I was at a Home Depot today and found this Corydalis flexuosa 'China Blue'. I thought it was so pretty, it just had to come home with me. I'm pretty sure it's still to cold at night for it to go out, yet. But, what do these like? There were no planting instructions with it. I have full sun, part sun, shade, you name it.
Any advice would be appreicated.
Debbie
Hello momcat - this perennial is happy in well-drained ordinary garden soil of average fertility. Position it in sun to dappled shade, ledges in rock garden and fissures in old walls
Plant in March April.
Propagation is by seed sown outdoors in April, transplant to permanent positions when large enough to handle; also division of plants after flowering.
A very adaptable plant, not demanding of any special treatment.
Another nice variety is C.f.pere-david
Peter.
Peter is correct. (Not that you need any confirmation, of course)
I always have trouble with keeping the C flexuosa, mine is now in a pot and shall remain in one!
This message was edited Friday, Apr 19th 6:18 PM
It also sort of disappears in the heat of summer only to return in fall. It's a beautiful blue isn't it?
I DO NOT understand WHY!!...We are in the Same zone andWe don;t get these here! not fair!!!!!!!!!
Now that is quite a remark mingsmimi; the same thought often occurs to me. I would say that it may be as simple as down to local trends in garden planting and to what the nearby nursery and other plant outlets stock.
I suppose if we must get into garden science there can be great local differences in climate, down to microclimates within any particuar garden, and that would be important to borderline plantings where a subject only just tolerates the general conditions of the Zone.
There is no doubt that plant growing can at times be a puzzle; if not exasperating. Baa writes that she has touble keeping her C.flexuosa in the open garden and this might be down to over damp winter conditions. Also, the very soft foliage of Corydalis is susceptible to grey-mould and to slug damage. I'm all for pot growing the smaller Corydalis - they make superb alpine house subjects.
Liz writes that hers diminish in summer and regrow in the fall - this could be due to the summer being too hot. They do prefer a temperate northern hemisphere climate with cooler summers than many forum members would get. I think in that situation a little more shade would be appropriate. And keep that soil well-drained, and charged with leaf-mould if possible.
Add a layer of attractive grit around the plant
Edit - I have just realised that you are in Z5 mingsmimi; temperatures might drop too low in winter to sustain the rootstock. The perennial Corydalis vary in there degrees of hardiness. They will range from fully to frost hardy.
Peter.
This message was edited Saturday, Apr 20th 4:30 AM
Thank you so much for the information. If there's a chance it might not winter over in zone 5, should I put it in a big pot I can bring in? I have an unheated garage with big southern exposure windows, many things have wintered over in there! Mingsmimi, where in zone 5 are you? I do a bit of traveling throughout the midwest to dog shows. I've even seen a big difference in what is carried in stores and nurseries close to home, and those in the next county where I work. I got some beautiful Nasinga white, and purple spoon petaled osteospermum at a Home Depot near work. The one a few blocks from my home doesn't carry them at all!
Yes,you could certainly do that momcat. But not a 'big' pot; just one large enough to take the rootball of soil. Also keep on the dry side while inside even if it retains its foliage. Give it a little rest.
Peter.
Peter63/momcat posted it and SHE is zone 5 ...so am I ...whats the dif??
Mingsmimi
I don't want to assume what Peter is saying here or butt in but I'm going to anyway ;) Hope that's OK with you Peter!
Even though you are in the same zone as Momcat, your climate can be different. I live in the same USDA zone as parts of California but my climate is really quite different throughout the year. In any given area you have a microclimate, cities are always warmer than the countryside because the buildings are closer together. The same can happen in a garden. Densely planted borders survive slightly better in a cold winter than a sparesly planted one, even using the same plants. This is also the reason some of us don't cut back dead foliage until the Spring as it offers some protection to the dormant buds.
Some areas of land are very cold, sometimes frost pockets occur where the land never defrosts during the day, even when the rest of the garden is frost free. Some gardeners plant a temperature gauge in parts of the garden to ascertain the yearly temperature when they grow specific plants so they can give them the optimum conditions to survive. OK so thjat's a bit on the fanatical side but it is useful if you collect certain types of plant.
Peter - I live in a temperature rain forest. Temperatures rarely go much below freezing for more than a few hours - then the rains come. Obviously - this is in our rainy season - winter. Summers rarely go over 80F - when it does everyone complains bitterly. We get little rain during the summer.
I think zones are a rough guide, you have to take the other factors in.
I realize all that ....I just think that people in m area are locked into certain plants and never venture out of that realm....We have the same 20 plants where ever you go. Its boring. Really! my favorite greenhouse is in like 5 miles the opposite direction of where all the other places are. and He has different things. but. could offer more. but. is a small business man. I just think People are afraid to go out there for fear it will not sell. We have NO shortage of the basic annuals...... And I mean basic..... thats why I put in a pond...I got sick of the handfull of things offered in my zone. Guess I need to order more things for catalogues and things like that....
Hello all - wonderful input and I'm sure all questions are answered. I would just add a thought - I agree with the suggestion that people get set in there ways with regards to choice of plant. But let us remember that although not all who garden are enthusiasts and belong to computer forums, we are and we do, therefore we are seekers, and generally ready to experiment with new plants and test our and our gardens ability to grow them. When we look over the garden fences, not all are so enthused by gardening.
Zoneing is indeed only a guide and as useful as it may be as a starting point, we need to look at the situation further regarding our own locality. I could do no better with an explanation than has been submitted by Baa.
Imagine the problem we have in the UK trying to relate our climate to a particular USDA zone. Extremely hit and miss. Even within this Island we have a range of climates suited to groups of plants.
I would go no further than to equate zoneing to expected max summer and min winter temperatures.
I think a pond is an absolutely superb addition to a garden. It opens a window on so much more of natures activities that we would otherwise see.
Hi Liz - max 80F,little frost, reads good to me. But I expect you will have your gardening problems like the rest of us. Perhaps if we all had our own 'Arcadia', 'Utopia' etc gardening would get boring.
Peter.
