Didn't really plant anything different, however, I am trying another Echinecea and Lavender. Neither one of these I have had success with in the past for any number of reasons so I'm trying them again. If I can successfully overwinter these two then I will definately try another ech. next year at least. I also want to plant more varieties of amaranth.

I grew mesembryanthemum years ago in Calgary and loved it. It took a bit to get going but it was worth it. I have also grown African Daisy in many different shades. Loved them all! :)

I have Argyranthemum Frutescens, a yellow Marguerite daisy, in a container and i don't know why i've never grown it before. Well, i didn't grow it, i bought it, but will definitely be on the lookout for seeds (will collect them too, but i don't know if they come true from seed).

Ginny, i love mesenbranthemums! The ones i grew this year were a bit of a dud, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Agryanthemum frutescens

I tried a couple of annuals that I was pleased with, one was a blue salvia (Victoria) which was easy to grow and has lots of flower spikes. It wasn't the same shade I have seen elsewhere though, it's sort of pale blue and I was looking for royal blue. Oh well.

I also like my starlight asters. I had pale pink once before but these are brighter colours and make lots of big pompoms.

One of the few new things I started from seed this year was Angelonia. It hasn't been very impressive. It might be because of the weather we have had, maybe last year would have been better since it was hot and dry. Mostly I started my favorites from seed and have stuck to those.I need inspiration from others to try something different..Jean

honalee,

According to Jim Hole, the only way you can get echinacea to prosper in cold climates is to buy a big clump. Those little ones will never make it through a winter.

I've planted Brachycome in past years but for some reason it didn't flourish like it did this year in containers. I also had great results with Browallia in containers.

I will also be planting Lavatera again next year. The plants are flowering their heads off!

Thanks Shazam ~ "Echinecea Prairie Splendor" This little guy has really taken off so maybe he stands a chance. Tucked in with irses, yarrow and a few lilies hopefully he should have a good root system and be nice and comfy for winter. :)

Too early in the season for me to know for sure.

I'll get back to you in a few more weeks or so =:)

Meanwhile I'll be really interested in everyone else's successes.

Ginny, Munstead lavender (that I grew from seed) has been hardy in my yard for a few years and has produced nice big clumps. This past year one even wintered in a 6" pot, above ground, set on the rocks with just snowfall for insulation. I never cut them back until I see growth on the stems, then I trim off the dead top growth. And the ones that didn't have outstanding drainage did not survive winter.

Honalee - I have a number of prairie splendors that have made it through the winter just fine, and I used to have a ton of trouble getting echinacea to over winter. I have horribly heavy soil too, which they don't like. I think having it tucked in amongst other plants to catch lots of snow will definitely help. Magnus and White Swan has also overwintered for me. For some reason, echinacea that self-seeded seems to overwinter for me better than the stuff that I got from the greenhouse. I have had absolutely no luck with any of the fancy Big sky series though.

Well, I didn't plant it this year, but next year I do intend to plant rudbeckia goldsturm for the 3rd time. I LOVE the flowers, but for some reason I have had no luck getting even a single plant to overwinter! I wonder if my soil is too heavy for it. That is one that I will keep trying, anyway.

Thanks ladies! Weeper ~ I love echinecea and they seem to be happy with drier feet. Same with the irises and the lavender so hopefully they will be compatible room mates.
Pudge ~ I planted Hidcote, Munstead and French Fringed. I hadn't tried them in Edmonton till last year and they were in pots. They almost survived and maybe actually would have if I hadn't pulled them out......:( They are in the ground in the iris bed with the echinecea. We had so much snow last year I'm surprised I lost anything! In fact, I thought I lost some of my new baby irises only to be too quick to pull out the tags. Now I have about 15 NOID's out there!! Oh well, I like surprises!! :) Next year I am going to plant a shelter belt of lemon balm all around my yard!!!!

Weeper, rudbeckia doesn't winter for me either. It does self seed freely though, so I always seem to have some but it moves around from place to place.

I wonder why? Goldsturm is supposed to be perfectly hardy for us!

I'll definitely plant "Rouge Vif D'Etampes" pumpkins again next year. The vines thrived during our disappointing (cold and rainy) spring, and now they're producing prolifically. They also don't seem to be troubled by powdery mildew, which is a problem in my garden.

I'm also loving my streptocarpella and will plant it again in and around a few of the shadier spots of my front yard. It's bloomed non-stop since I stuck a few plants in the ground in May.

I know I'm not in the same zone as you guys but here's my 2 cents worth about echinacea and rudbeckia. I have heavy clay too and the echinacea is slow to take off but when it gets going its great. I also winter sowed my last batches of both echinacia and rudbeckia and I think that gave them a good start. I prefer the annual reseeding rudbeckias because I believe they are more drought tolerant and somewhat hardier than Goldsturm. When Goldsturm is drooping because of the heat, the others are standing nicely and looking good. Marg

Not to hijack this thread, but one more question on the rudbeckia - Marg, which annual rudbeckias do you prefer? Do they reliably reseed?

I prefer the bright color of Prairie Sun. I also have others I've rec'd in trade that do very well. I've posted some pics a few post down called 'Garden Pics'. Marg

My rudbeckias were also from a trade so I don't know what they are. They have a black eye and the first year they had a red eye zone. Now they're all yellow, I guess the red got bred out.

Wild Echinacea out here always seems to thrive in the absolute worst places for flowers. It always amazes me to find it growing in the places I do. I'm planning on trying to harvest some of the wild echinacea this year to winter sow in my yard. :)

~Tina Marie

Sorry - this is so off topic - but Gaillardia (sp?) falls into the same category for me. It's a native plant but short lived. I've seen it growing in poor conditions but I have a feeling it's short lived in the wild too.

I've had..er..blanket flower (I agree, northspruce, I can't remember how to spell the botanical name!)..struggle to get established. Maybe 1 in 6 will survive. This one that I have that did survive though seems unkillable. I decided that I didn't want to mess around with just one super bright flower, so I pulled it out. Apparently I didn't get it all though, because now it is coming up in the exact same spot again!! I also found that it self-seeded easily.

On topic, one thing that I hadn't planted before but love are my firewitch dianthus. I think they look fantastic in and out of flower. I know they are amazingly common, but I didn't have ANY dianthus in my garden. Silly girl!

FYI, Rona has a few varieties of echinacea for sale right now in 2 gallon containers, nice big clumps that should make it through the winter. They also have gaillardia in big clumps.

Is that Rona here in Edmonton Shazam? Which one?

Something I propagated this year were 18 cuttings from my Walker's Low catmint. The other day I decided to look at them to see if they had rooted and 3 out of the 4 I looked at had really nice big healthy roots so I transplanted them into the garden. I think most of the others will have roots as well but it started pouring rain so I quit! Yah, I'm a wimp, but the mosquitoes came out full force when it started raining. I'll definitely take more cuttings next spring as I'd like to edge some of the beds with it, especially my rose garden.

honalee, it should be all Ronas in Alberta at least.

I planted Lauren's Grape poppies. They are spectacular! Also, my stock and sweet peas are incredibly fragrant. I will be planting more next year, for sure. I garden in southcentral Alaska, so summers are cool...hence, poppies and sweet peas blooming in the end of July.

Luckgal: how did you root the catmint? Did you root them in water or soil? I would like to start more from mine. Any advice? Marg

Marg, I used rooting compound and stuck them in potting soil. Left them on the patio so they got rained on so only had to water them a few times to keep damp. They keep flowering so I've cut off the flowers several times. Since catmint is closely related to mint I'm sure they'd root well in water, perhaps even faster than in soil. I'd have done that except I have a cat who eats any vegetation in the house so indoor plants/bouquets are a problem. Might try it anyhow with a birdcage over the slips.

I'll definitely be planting Magellan Sunburst Zinnia Mix again.

They're spectacular and blooming like crazy. The blooms are huge and you can see them from a mile away. Plus, they managed to survive all the pelting rain and crazy wind we've had this year, and even some hail.

I'll also plant many more of the other zinnias. I've never planted any zinnias before and it turns out I love them.

Was just thinking about where this thread was as i was checking out my Echinecea today. First time I got one to bloom for me but first time I planted one in Edmonton. I bought 2 more at an end of summer plant sale, Double Decker and Pow Wow White. They will go up in one of the front beds as well. :)

I've been thinking about this thread too. I was all excited about the Argyranthemum Frutescens but now not so much. They really petered out by August, even though i was really diligent in my deadheading.

Well I have one container that was a total failure, but I can't even tell you the name of the plant I'm so disgusted with. It was something new I bought at the nursery and was supposed to be the main flower in my shade basket. It didn't get a single bloom, not one.
So I certainly won't ever buy that again. I guess that's the total opposite of what this thread is about. Just wanted to vent about the stupid plant. I've searched through my tags but so far haven't found the name of it.