Zone 5-Full sun/windy
Jennifer Arvan
9 years ago
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Jennifer Arvan
9 years agoRelated Discussions
What is blooming right now, in full sun, in zone5-6?
Comments (17)Sue, I hate to bring this up - I always enjoy discusions about what plants to add to existing plants and I don't want to rain on your enthusiasm - but where are you planning to add these new flowers? Is there more to this bed that's empty or emptier than the bed in your picture. I ask because my Alchemillas are currently as tall as your 3 Endless Summer Hydrangeas and wider. My Endless Summers are nearly as tall as my 4 ft tall fence and 3 ft plus wide. My guess is that in 2 or 3 seasons you'll need to move things out of the current bed. From your pix I'd think that adding a few annuals here and there would add the late color that you're missing. Here's a few old views from my garden - I thought about posting them in the "What is your stupidest garden mistake" post, except I couldn't decide what area to show everyone! LOL 2003 Stone Bench bed. Same stone bench with alchemillas in bloom 2005. Can you find the bench? the mugo pines? the stone path? Alchemillas long gone from bench area. Picture is from 2007. The Lady's Mantle was moved to back side of the 3 trees in this long skinny bed. Alchemillas were replaced by Caramel Heucheras and Strutter's Ball daylily in the center section edged by the stone path. Since the above picture was taken, an alchemilla seedling has seeded itself into the second heuchera and is nearly as large as the heuchera! I haven't figured out how to separate the two - heuchera are really touchy in my garden - and I'm afraid if I pull it and tear the two roots apart (if I can tell which are which) then replant the heuchera - it will promptly die on me. :))...See MoreZONE 5 ? full sun/planting advice
Comments (4)To answer all of your questions and concerns would fill this web page to the brim. Nurseries in our area sell plants that are very suspect for the zone we live in yet they have plenty of plants available that are well suited for our zone. Plants in containers, in my experience, are better than sowing seeds. If you are concerned about invasiveness of ornamental grasses then read about the grasses that you wish to plant and then purchase those that are more contained and controllable. We have never cut the bottom off a container and planted the container. Knowing some growers that have done this their stories as told was the grasses eventually grow out the bottom and sprouted outside the pot. Yes the grasses were controlled for a period of time but ....! Ornamental grasses in general, not all grasses but most, like to be abused. This being less water than most other perennial plants. There are early or cool season grasses and warm season grasses. Cool meaning they start their growth in the early spring and bloom early summer. Some of these grasses will stay attractive throughout the season while others will look spent. Warm season grasses start their growth when the temperature gets warmer or more into late April early May. The warm season grasses will bloom late summer throughout the fall. Now addressing the "bright" colors your statement leaves me a little confused as there are no real yellows, blues, purples, reds or oranges that can be associated with grasses as these colors are associated with perennials and annuals. Grasses do have green to green-blue to blue-green, dull green to pale green to bright green and green-white vertical stripes to white-green stripes and green with yellow and or white horizontal stripes. In stature grasses are known as - clump or tufted very short 6-12" (something like a Hostess snowball is shaped such as Festuca glauca "Elijah Blue"), - mounding 15" or larger (similar to clump but larger in size (such as Pennisetum "Hameln"), - upright (very vertical like Calamagrostis "Karl Foerster"), - upright divergent (vertical w/ some spreading at the top or vase shaped such as Panicum "Cloud Nine"), - upright arching (top portion arches outward such as Panicum "Cloud Nine"), - arching taller than mound with very little upright base and arching over (such as Miscanthus "Morning Light" a very large portion of Miscanthus grasses are arching or upright arching). In closing I would highly recommend that you get a hold of a book called Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses by Rick Darke. Money well spent. Jake...See MoreTomato plants for zone 7, 4-5 hours full sun
Comments (8)Having to buy plants will limit your choices to what is available locally. So we could list all sort of suggestions for you but few of them may be available. Most local plant suppliers can tell you which of their varieties are ok for containers. But that raises another issue. What size of containers are you talking about? That alone will make a BIG difference in what plants you can grow. The usual "flower pots" don't work for tomatoes. 5 gallon containers is the smallest recommended but bigger is better. In zone 7 you can grow any variety you wish so it will be the big containers and soil-less potting mix plus the watering and feeding you provide that will make all the difference. Check out the Growing Tomatoes forum here as well as the Container Gardening forum for many discussions about which varieties work best in containers. then I;d suggest you go to your local supplier and make a list of what plants are available and let us know the names. We can then tell you which of them might work for you. Dave...See MoreOsakazuki Japanese Maple in Windy, Full Sun Area
Comments (6)The two things that often burn the leaves on Japanese maples are drying of the soil and too much exposure. Too much exposure can be cold frosty winds in spring as well as hot dry winds in summer. Even in my cool summer area the difference in seasonal appearance between a Japanese maple that is spending the summer on a regularly watered site and one that is more or less allowed to go completely dry can be like night and day. The purple leaved kinds in particular really show it. Another thing to think about in the placement of your new tree is that - depending on what you have in mind - 10' from the house may eventually turn out to be too close....See Morewisconsitom
9 years ago
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