Queen of the Prairie and Rose Mallow

Yesterday, I planted an order of natives. The Queen of the Prairie needs wet, so I wanted to place them in the same patch with the Rose Mallow. But when deciding on where to plant, I remember reading that Hibiscus have fairly large root balls. I was afraid I'd damage them, if I got too close. I found spaces for the Queens, but not quite where I wanted.

Silly me ordered more Queens. I think it was because Prairie Moon's wish list doesn't delete the items after you order from there. How close do you think I can get to the Rose Mallow? The woody stuff near the ground is big enough to trip me as I was working in the area.

Thanks for your help to this and my other posts.

Did you figure out where to put them?

I'm growing both of those plants from seeds for the first time, so I can't really answer your question. I think they would look nice together if you could bump out the Rose Mallow bed to make room for them, though.

I'm glad you mentioned that Rose Mallow gets big, because the ones I've seen in the wild stay rather small.

Yes, I did. I think it will be perfect, I hope. They will be near the Rose Mallow patch to get the same field run off, but up along the fence that borders our south "yard". As I learned the Queen of the Prairie can be enthusiastic, some may spread to the yard, but some should also get into the pasture.

I think they would look nice together too. I hope if the Queens fill in naturally, that the Rose Mallow can hold its own. With those woody bases, I think they will.

I planted the Rose Mallow in 2012. I didn't get my first flowers until last summer. I suspect we didn't get enough rain until then. We got heavy rains late June into July and this is not normal here.

What type of Rose Mallow do you have? Mine are the Halberd-leafed variety. The Corn Rootworm adults fed on the pollen and petals. (A native bug, but in large numbers because of surrounding corn crops. ) I was concerned for the bees not getting any and pollinating these properly, but most every flower went to seed. I collected some and spread a few in a different area and want to share the rest locally.

I'm growing Hibiscus moscheutos http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HIMO

Right now they're only tiny seedlings, so it'll be a long time before they bloom.

Most of my Queens have come up. YAY! We collect rain water, so I can keep the areas wet until we get more showers.

Were they completely dormant when they arrived? It's a real leap of faith to "plant" pots of soil, isn't it?

Yes, these were dormant when we got them. At least with the spring plantings of these roots, I know within a couple of weeks if they survived my black thumbs.

We did some fall dormant root plantings and I cannot find the majority of the spider milkweed my husband put in the ground. I think there may be one. I let a whole bunch of weeds grow thinking they might have been it, but nope. :( The native Clematis had a stem sticking out of the ground, so I could find them. One survived, the other looks dead. If I could afford the plants, I'd get those. And seeds are the worst! I look at my patches and I cannot tell weed from desired. I think I end up hoeing up the good stuff.

I haven't noticed signs of life from my swamp milkweed yet; if there is any new growth, it sure isn't noticeable! Maybe there's still hope for your spider milkweed.

I grow a number of Asclepias species 2 zones warmer than you and several species are not showing yet, including my spider milkweed. Considering your climate, give your plants another month.

Thank you, greenthumb, for the encouragement. I sure hope these come up.

Muddy, I had swamp milkweed for two years, but it didn't come up last year. I have no problem with common milkweed, but none are showing up in the areas we do not mow.

There's been some oddities I've left alone since they are in the bare spot my son planted some swamp milkweed. I had started the others as plugs, but do not remember what the leaves looked like.

Here's a plant files photo of a swamp milkweed emerging from winter dormancy. I don't remember whether new seedlings have the same type leaves.http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/14094/

All those little things that I let grow... turned out they were amaranth. :(

I just got a heap of butterfly weed starts from the nursery. He grew them for me without chemicals. If they are to be eaten, I didn't want any nasties on them. I am going to put them in a completely new spot and hope the conditions are right.

I found ONE spider milkweed. Still watching for more.

Oh well. As long as you have the one spider milkweed this year, you'll have plenty more next year!

Here is a picture of one of the Queens. I think it is neat how the leaves get progressively larger as they go up the stem.

Yeah, a lot of grass, too. If an area doesn't get tilled, I hand pull the grasses around the natives. I do not trust anyone and their machinery to get anywhere close. But I end up with at least one real tick and many phantom ticks during the day.

I planted some Sweet Indian Plantain along the same fence as the Queens. I didn't pay attention to their height when I ordered. They can get up to 7 feet! It can compete with the great ragweed. :) I am not a fan of white flowers, but decided to get it when learning it is threatened/endangered.

Good for you! I bet it'll look striking alongside the Queens.
You'll have to take photos for us!

Because we were talking about Swamp Milkweed, I'll just post this picture here. I am wondering if this perfectly perpendicular plant is A. incarnata. I planted those seeds some years ago, but never saw signs of them. There are now three. The only reason I think it might be Swamp Milkweed, is the flowers are just beginning to form and resemble it. That was after I took this picture.

Oh and the Butterflyweed I planted, some are also just starting to form buds.

It sure looks like it to me.
It's nice that you're finally seeing the results of your seed-sowing!

Thank you for confirming that. I think it is neat how straight and ordered the plant is.

Now about my Queens, Indians and Joe Pyes along the fence: My husband accidentally mowed them down yesterday. :'( The boys had been doing the mowing and knew all my little patches. I showed these same patches to my husband earlier, but he said he didn't remember this one. I kept the area free of weeds, but he didn't recognize this.

They were likely mowed down to 3 inches and I haven't had the heart to look. They were maybe 2 feet tall. Does anyone think they will bounce back being this was the first year? If no one here knows for sure, I'll email Prairie Moon.

They should do ok.

How disappointing!!! I would give them extra water to increase the new growth.

Oh, I know! And those were my only Sweet Indian Plantains and Joe Pye Weeds. I have Sweet Joe Pye elsewhere. By the evening, I did break down to look. What a shaving! There were the base leaves of the Queens and maybe the Joe Pye. I watered then and will keep it up for a bit as not a lot of rain is predicted in the near future.

He also came very close to some Illinois Tick Trefoil I had, but he must've seen the ground cherries nearby and thought those were keepers. They sort of are, a "weed" that just popped up, in such a nice row. The Trefoil is nestled between them and some Maximilian Sunflowers.

He told me last night he'll just leave the mowing to the boys for the rest of the summer. It was partly my fault for not putting up stakes or something. I mulched early in the season, but hadn't kept it up.

One can purchase a bundle of 100 marker flags for under $10. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Johnson-Glo-Orange-Stake-Flags-100-Pack-3350-O/100209624

We find them useful for marking plants, yellow jacket nests, utility lines, and other instances where locations need to stand out.