Randy, good news for me, that Pretty Jessica can deal with the heat. We are just about to warm up here in San Diego and some roses have already problems with that. I had to move my Rose de Rescht to a different location where she gets more shade and it is at least a little bit more humid, because she got spider mites! My PJ is just taking a flowering break after her very first flush is over and I am looking very much forward to her second flush!

I know what you mean. Most of my roses are taking a break after blooming nicely this spring. Nice pic of PJ, Randy. She's almost as cute as you are. :)

Organic, yes, my Jessica does well in the heat. I give her lots of water & special attention and she repays me kindly :-)

Le jardin, glad you liked my PJ pic. I have one in the garden and one in a patio container. This pic is of the one growing in the garden. And thanks for the nice compliment!

Randy

I like that Mexican feather grass---My son has lots of different grasses at his garden center but I've never seen this one---Sure do like the shorter cone flowers

Florence

Florence, I don't remember seeing Mexican feather grass being sold in the local garden centers until about a year or two ago. Now it seems to be wildly popular down here.

The purple coneflowers are becoming a favorite of mine. I always wanted to try coneflowers, and when I saw this dwarf variety, I could no longer resist.

Randy

Nice photos Randy. I still have some rose blooms. We're a bit more temporate here. I must tell you that after pooh poohing Pretty Jessica that mine perversely grew a foot and covered itself with blooms. It all but said "So there"!

The yucca is very interesting. Does it like summer heat?

Pam, when 'Pretty Jessica' settles in, she's a charmer. So, I'm not surprised.

Krista, yes the red yucca loves the heat and sun. And unlike some of the other yuccas, it has soft tips, nothing sharp or pointed on it at all.

Randy

We are miserable here! I saw your Adam on another post and am wondering how thorny and if it would fan out on a fan trellis. Do the blooms ball in spring? How tall does Bayse's BB or Nur Mahal grow for you? Thanks,Buff

Hi Randy. Your pictures of your garden are beautiful as always. I know what you mean about the dog days of summer. They hit us here in MS way back in the spring. I have some of the tall coneflowers and, would you believe it, they're wilting from lack of water. I've never seen a coneflower wilt!
I might have to try some of that red yucca. I had an agave once and it had the hard very sharp tips. I think it reached out and poked me when I got near. I finally got rid of that thing. Do you know how cold hardy the red yucca is?

Buff, 'Adam' has very, very few thorns. Many of its canes have no thorns at all, but a few canes have a very light sprinkling of them.
Would it fan out on a trellis? Yes, and then in a couple of years it would eat the trellis. I wouldn't even try it on a trellis long term. In my garden it was much too vigorous for that and it has a mind of its own as to where its long, arching canes want to go.
It's basically a giant arching shrub. Giant.
It's blooms never balled in this climate.
Basye's Blueberry and Nur Mahal have very different plant habits.
BB is fairly erect and its canes are not flexible at all. It naturally is an open plant. It reacts well to pruning however, and by pruning it can easily become a more full shrub than it normally would be. It's a beauty, I love it, and is 100% thornless and fragrant. So sad that mine had rose mosaic virus. A neighber two blocks from me has a BB and his has the virus too. I'll eventually order a new one and it will come from The Antique Rose Emporium, where I think I will have a better chance of having a virus-free plant.
'Nur Mahal' is an arching plant with fairly flexible canes. Mine is about 5 ft tall and about 7 feet wide. But it doesn't look bulky at all because it is very open in habit. I think it's a graceful looking plant. As much as I like BB, I like Nur Mahal even more. Both are totally thorn-free (at least mine are).

Hamp, I give my purple coneflowers lots of water and they seen to really like it. I guess I'm not surprised that they would wilt in our furnace of a summer. Their blooms last a long time on the plant and in a vase, which is a nice trait.
Hamp, I promise you, Red Yucca will not wilt on you :-)
It's extremely drought and heat tolerant. All that it asks is well-draining soil. It is not a true yucca and therefore has no thorns or sharp points. It is said to be very cold-tolerant ... it can handles anything you would get during a Mississippi winter and then some.

Randy

Randy,
I love your mexican feather grass.

I planted my first red yucca this year. I'm hoping it will survive the winter. It's reportedly hardy in Denver and Santa Fe according to High Country Gardens. My sister has lost two though. But I found it for a bargain price at one of my favorite nurseries, so I took a chance.

Barb, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that your red yucca will make it okay through your zone 6 winter. It's really a great plant, in my opinion.

Randy

Hey Randy,
I just realized I have a big scary ant just like yours. : ) I'll have to take a picture of him when after work tonight.