I need some suggestions. We have a wet, cool spring again and most of my cannas rotted. I have a nasty large spot in the back of a couple beds to fill. I already have Asian & Oriental lilies plus tall yarrow & tall Asters back there. I need a sunny perennial about 5-6 foot high. Nothing aggressive.
Any ideas?
Help! Suggestions for Tall Perennials?
Gee Wanda...cool and wet? I just don't know how we got SO lucky. :-D
I'll be watching this thread closely as I have the same problem going on here with my cannas.
~julie~
Hollyhocks
Swamp Hibiscus -- don't let the name fool you because they are beautiful! Mine are about 6ft high now. They are hardy to about -10 degrees. I grew mine from seed last year and planted 4. This spring I had 9 come back! I am so thrilled they survived and multiplied.
Anita
Lexington, KY
Hibiscus is nice too! I forgot about them. I especially like Kopper King--just for the leaves alone.
Any of the tall lobelias are beautiful. If L. cardinalis is too common, try L. fulgens (http://www.mikrojezioro.met.pl/atlas_ros/original/lobelia_fulgens04_d.jpg) (The 'Queen Victoria' variety has spectacular maroon foliage).
Lobelia tupa is one of my favourites (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=exoticplants.members.beeb.net/Lobelia_tupa.jpg&imgrefurl=http://exoticplants.members.beeb.net/General_exotic_bed..htm&h=424&w=640&sz=53&tbnid=FivZ1ebFriMJ:&tbnh=89&tbnw=134&start=16&prev=/images%3Fq%3DLobelia%2Btupa%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN)
the flowers are really exotic... (http://www.thompson-morgan.com/pix/m/seeds/7/7259.jpg).
Then there is L. excelsa... (http://www.ujf-grenoble.fr/JAL/chili/imag-FJ/lob3.jpg).
I agree with cinemike. Check out all the lobelias at Song Sparrow Farm (Songsparrow.com). I have "Monet", "Misty Morn", and "Royal Fuchsia". They are growing in the exact enviornment you discribe at my house, and they love it.
Lisa
false sunflower.......phlox......
Will boltonia 'snowbank' get tall enough? I think they may be more in the 4 ft. range...
Tall Catmint
I've tried Hollyhocks in these spots without luck. They do well against the back fence, though.
Cinemike-I forgot about Lobelia. Thanks for the great links!
Cottagerose--How tall is the Catmint?
SyU48--Swamp Hibiscus? Do you have a pic? The area is too narrow for my regular Hibiscus.
This is the back row of 9-10 foot deep beds. Needs to be vertical. See the blank spots in the back row? After all the digging & storing & fooling around, the few that didn't rot are only a foot high (or less!)
Chocolate Joe Pye might be nice too...dark foliage with soft white/pick bloom clusters.
http://pss.uvm.edu/pss123/wmeupat.html
Hello Wanda ,
what about "Meadow Rue" ?..it gets 5-6 ft tall,very dainty Foliage and Blossoms,
Brigitte
I don't have a picture of the Swamp Hibiscus. They grow tall and slender, but very sturdy. They would not take a lot of room to grow.
Queen of the Prairie... Filipendula ruba http://plantsdatabase.com/go/68/
Here's a pick of swamp hibiscus (aka Texas Star Hibiscus) that Terry has in the PDB. Mine is doing great. 3 nice big stalks at about 6 feet right now growing straight up with no help and still going! The stems are a dusty purple (kind of like a sumac seedling) and the foliage is like marijuana to tell you the truth. They look very asian.
Alaskan Shasta Daisies get very tall.
Bee Balms can get real tall too...... Maybe some hollyhock?
Hi Wanda...and all you other 'peeps'. I told you I was going to keep an eye on this thread. :-) And I have. ;-) Thanks bunches for all the suggestions you've given to Wanda cuz I need them too. I can't believe that I picked *this* year to invest in some very nice cannas only to watch as they drowned...in SAND, no less! (Oh, and my hardy hollyhocks are suffering nearly the same fate as the cannas. :-( )
~julie~
Wow! You are all giving me some great ideas for those 5-6 foot spots. I'm going to go to a couple of nurseries tommorrow & see what I can find. Thank you!
Hey Wanda...it rained again yesterday! We watched ALL our new grass seed and fertilizer make its way to the Wisconsin River. :-( (I think we got another 2+ inches in about an hour. What's with this weather, anyway? )
~julie~
Surprised there was any left to head your way, Julie. We had about 2 inches Fri. Sure made a mess for our 4th of July celebration yesterday. Had to postpone the tractor pull and move some events indoors. Demolition Derby was a blast tho!!
kooger...this year, I'm not surprised at anything the weather decides to throw our way. ;-) And I can just about *see* the mud flying in that demolition derby! :-D What a mess that must have been. (Can *I* drive next year? ;-))
~julie~
I think this is our year to see which perennials are REALLY hardy! And how fast we can pull weeds...
LOL! WEEDS??? Nah! I thought they were 'suckers' from my roses. hehehehe (I know what you mean!)
~julie~
You're welcome to drive any year you want, Julie. You can stay with us! That'd be a ball - but ya gotta help with the parade first. It starts at our house so we get the job by default, I guess. :) One of the lady teachers is driving next year, she says! We had a powderpuff heat back in the late 80s but not since. I value my neck a tad too much, altho we've only had one guy taken to hosp. in 30 plus years of hosting it. Saw a car flip over on it's side last night - first time I've seen that but I don't see much of it working the gate. We do the parade in the am, rest in the pm and do the derby at night. Same routine, year after year, but I enjoy it thoroughly!
kooger...a parade that starts at YOUR house! How Cool is that? And I think with today's girl drivers a powderpuff should be in the works. But, I think I'll reconsider on the driving part...I was thinking "mud bog" when I volunteered!
:-D And I'm a 'tad' too old for even that. LOL
~julie~
Oh, it is definitely a 'mud bog'. This is probably one of the few year's the fire dept didn't have to constantly wet the ground. Sure seemed like there were more fires than usual last night! We're the last house in town on the NW corner and there is a black topped angle road, known as the 'angle road' of course, that follows the now removed railroad, which doesn't get a lot of traffic. So we start with the area legions, Parade Marshalls, Miss Inwood & Band in front of the house, then line 'em up down both sides of the angle road. Had 90 entries yesterday!
This is a definite hijack, Wanda. Sorrrrrrry!
Wanda ,
have You thought of some "Monkshood" or some tall Ferns ?
I use those for the Back of the Border sometimes,
Brigitte
Do they get over 5 foot? I have tall New England Aster, Siberian Iris,4 foot yellow yarrow & Tigerlilies back in the back row.
I have Blue Globe thistle, Phlox, Beebalm, Asian Lilies & tall zinnias in the row in front of them. I need something 5 foot plus to be seen.
It's taken my cimicifuga a few years to be this tall, but they're definitely 6 ft or more this year. Another perennial that grows up but not out is thalictrum lavender mist. Queen of the prairie definitely meets your height requirements, but I think you'd find it too aggressive - it's threatening my daylilies as we speak.
Do let us know what you decide on!
Well, I'm looking to see if I can find any of these suggestions locally or I'll have to order. I'll let you know what works.