PLANT ADDICTS CHAT #6

Practicing new phone . Here is my Packers today. Not much to see but round leaves about 4 inches or so?

Mine are probably 6-8" tall at the moment and some of the leaves are 3-4" across but some are also only 2" across. If it's not raining when I get home from work, I'll try to snap a pic of them.

Thanks for the pic, Sally! I thought they might form rosettes for a thick ground cover. Hm.

I picked up a Black Diamond crape myrtle at Lowe's today. I ended up getting the Blush color, although it might not fit in very well in that part of the yard with very tropical colors. Oh well, what else is new! :D

Not sure if we have any Packera, SSG. David will be home tomorrow night and I'll try to remember to ask him. After the daffodils and Kerria are done, that's pretty much it for yellow. There are a couple of yellow things, though, so perhaps David will prove me wrong.

That Packera is really pretty; I'd never heard of it before, but now I will have to remember to look for it when perennial shopping for work.

Day before yesterday I was going through the perennials at work, cleaning up and tossing what was dead... Bossman joined me and asserted that he does NOT like the Dead Nettle, they need to be trashed. Hmmmm, really!?! So, I asked, "does that mean that the bed of my truck will qualify as a trash can?" < =D heeheeeheee. As it turns out, the answer was "yes". OH BOY!! Brought home nearly a full flat of those, and ...Dianthus, I think it was. WOW!! Oh, and also a "rescue" Geranium "Johnson's Blue". Now, just need a non-rainy day off to install 'em all. Talk about SCORE!! =)

Meanwhile, today I spent out in the rain literally ALL day (from 7:15 to 4:00, no lunch), totally and completely rearranging that back patio. I moved tables to give it an "open horseshoe" look, the metal tables are toward the front with the sun loving plants, wooden tables in back with the shade lovers, and a couple of nice "islands" in between. If it's not raining tomorrow I'll get pics. I really should have taken "before" pics, 'cause it was really not set up intelligently before - not shopper friendly. Now it's wonderful!! =) Pheewwww, I'm pooped!

Yikes, user friendly and intelligently set up! Think my yard (Car, Shed, Basement, etc) could use a big dose or two.

What version of dead nettle did you get? It will root quite easily where stem touches soil, so you can bury some of the more unsightly arms or broken pieces.

Packera is not a neat and tidy plant so I'd want it far off anf not up close. Have you considered Crysogonium (sp?) 'Green and Gold'?

How funny, Coleup. I was just admiring Muddy's pics of her Chrysogonum virginianum, not even knowing what they were. :)

I'm looking for easy native ground covers for the space between the tall shrubs/trees and the fence, so that I don't have to get back there to weed or mulch. I already have some big root geranium, creeping jenny, and sweet woodruff, but I wanted something else that would compete with henbit/creeping charlie.

I need to look into that 'Green and Gold!'

Some of the Chrysogonium virginianum 'Green and Gold' stay green year round! From North Creek
"Chrysogonum virginianum 'Superstar'
Green and gold

This green & gold is sure to be a superstar on the retail bench and in the garden! Deep green, semi-evergreen foliage is topped with golden flowers in mid to late spring. It’s an easy native groundcover that blooms well and is a vigorous clump grower."

or
"Chrysogonum virginianum var. australe
Green and gold

One of our favorite native groundcovers for the woodland garden. Yellow daisy-like flowers cover 6" evergreen foliage in spring. Rosettes of leaves slowly spread stoloniferously. Looks great with columbine and Virginia bluebells. This golden star is very similar to Chrysogonum virginianum 'Allen Bush', but has shorter stems and stolons that spread above ground. With a compact and low growing form, this plant has deep, shiny green foliage and golden, star shaped flowers."
http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.main&alphaKey=C&whichName=genus&showIntro=0&typeID=

Henbit is annual, isn't that hard to block. Just need an evergreen. But Glechoma, creeping charlie, is horrible!
https://www.scottslawnservice.com/sls/templates/index.jsp?pageUrl=slsgroundivy

Speedie, Johnson's Blue geranium is awesome. For me it grows very whispy and sparce, not thick and bushy like other geraniums. It's perfect the way it grows though and fits in real nice in the Honeylocust garden. Great score on the other items too!

SSG, if you're looking for completely maintenance free and a total weed blocker, Packera is your plant. It puts down a mat that nothing will grow through. Chyrsogonum is nice but I think it's too open to effectively block all weeds. Perhaps Muddy can weigh in on that.

Thanks, Seq, that's very good to know. I might just have to try both. :D

Oh Seq, I do love that sort of growth habit; light and airy, whispy and flowy; yes, that is for me!

Judy, thank you for that very helpful tip, I'll be sure to use that when I install the Lamium. I believe the 2 that I brought home are "Beacon Silver" and "Aureum", if I remember correctly.

FYI:
Ace Outback has 40% off all trees and shrubs (excluding hydrangea and rose)
Asst Dogwoods, magnolias (Butterflies?). purple leaf filbert, bush and tree form, Yoshino and Kwanzan cherry, PawPaw, Buttonbush, Tiger Eye, bottle brush buckeye.......

Perennials Buy 3 get fourth free.

Fringe tree, 2 kinds of Witch Hazel. redbud, weeping red bud, mock orange, sweet spire....weeping plum? Cryptomaria. dwarf and reg.

DANG! no place to put any of them

Oh my...

That sounds like a great sale!

I was very much tempted to head out all the way to Edgewater and check out their shrubs, and maybe even stop by Homestead Gardens nearby, which is having a sale on perennials. I even called Out Back to make sure they had some mountain laurels left (the ones I found locally were $50-$80!). Then I got up this morning, terribly sick with a short-lived virus. I couldn't get out of bed until noon.

I'm going to see if I feel up to it tomorrow.

Sorry you're not feeling well, SSG... I hope it's VERY short-lived ! Get well.

@}}----}-------

We have Mountain Laurels at my HD. Big and in 4 or 5 gal. pots.
Not sure of thee price....thinking it was $39???

I'll check tomorrow...g.

Has anyone grown a climbing Zephirine Drouhin rose ?

Some websites say it blooms very well in a shady spot. Others say it prefers full sun. Has anyone had luck with it in shade, on a north facing wall ?

Thanks, CAM. It really was short lived and I was feeling much better by one. I think it was something I ate.

Thanks, Gita! I checked both HDs near me but they didn't have any mountain laurels left, only azaleas.

Sounds like some good stuff at that Ace Coleup! I don't even think they sell plants at the Ace stores around here.

CAM, Jill has a climbing Zephrine Drouhin rose growing by the stairs on her deck. The big crepe myrtle is there too, so I think that rose is getting quite a bit of shade. I've always like that rose because it is thornless.

Yes, it's my favorite rose ever! It is not doing so well his year, but I don't think it's the shade, I think it's just been overrun by the nearby clematis montana. My MIL has one that I tied to a central support and "pegged," so it looks like a freestanding fountain. It looks fabulous this spring! It's in the shadier quadrant of their formal garden but looking far more lush than the tea roses in the sunnier corner.

Very good info... Appreciate it! I have a couple places I could grow one. Ci will give it some thought. Thanks again. :)

also see http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1203

tee hee!

Thanks... yes, that's one of the articles I read that said it would bloom on a north wall. :)

No worries, I've decided where to put the trellis and the climbing rose. PERFECT spot, in fact.

Santa Rosa is having their summer clearance sale right now. You can use coupon codes on top of their clearance prices, which makes it a fantastic deal.

Great article, Jill...now you've got me thinking about my north-facing wall that is "bedecked" with ugly Japanese Pachysandra, an ancient Forsythia, our AC condenser, and my dead Christmas tree (which I keep forgetting to get rid of...out of sight, out of mind).

SSG, can you point me to a good coupon code for Santa Rosa? I must have dropped off their email list... and all I can find online is 10% off with the code "monkey"... is there a better code?

I found the coupon codes on ATP.

Let me check...

Here's a direct copy/paste from danita at ATP:

The following COUPON CODES are also working with the sale items for additional savings!

________Option #1 _____________

25% off order
Code: VCD25
Expires: unknown (tested 6/06/15)

________Option #2 _____________

Use both of these codes on the same order for extra savings!
Just enter them into the code box separately.

10% off any order (can be combined with "My5" code)
Code: MONKEY
Expires: unknown (tested 6/06/15)

$5 of order, minimum order $20
Code: My5
Expires: unknown (tested 6/06/15)


________Option #3 _____________

$10 On Your Next Order Of $50
Code: JUNE10
Expires: 6/30/15

I like 25% ! I'll try using "my5" with it, just for kicks

Thanks!

I like 25% ! I'll try using "my5" with it, just for kicks

Thanks!

SSG stopped by my local HD and found two Mountain Laurel reduced 50 %. They both look pretty good, Size wise 21/2 x 2 1/2 in maybe a 5 gal container. No other variety specifics.
Was $28.98. They have a number of Exbury azaleas also, same price reduction, all un labled for variety type. Two were 'Cannon Double' Medium condition.

Thank you for checking, coleup!

That's too bad they didn't have any cultivar info. I've been looking at a couple of cultivars (for the reduced height and bloom color). That's a fantastic price. I wish I hadn't gotten sick this past weekend for the Out Back sale.

I did place an order with Santa Rosa. That 25% code still works!

I filled my cart at SR but didn't hit "GO" yet... LOL... trying to narrow my list.. might happen for me as things sell out!

I have a couple of outside things to finish up... then I'll browse SR during the mid-day heat...

The VCD25 coupon still works... if you have a little order, you might be ahead stacking the monkey and my5 codes... the valued customer discount code can't be used with any others.

Hmm, just stumbled upon the Paparazzi series of hybrid phlox... looks like moss phlox (P. stolonifera) but has woodland phlox crossed in for longer blooming and extra vigor. OK, that SR order is definitely going in!

Went for a walk here at WG today!!! And shortly after beginning...i see this...lol look at our new crop of cotton candy!!!

Looks great Tori!