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Manhattan, Marilyn M, Niagara Falls, advise please

14 years ago

I built a new bed last weekend and am planting this weekend. The bed is on the NE corner of my house. So it is bordered on one side by the house and by my porch on the west side. It will receive morning sun till about noon. I'm planning on planting Liberty in the corner (not super close). I would like to plant a solid color in front and to the left of Liberty. My options for this spot are Niagara Falls, Manhattan, Marilyn Monroe, Invincible, Blue Hawaii and Elegans.

I've researched mature size on all of the above but nothing is consistent, not even close. I've had a range in height on Liberty from 15" to 36"... on Niagara Falls anywhere from 20" to 36" ... and the same type range on the others.

Does any one have mature specimens of these and can you give me an idea of height? I would like Liberty to be the taller so it will stand out against the solid. Course, I can always plant Liberty in a barrel I guess.

Any suggestions would be very appreciated.

Thank you, Alexis

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Comments (3)

silly_me
14 years ago
Alexis, here's my Niagara Falls -in the back of Francee on the right. As you can see, it's not quite 3ft.
Dream Weaver on left:
idiothe
14 years ago
I'm sure my NF will keep getting larger, but as of right now it is 56" in diameter and the tallest leaves top out at 31". The flower stalks are not tall - they bloom right above the foliage.

(and thanks for asking... I just went out to take the measurements and noticed that I have one eye that is sporting, darker green margin, lighter green center - something to keep an eye on that I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't trying to get a tape measure down into the heart of the plant.)

My Liberty have not been nearly as vigorous as Sagae, and never get as tall. After several years, still only maybe 18" tall...

of the others, I only have Invincible at a size to talk about... it is definitely smaller, and lower growing, than NF... Invincible is a small-medium plant, NF is definitely large.

One more thought for you... if Niagara Falls is on list, you might also consider War Paint. In spring, for a few weeks, it will give you a spectacular light-centered coloration - then it turns all green an becomes indistiguishable from its parent, Niagara Falls. I've grown very fond of WP in the last couple years...
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haha yea i would be totally into visiting a botanical garden, but they might not be that into it... i have been keeping my eye out for botanical gardens where we have been looking, and if they dont wanna go i can always go myself! a cabin would be so lovely, but it might get to be too much having the kiddos there for a week with nothing much more to do... my son will be 4 1/2 and my daughter will be 2 1/2.... so we have been trying to maybe look into places where they have child themed parks... such as sesame street play place, or busch gardens or some sort of theme park or something that they could have fun doing for a day... a few years ago we went to new jersey for a week and it was aweseom!!!! we were in a hotel right on the beach, we could see the pier from our hotel window... we cant go back there now because that stupid "Jersey Shore" show was made there and im sure its now full of drunkin' kids.... there are so many ideas swimming around in our heads right now. ill definatly bring up staying in a cabin to my hubby, even if its only for a few days. i think more than anything we are gonna be looking for something to do... we live in the country now, so my son gets to run and play as he pleases... so a cabin in the woods is really not far off from how we live every day!
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thanks for the votes, Irawon! I am going to have to move them around a little... Popo will certainly get mention in the final list... hard to put it in a color category... definitely blue green early in the season, so I believe we'll put it in blue... but it does usually green up pretty early. I have the same problem with Cutting Edge... Teaspoon, because it is so cute when its small, has gotten a reputation as a mini - but if you just plant it and grow it for a few years like any other hosta clump, it will actually become a medium sized clump of small leaves... Zilis puts it in small... I put it in medium... we'll have to work that out later, but it clearly is a favorite for lots of folks... Candy Dish will be in the Medium category, Lakeside Looking Glass is too. Lakeside Black Satin - it's right on the margin of being large, but I believe it is typically medium in most garden situations... so we'll keep that one there...
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alexis717_df
Original Author
14 years ago
Silly Me, thank you for the lovely pictures of your garden. That is a magnificient Niagara Falls.

Idiothe, thank you for taking the time to go out and measure your Niagara Falls for me. I really appreciate that. I'm so glad you found a little surprise while you were out there. Makes me feel a little better about the trouble you went to. :-))

Well based on Silly Me's beautiful picture and Idiothe 31" measurement, plus what sounds like a smaller than I had imagined mature Liberty.... I think I've decided to put Liberty in front and to the left of Niagara Falls, instead of the other way around.

Plus after more research it sounds like Manhattan grows at a drunken snail pace, and Marilyn Monroe would be much too small.

Idiothe I like the sound of War Paint. Maybe next year. I've already spent my 2009 and 2010 hosta budget. So next year I will be working on 2011. Hmmm, where have I seen economics like this before....

Thank you again, Alexis

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