establishing Liatris punctata in caliche washes
wantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years ago
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PKponder TX Z7B
9 years agowisconsitom
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Establishing perennials beyond the reach of hoses
Comments (24)If it were easy, and things would grow just because you plopped them down on the ground, what fun would that be ? We grow to cherish the plants we worked hard to establish, right ? :) Plus, just think of all the weeds that would also flourish right over the tops of the desired plants ? Hee, no, give me semi-arid for the maintainability aspect. I know that eastern woodland climates are much much more prone to weeds. We got between 1.5 and 2 inches of rain yesterday...I'm not carrying water to the fencerow naturalization project for at least a week. And everything is so happy. Too bad I wasn't constitutionally able to plant the allium stellatum, vernonia letermani, or habranthus tubispathus...I just couldn't bear to move pots of flowering plants into the row away from the house, till they finished flowering. In about a week, I'll be ready to plant the remainder...just as the soil gets dry enough to require buckets of water again (if no more rain). Oh, and I have seedlings of coreopsis lanceolata (yes that weed), and engelmannia peristenia to plugs in...they're growing by pairs in plastic Dixie cups. I drilled a hole through the stack of cups, and they made perfect 2-3 inch pots to grow the seedlings up to potential rabbit snacks (yes, even by the house, they've nibbled and not liked). They go sometime next month...I want to get them a little bigger before they face the wild world w/o me looking at them 2-3 times a day....See MorePlanting seeds Out Back
Comments (9)Camp, how many gardens are we talking about over there? "ALL my gardens" sounds rather plural -- like more than three. I'm a direct sower for the most part. I like living on the edge and think most are happier in the ground rather than being transplanted by 'yours truly' who is actually a good mother but keeps the pots down to a manageable #. I do have to say I have good sandy soil with gravel and stuff does come up unaided pretty easily here. I do the easter egg hunt thing a lot looking for any interesting things that have volunteered. I'm so cheap its my main way of extending my plantings. Well, I did it. I moved all those free Sacaton wrightii grasses out there in the back and there were some nice big ones too. We shall see next year if its a good idea or not. The Muhley lindheimerri grasses do OK, but don't reach that typical big size and they don't bloom but even so, they form pretty blue thick clumps about 2ft tall in the driest of the dry where the worst tree roots are. I stuck in a couple volunteer deergrass muhly's and a lot of volunteer Pine Muhly's in the area so its all dry hardy tough stuff. Its getting really grassy around here. I am sparing no expense. I never considered bug damage on the liatris. Seemed like everyday there was a new stalk that was dried out on top and turned wheat colored, they just broke off clean. I never looked that close for bugs but I bet it was. The Eupatorium havenense you sent me have just sat there all year not growing much at all. They aren't in bad soil either, not overly dry, just planted in mostly shade. Do I need to move them? I'm hoping they are just spending the summer making roots? I don't know. On the other hand, the Zexmenia you sent took off, got big and have bloomed pretty good in shade. You sent me some kind of bulbs and I now have no idea what it was but they're doing good too, no blooms yet. Of all things, Salvia greggii does real well back there and so does mealy cup sage. Otherwise I have some kind of carex I got from around here that I keep dividing until I get something that looks like that cool stuff John Greenlee does with it in a mass planting. I'm copy-catting that look. I have two other plants you sent me that are growing real well but I forgot what they are too -- I'm exposing myself as a person who doesn't keep track of things I know. I will have to take a picture so you can ID them for me, so far its just green leaves on both on either side of a Ninebark shrub which is finally coming around in the corner....See MoreRe-introducing extinct natives in my area
Comments (58)Jay ----I have gravel mulch (medium sized river rock pebbles) on the entire property, front and back. We hauled in tons. It comes with pros and cons. CONS---- digging is more difficult + you have to push the gravel away if digging up a plant, otherwise you bury the gravel. I am in the process of thinning out some grasses and I don't use a shovel for this reason. I'm using a hori-hori knife so I don't do too much disturbance to the gravel. A hoe like woods tea described wouldn't work either. You have to get down on your knees and pull stuff in gravel, often working your fingers into the space between the pebbles to grab hold of the weed. It gets washed down or buried under soil if on a slope or sometimes just during a heavy rain even when not on much of a slope. Gravel can work itself down pretty deep over time. Seeds come up very easy in it, that can be a pro or a con. It works both ways for me Your knees get sore if you garden like me and like to squat down with your knee or knees on the ground. When you rake leaves, you also rake gravel and I really hate leaves on my gravel. I have to sort out what I rake up so I don't toss my "we paid for that gravel and I ain't tossing it" gravel. PROS----It looks great and of course never breaks down. Its kind of the same effect you get when it snows and the garden looks neat with all that consistent layer of white around the plants instead of dark soil or leaves etc. You can go out right after a rain and walk around. It melts the snow off fast in winter and keeps the ground warmer on sunny winter days which we have a lot of. Its also good for drainage or plants that don't like wet feet or suffer crown rot on winter, it wicks away water rather than holding it around the plant base and it keeps the soil moist down low and provides a good sponge on top so water soaks in fast compared to compacted dry soil where you easily get runoff when it gets dry. We put in a deep layer of coarse sand under the river rock which also helps with good drainage. I keep it well weeded but weeds are easy to pull in that sandy soil and I like weeding so its not a problem for me to keep the parts clear that I want to stay clear. I do a lot of weeding in the gravel. I agree with woodstea, you don't need (or want) to add nitrogen. I don't think wood chip types of mulch look right around prairie plants myself, its too artificial and urban-flower-beddish looking. I've seen some yards where people leave swaths of trimmed grass creating defined areas set off by large, usually curved areas of prairie or tall grasses that grow pretty thick. It looks very neat, well defined yet still natural and in a case like that you wouldn't need mulch of any kind, the plants would shade the soil. Just cut it back in spring (easy). I have to trim everything by hand, one plant at a time, because we tossed the mower and besides, you wouldn't want to mow over or around the area with small pebbles that could fly out, those pebbles have a way of escaping from where they were put. We have several large rocks among the gravel and I like the way they look, especially in winter but they tend to get a bit lost in summer....See MoreWildflower ID?
Comments (40)Is Frilled Puccoon the same as Fringed Puccoon? The Prairie Smoke is a gorgeous plant. I would love to have a field of them. Can you imagine? The Flame Acanthus is very pretty. I love that the foliage stays nice all summer in this drought, too. It just keeps on trucking no matter what. I wonder how it will do in a wet year - like we get a lot of those. 2007 was the only one I recall ever. I have a new Salvia darcyi and it is bloomin' like crazy this year - not a native, but tolerate heat and drought pretty well. Well, except for Black & Blue, which likes its regular watering. I am having such a horrible problem with Southern Pink Moth this year, that I almost want to give up on them, though. They really cause a lot of damage, and the blooms get eaten, too. I dare not spray due to my "butterfly friendly" environment. They seem to have taken up residence in my garden, and spraying or sprinkling BT is not an option. Black & Blue they adore, and they have also taken a loving to 'Lady in Red'. So far, they have not eaten much of S. darcyi, so maybe they don't prefer it. I haven't been able to water as much as I would like this past month or so due to daughter's illness. Still, all has survived. The Verbesina encelioides has marched on thru the drought. I keep hoping for Bordered Patch butterflies, but have barely had any butterflies this year. The Flame Acanthus is host to the Texan Crescent butterfly, but none of those this year either. My natives that really suffer without water and the extreme heat are False Nettle aka Boehmeria cylindrica (for the Red Admirals), Ptelea trifoliata, a native small tree, host for Giant Swallowtails, my new plants, Dooryard Plantain or Plantago major (Buckeyes), Verbesina alternifolia or Wingstem, Hibiscus coccineus, Buttonbush or Cephalanthus occidentalis, and Liriodendron tulipifera. or Tulip Tree, Wild Cherry tree (Prunus serotina), and Lindera benzoin or Spicebush, which completely died. Some of these most folks would not plant, so I don't often mention them as suggested natives to grow. However, they are butterfly and/or moth nectar and host plants that I continue to struggle with. The Spicebush is one I have attempted 3 times now, and probably will not try again. But other members of this family (Lauraceae) are difficult, too, so there is not really a good alternative. Is anyone planning to do any fall plantings? Susan...See Moredbarron
9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
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9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
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9 years agolast modified: 9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
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9 years agolast modified: 9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
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9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
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9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
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9 years agoPKponder TX Z7B
9 years agowisconsitom
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years agoPKponder TX Z7B
9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agodbarron
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9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agodbarron
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9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
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