summer and A. Firebird. The Firebird crashed and burned right away. The Raspberry has meager blooms and looks rather like a Salvia.
You are far enough to the west, you might look thru the High Country Gardens inventory of Agastache. They will have some listed that do better with less humidity. http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/browse/xeriscape-perennials/ Oh, oh! Now I'm in trouble, I should not have looked for that link!
And by the way, butterflies are charmed with it too... 8 ))
This is a new one for me... again shared by a sweet DGr ~ one of two different Rock Rose ~ Pavonia. It did well enough that I am surprised I've not seen it much in east TX.
Bobyrd ~ BF Cuphea was a first for me this year. Pretty but mine is potted ~ does it need winter protection? Is yours in ground?
Here it is, Fall and I'm wondering where the heck I'm going to all these plants! Grrrr!
I love the Pavonia NOW. At first it would bud, then put out seed...no bloom!! Later I found that it behaves that way; and once it started, I have had non-stop blooms. Here is a close up of my favorite angle.
Rock Rose-all the little pink flowers in this picture
Here's an up-close and personal picture of the blooms.
Pod, none of my bat-faced cupheas have ever made it through the winter in the ground.
Four Nerve Daisy ~I think it starts blooming in February and doesn't stop until November! (It seems that way anyhow.)
Esperanza
pbtxlady - Did you protect your bat faced cuphea with mulch or blankets in freezing weather?
The Firecracker Cuphea is a April to October bloomer for sure.
Sheila - Is your firecracker a vine? I love the yellow and red blooms but I am not sure where I would put a vine...
WTxGdnr....
No it is a bush plant that gets about 24" tall for me. Here is the PF link.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1333/
I like that Cuphea also, mine is still potted. Does yours overwinter outdoors Sheila_FW?
I have both the pink and the white rock rose and was fascinated when I learned the white one delivers the seeds first. I kept seeing seed pods and missing the buds. After research, I located that same info. They remind me of miniature Hibiscus.
My Batface culphea is in a bed that gets afternoon sun and no protection from the northerly winds in the winter. This is only my second summer with it but last year I trimmed it back a little and put a lot of mulch around it's roots and left it in the ground. Last winter was sort of mild here in Conroe though. I am planning on doing the same this year. If things I plant can't survive the winters in the beds with mulch they don't get the luxury of being wintered in a warm place. Is that mean?:o)
Mean? No, that's smart. I'm just not that intelligent yet.... lol. You are a bit milder that I am so think I will bring it in.
I've put a few things in the ground that I need to uproot or take cuttings. Time is spare in the fall when days grow short.
Podster, Oft" times I don't think gardening has so much to do with smarts as it does with Heart!
No, WT, I didn't protect it, because I was told it was often hardy in my zone. Unfortunately it didn't make it for me in either 2005 or 2006. :( But it sure was pretty while it lasted. It's worth growing as an annual, but I haven't been able to find it since then.
Even with protection, I'd still be cautious about expecting it to return. Mine were planted in a fairly well-protected area. I have wax begonias 4 feet away that have returned for four years now. It'd be a lot less expensive to replace the begonias than the cuphea!
I've noticed the cigar plant spreads seeds but don't know if they will overwinter, is it easy to take cuttings?
Bobyrd ~ not sure it is the heart for me. Sometimes I think it is impulsive ~ one of the few ways I allow myself to be impulsive. Then I beat myself up for adding all those extra care needed plants. 8 )
Love this thread! This Mrs. Duelberg has been blooming since spring.
Wow Anna....your white salvia is doing great this year. I love that plant. Mine started out great in the spring and was attacked by snails or slugs....before I noticed a lot of the branches wilted. They cut them off at the base. That won't happen this spring, I intend to treat it early. You need to try rooting some cuttings Anna, I am sure a lot of people would want that.
Podster.... I have only had the Cuphea for one winter, but it is also on the south side of the house. Oops...I just remembered I moved it about 2 weeks ago to the front (west). Anyway it bounced back great, and I also took cuttings at that time and they have rooted.
Good to know thanks.
BTW, one DGr mentioned human hair cuttings spread around plants preventing slugs/snails. I've used crushed eggshells.
Yes, and coffee grounds are suppose to do some good too. After I killed them initially I used the coffee grounds, and didn't have any problems. Of course I had a bit of help with snails in the form of a possum, now he keeps digging up plants looking for grubs. I plan on trapping it and taking it to a wooded park soon.
I have a 'diller tiller going thru the beds right now. I love the loosened soil and he doesn't eat the plants so am hoping for rain. The tilled soil will absorb rainwater much better.
One of the salvias was rescued from aphids and I replanted it in an area with more sun. I would love to share some cuttings. Hope they root.
On the subject of rooting and salvias...does anyone know if limelight salvia will survive over the winter in my zone?
Plant files say down to 8a ~ but that would make me nervous. I think I'd take cuttings and mulch the plant that I left in the ground well. Perhaps someone else can weigh in...
