PLANT ADDICTS CHAT #6

Good to know, Muddy and Seq. I need a small evergreen shrub for this spot, so no problem if it's a slow grower. For some reason perennials in this part shade area get sparse and lanky (more so than in other part shade areas), so I think it'd look much better with a couple of shrubs instead.

Ssg, I know that down here we sell Loropetalum at work; we get them from one of our local growers and they do super SUPER well down this way. I know you're a good bit North of me, but I believe it's still zone 7b. We've had numerous customers get them and LOVE them, then come back the next year for more after they decide to make them a hedgerow instead of just a specimen shrub. Now, I gotta say, I don't have them growing myself, but the grower not 8 miles away grows TONS of 'em, in "cans" in the ground with great success, year after year. I hope that helps some! :)

That's good to know, speedie! I do have a warm microclimate but it got down to almost 0 degrees two winters ago. So they bloom for you fine?

I can't think of anything else that's small and ever'green' with purple/dark leaves.

Btw, I saw a purple, almost-black crape myrtle at Lowe's yesterday. It was so pretty! I would have gotten it if I had the space for it. Maybe i could just *make* some space for it... Lol this is how I get in trouble.

I have native mountain laurel all through the woods. Some years they bloom profusely and other years the blooms are sparse. Never have figured out the conditions that make such a difference in bloom quantity. As a side note, last fall I bought the named cultivar 'Minuet' at the Ace fall 1/2 price sale, but it didn't survive the winter.

Lol...good thing it was 1/2 price then Terri...(sorry I couldn't help myself)

Ssg, yes Ma'am, they bloom WONDERFULLY for us down here, well into the negative 'whatever' temps and all. The grower has them in a bed that's not very well protected (yes, I've been to his place to pick up plants and I've seen them there), and they flush out magnificently, blooming profusely.

Speedie, I so wish we lived closer! I'd much prefer to get Loropetalum from a local grower.

I do too, for lots of reasons! (like, if I got you those Loropetalum with my discount, I could then help you install them!) =)

Speedie what size do you all have? The ones Sallyg and I tried were pretty small, Mine survived, but a good 2/3 of it died. One of my newspaper customers had one that was 3' x 3'!

SSG, My experience with Ligularia is that it wants consistantly moist and if it does dry out it doesn't spring back. It sure is petty while it is alive!

Like Sallyg, I like my Mountain Laurel in the wild. Read somewhere that they prefer to grow in thickets rather than as singletons.

Saw some of the new Hydrangeas today: a tree form 'Pinky Winky for $75, Wedding Train. Stargazer Pink, and a very dark leaved one called Midnite? or somesuch. All very nice.

Coleup, I thought lingularias liked it really wet but wasn't sure. These website descriptions make it sound like they can tolerate drought. :/

I thought mountain laurels would be impossible to grow for me, but Seq's success is giving me confidence!

$75! That seems awfully high.

SSG - Mountain Laurel grows in the woods adjacent to your subdivision, no reason for it to be impossible for you.

Judy, when we get them (as well as they sold out last year I have NO idea why we didn't get any this year!), they are in #3 containers, and start out at about 2 1/2 - 3 feet tall or so, and go for $25 or so.

We had Mt. Laurel att the HD a year or two ago--lots of it.

Much of it sat there well into fall. Maybe people just did not know what it was?

Behnke's is having a sale on dwarf conifers. I made myself get just one, and now I'm regretting it! I may have to go back tomorrow and get another one...

I've decided to go back and get a Black Diamond crape myrtle from Lowe's. I've been looking for a dark-leafed small tree for a bit more privacy in the backyard, and this is one is the perfect size.

Which Black Diamond Crape did you get? Those leaves are gorgeous! I'm trying to get hold of a dealer to get those at work so we can have more of a selection of smaller pretty trees; there just never seems to be enough of those!

I need to go back next week and pick it up. I'll need to be careful about watering this one. It's just so dry out there.

Muddy, you asked me earlier how I killed that tree that I planted earlier. I forgot that this part of the yard was much drier than the lower part and didn't water it enough. I really need to remember to turn the hose on for an hour and just walk away.

Can't wait to see pics of it when you get it! :)

Had to google that to see what it is... very pretty shrub ! Nice choice, SSG !

SSG I like the Black Diamond for that area! Some of my newspaper customers have used those self watering tree rings/tubes with good success for newly planted trees. Also, from the way I've seen the buying public scarf up any semi alive tree.shrub or plant the last few days I'd encourage you to get your BD Crepe asap!

ssg, I see that Black Diamonds come in different flower colors; which one are you going to get?

My other crape myrtle is one of its parents, Arapaho, which is similar to Black Diamond Mystic Magenta, so I might get the same color. But that lavender would not look good in my garden.

I checked out the mountain laurels a Behnkes yesterday. They had several varieties and they all looked very healthy.

This message was edited May 31, 2015 5:45 AM

Heeheee, thank you Muddy; that's what I was trying to ask ^^ up there, but I don't think I worded it very clearly. ;)
LOL Ssg, we're gonna need to get you a T-shirt: "My Other Crape Myrtle Is An Arapaho". =D A red-red, or a white would probably look really good, I think.

Bwahahaha! I need one that says "My Backyard is Prettier!"

a T-shirt: "My Other Crape Myrtle Is An Arapaho".

hahahahahahahahahahaa

Or, while out lounging in the front, you should wear one that says, "If you think the FRONT yard is gorgeous, you should see the back!" < =)

That 'Black Magic' is a beauty. I think if I ever got another CM it'd be a purple flowering one. I haven't had the best of luck with them though. All mine have died to the ground each winter so far. They've only been planted a couple years though.

I don't have any CPs, but I gave my parents a Natchez several years ago. It was about 3' high when I got it. It is now a beautiful shaped tree, at least 15' high. Looks great in their yard.

There are a lot of CM's in my development and about half of them had no foliage on the old wood this year, they are sprouting new growth at the base. I picked a Natchez partly because of the CMs around our huge property here at work, the Natchez x 2 have never died out any winter of 13 I've worked here.

That sure is nice. There is one CM about two miles away from me on the north side of the owner's house and it's about 15-20' tall. It didn't die out at all the last two winters. It's quite impressive for this area. I keep thinking I should steal into their yard and take a few cuttings...LOL

We were away last weekend, so I think I've missed the sale on pine fines, but it's a good excuse to swing by Meadow Farms... and actually, I need some pine fines regardless.

Those dark-leafed crepe myrtle hybrids are so pretty! I planted a couple of them last fall, though, and no sign of growth yet... starting to lose hope that they'll even come back from the base... for that matter, I'm not positive they are own-root rather than grafted plants. I'll have to take a better look at them. Lowe's guarantees their plants for 1 year, so i need to pair the "corpses" with the receipts.

Aspen, I recall Ace actually gave us a 2 year guarantee bec. we bought their special fertilizer... it's 1 year for sure... I haven't tossed the dead ones yet, but I'm not sure we're going to get back there with them in a timely fashion.

Ya win some, ya lose some, and some get rained out!


The containers I planted for my mom on their front walkway are doing great... plectranthus 'Mona Lavender', "million bells", supertunias, New Guinea Impatiens, etc. We paid full price last month, and then I scored all those $1 pots and big $3 packs, so this past weekend I planted a few more containers and filled in any "holes" as well as tucking in some caladium bulbs. I brought a 2nd boston fern for their back porch as well as a smaller version called 'Fluffy Ruffles'. Mom loves them, and Dad is willing to water for her!

There are more containers now than in the second photo... but you can see how well the terra cotta containers work with their pretty walkway.

Jill, those are nice containers. Is that the house you grew up in?

Yes, but it had a straight concrete walkway down to the street when I lived there LOL. When I was done Sunday morning, there were 3 big plastic containers -- the 2 in the photo and another further on down in an especially sunny spot (I put a tomato and some spearmint in that one). The two smaller terra cotta pots have more "million bells" and verbena, and there's a matching bowl-shaped planter by the front door.

I used a really big terra cotta pot for those jumbo Scarlett O'Hara caladiums (Mom couldn't believe the size on those) and two smaller pots for 'White Queen', with a couple bright annuals on top. We'll see who wins as the caladiums duke it out with the others in what will be pretty much an overcrowded pot -- my money is on the caladiums!

The $3 boston fern got potted into a nicer HB (with a self-watering bottom), and I peeled off an outer ring of overcrowded baby ferns... so those went into 2 more terra cotta pots. None of the clay pots are smaller than 8", and I used moisture crystals generously, so Dad shouldn't have a hard time keeping up with watering, even with 11 (!) pots. Mom says she takes little walks out there regularly, as well as admiring her "garden" from the window.

Homestead Gardens is a having a perennial sale this week!

http://homesteadgardens.com/sales/

Has anyone tried Packera obovata? It's a native shade plant that's evergreen and has pretty yellow flowers in early spring. Golden groundsel is one of the common names.

I got Packera labeled golden groundsel at Swap at Terri's last year. It grew a lot over summer and bloomed this spring. Being honest, the flowers are a bit raggedy looking. But it was bright and seems a very hearty plant. I grabbed all the seeds before they dropped. And threw them in the wild field. It spread so much from three tiny starts in one year, that I don't think I need the seeds helping me. Shall I try to get you a couple pictures?

Sally, pictures would be great!

SSG, I got Packera aurea from North Creek last year. Happy and I split a flat so I had 25 plugs. It spread decently last season and over the winter. This year it was quite successful bloom and spread. It was nice in the wee spring because it was one of the first things turning green. I tried to nip a bunch of the seed heads and release them in other gardens around the yard. It does spread and have a 'wildflower' appearance but those are a couple of its charms for me. The only area it had some trouble was in my Rhodi bed where it needed to fight off Sweet Woodruff. I also have it in a dry shade area and it grows decent there too. It literally needs zero work. Leaf miners were of minor issue last summer.

Thanks, Seq, that's interesting. So there's Packera aurea and P. obovata... I wonder what the difference is. It looks like P. aurea may have better flowers.

I like this picture of P. aurea I found online: http://botgarden.uga.edu/img/explore/Dunson-Native-Flora-Garden/05-Packera-aurea-Carol-Nourse.jpg

David and Pat, do you have them in your woodland garden?

I looked at pics of the obovata and I'm not sure I can tell the difference between the two.

I will TRY to put off vacuuming, and go get pics...haha. Nah, Mark is going to mow, I will vacuum--real quick--and then get pics

Either way/either species. I think this is one of those plants where you need the masses and the large view, because the individual flowers close up are not that interesting. Like Russian Sage. Or at least, the one I have, to me, is that way. P aurea sounds more familiar as what I have been calling mine. David might straighten us out when I post pics.