Forty + Liatris aspera die suddenly in sand site
plez
16 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (7)
laceyvail 6A, WV
16 years agocarol23_gw
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Meadow Project
Comments (32)I love blanketflower, Kelly - it grows wild in beach sand at Gulfport and Biloxi, and seems to grow better there than here. Florida is known for its sand, so I guess that's why they're working out in your meadow. I mailed my order to Mary Ann at Pine Ridge Gardens, and the seeds that I ordered from Native American Seed in Texas came the other day - the seeds are Liatris pycnostachya, Cassia fasciculata/Partridege pea, Salvia Azurea/Pitcher Sage, Ipomopsis rubra/Standing cypress, Penstemon tenuis/Gulf Coast penstemon, and Tridens flavus/Purple top grass. All are native here. The plants I've ordered are Panicum virgatum 'Cloud Nine'/panic grass, P. virgatum 'Red Sunset', several Tridens flavus/purple top grasses, and two Liatris pycnostachya, all native. I'll soon be starting the seeds, and I'll plant the plants as soon as we get the top soil and spread it. I've got some swamp sunflowers and native delphiniums that came from Bustani's that I'm planting in my garden that I hope will yield seeds that I can then use to grow plants for the meadow - I hope to be able to do the same thing with the Monarda punctata that's coming from Mostly Texas Natives and some red stem sunflowers that grow up front. Plus the agalinis should make seeds that I can use. What usually happens when I plant things in an uncontrolled place - as opposed to, say, a raised bed in my garden - whatever wants to come up, comes up and dominates what I've planted. Still, the additional plants may very well take and enhance my meadow. Fun, fun, fun! Sherry...See MoreWhat's Blooming/Happening in your Garden?
Comments (31)Dee, great photo! I'm exhausted. Not as exhausted as poor George, probably, but I was in the garden all weekend and every night this week after work. We finally have the front beds pretty well planted and mulched (just a few things left to be moved when I have more time). There is a still a pile of mulch in the driveway waiting to be spread out back and lots of weeds to be tackled back there. I also remembered to sow my cosmo, foxglove and cerinthe seeds. The great development for me this week was that my son has taken an interest in the yard. He has always hated the time I spend in the garden (not that he wants my attention when I'm in the house, lol). This year I bought him a reel lawn mower, which he seems to love, and an electric weedwhacker, which he loves more. Tonight he helped me by loading the wheelbarrow and delivering the mulch, and was actually asking about some of the plants and voicing his preferences (so far, alliums are a big hit, mainly because not much else is flowering). Dirty fingernails here as well - - and telltale dirt on my heels when I get in to work in the morning! Moving on, here's what is flowering this week: Allium purple sensation - - full bloom Fothergilla Mt. Airy - - beginning to fade Cercis canadensis 'Covey' - - really fading creeping phloxes - - full bloom conifers are shooting new growth Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate' - - blooming on a very short stalk bleeding heart - - full bloom Salvia 'May Night' - - beginning to bloom Roseshell azalea 'Marie Hoffman' - - just starting to open Showing buds: dianthus peonies (lots - - and they were moved last year!) lady's mantle celadine poppy Still in process of leafing out: Hydrangeas weigela clethra cercis canadensis 'covey' fothergilla...See MoreNative Grass Gardens
Comments (18)Tom, that's really interesting about the relationship between the horned toads and red ants. We had giant red ants, nearly as big as carpenter ants, down around San Bernardino when I was a kid, and we also had horned toads. I don't think I've ever seen any since then. Janet, I think I'm going to have to be very careful with the grasses, now that you've said that some can be quite invasive. Naturally I knew that, but I had hoped the ones that we see in use as ornamentals would tend to be more well-behaved. I've got 6 acres of cleared pasture, but I don't think I'd call it prairie, since we're pretty well surrounded by oak trees everyplace else. I've also got a border of cedars that runs all the way around the property. The original owner put them there. I hate the things because of the way they tend to harbor ticks and they are such a fire hazard. My big flower border where I'd like to use some ornamental grasses for interest, runs across the front of the house section of the property, but it's on the far side of a humongous cement parking area that's about 40' x 130'. It's nearly the size of a city lot! If the bed on the far side was just a little strip, it wouldn't be so bad. It's not. When I ordered weed cloth, I had to measure it to get an idea of the size. It's 24' x 80' and was full of stuff like crabgrass, burr clover, stick-tights and poison oak; a big weed patch that had to be mowed all the time. After the first year, I couldn't stand to look at it any longer. The soil in the bed seems to be pretty good, as I've said before, but it isn't what you could call a 'yard' with all that concrete between it and the house. I began a weed control program and started putting in some of the larger foundation plants; a couple of maple trees, 3 crape myrtles, a Rose of Sharon and so on. The maples may eventually hang out over the parking lot, but it's so big that I can't see that it will be a problem. The soil in the bed seems to be pretty good, and looks to be a pretty neutral ph, but as I've said before, but it isn't what you could call a 'yard' with all that concrete between it and the house. Weeds are still my biggest problem, and most of them are a grass of one sort or another. The crabgrass/devilgrass is a nightmare. I'm going to try using the industrial-grade weed cloth that DeWitt sent to replace the stuff that failed, but the last thing I need is something that tends to be invasive, or that will let native weeds grow up through it. Somehow I managed to bring in a start of vinca major, and it's a disaster. Now it's another big bunch of tall grass with vinca leaves poking through it. I need to rip it all out. Are there any of the native grasses that are both non-invasive and also dense enough to pretty well choke out anything that tries to grow through them? I see them a lot in Shawnee and Tecumseh, but they are in planters with little else around them, so it's hard to tell what they would do in a garden like this, that tends to have a rampant grass population in spite of everything I can do to stop it. Oh, and I think you're the one who directed me to that silt test at Fine Gardening? Or was it Tom? I've forgotten. Anyway, thank you. I quit taking the mag a long time ago, so I hadn't seen it. It's a really good article, and I'm going to try it. The question seems to have already been answered. I won't be digging up any trailer-loads of the silty stuff in the chicken pens and putting it in the garden. I'll just stick to adding manure to the compost heap. I do have a neighbor who raises chicks and who sometimes brings the cedar bedding from the pens, so I add that also and let it compost down. It should not be any problem, should it? The bedding I add in from our sheep pens is generally oat straw or native grass hay and manure. I haven't worried about it too much and it does not seem to be seeding. I hope I'm not creating a monster by using it and will get a big surprise later on. Sorry I wandered around so far away from the original topic of garden grasses. It's hard to draw the line between controlling weed grasses and putting in the good ornamental ones and keep the thread separate. Pat ps: Janet, I absolutely love your photo of the wildflower up against the blue wall. It is so good, and has such a southwest feel about it. Have you ever thought of entering it in photo competition? Seriously. It's good....See MoreThinking of becoming a pot-head
Comments (21)In my zone (7b) will I have to bring them inside during the winter ? I had several planted in large whiskey barrel planters that came back good as new ==>>> they are not houseplants.. and will fail.. if you meant indoors ... they have a requisite cold dormancy ... besides.. if the others made it outdoors over winter.. why would new ones need anything different ... they survive down to z 3 or 4 ...why you think your z7 is somehow too cold for them .. is bordering on trying to love them to death ... after they go dormant ... tip the pot in its side.. and go hibernate ... and even better if you can place the pots.. where they will stay out of winter sun.. so they dont come out of dormancy in some weird mid winter warm spell .. the only other real concern.. is too much water in your potting media ... when the plant is dormant.. that is why you tip them over .. but you might also think about how to reduce water in the barrels.... ken...See Moredragonfly_dance
16 years agobilleeeveee
7 years agowisconsitom
7 years agoZachS. z5 Platteville, Colorado
7 years ago
Related Stories
TILEPorcelain vs. Ceramic Tile: A Five-Scenario Showdown
Explore where and why one of these popular tile choices makes more sense than the other
Full StoryGARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIESBe a Butterfly Savior — Garden for the Monarchs
Keep hope, beauty and kindness alive in the landscape by providing a refuge for these threatened enchanters
Full Story
tuben