Hi everybody, I have a new perennial in my flower bed. Because of my Japanese plum tree I decided to add this perennial to my pinks and purples. It has lovely dark foliage and is supposed to have white spikes of flowers. It's August, as you all know, and although I have lots of growth, I have no flower spikes. Will it flower soon? P.S. my garden is protected and is about a week behind everyone elses. thanks, Linda
Chocolate Eupatorium
How much shade is the plum tree providing. My experience with eupatoria is definitely full sun. So the shade may be inhibiting flower formation. However, eupatorium is a late bloomer; so it may just be that. Also, how long ago did you plant it? If not too long, it may just be expending it's energy on root production.
Hope this helps.
I planted some this spring from Bluestone, but same here, nice growth, but no blooms yet. I'm thinking I may have to wait till next year.
This message was edited Sep 5, 2005 7:33 PM
Flopping was never a problem with my Chocolates.
When you start seeing the foliage changing to an emerald green, blooms aren't far behind.
Gateway has been open for weeks. Chocolate ran late.
I was never that impressed with the Chocolate's flowers. I'd like them better if they had the Gateway umbrella type heads instead of spikes.
The foliage is still dark on mine, so it must have some growing to do. I've got mine in sandy soil, but with good moisture. It's sharing space with Goldstrum rudbeckias, shastas, and crocosmias. Do those of you with experience with them think they're vigorous enough to be in the same area with it's current companions? Since this is its first year, I've been hacking invaders to give it room, but am hoping it can fend for itself next year.
gemini, I wouldn't worry about the Eupatorium. It can more than hold its own in a crowded area, and I would probably worry more about the plants that are competing with the Eupatorium than I would about the Eupatorium itself. It is a vigorous grower. This is mine on 7/29.I will post the same plant on 8/20 next....
Edited to say that the unhappy looking plant behind the Eupatorium is a Foxglove that had long since finished blooming. In the next picture, it has been pulled, but the edge of a first year Foxglove is visible on the far left.
This message was edited Aug 23, 2005 1:59 AM
Here is the plant on 8/20. This plant is growing in full sun in acidic humusy soil enriched with compost and plenty of water. Mine isn't budding yet, but it blooms late, like the regular type White Snakeroot that grows wild. The flowers are nothing to write home about, but interesting enough that the plant is more than just a foliage plant. When it does bloom, watch its flowers closely, as it seeds readily, and the seedlings will revert back to type.
Edited to say that the tiny flower at the very bottom of the photo is one of the last blooms on an Ice Plant (Delosperma cooperii) that I am worried about being invaded by the Eupatorium. I always like to explain the background parts of a photo, so bear with me. The green leaves behind the photo are a mixture of American Beech seedlings and Virginia Creeper that just can't wait to invade the bed that I prepared for my perennials. The roots slightly to the left in back are part of a a ditch lily that I uprooted and used as filler to control erosion. This plant is set on an elevated driveway that leads down to a wetland area with a stream, and I have to make sure the whole business doesn't collapse on me.
This message was edited Aug 23, 2005 2:05 AM
gregr18, thanks for the pics and info! Yours sure looks healthy and nice. Neal.
gregr18 is right about the seeding...I have removed mine entirely from my perennial bed. It reseeds EVERYWHERE and sometime it reseeds true but mostly reverts. Mine is in shade and blooms in October and they are nice in arrangements.
Well, hi all of you eupatorium folks. Mine is looking good and appears to be about to pop open some white flowers. As I indicated up top, it's really not exactly what I thought it would be but it is nice. Someone in the thread said they lost their last year. I lost some of my perennials as well. We had a very mild fall and all of a sudden one day we woke to below zero temps. (F). And, on top of that, it thawed in January and plunged very low in March. So, I lost my coral bells and some of my pincushion plant.
The yard looks good right now. I hope we have a more "normal" weather pattern this year.
I live in a zone 4 area and am mostly surprised that ANYTHING survives, including ME lol. What really boggles my mind is when some little seeds (such as this year's volunteer nasturtiums) live through the harshness of my backyard which stays piled with snow and ice stacked five and six feet deep at times and doesn't thaw until early April. A year ago last Spring I bought a gigantic hanging pot of nasturtiums and set it on the edge of the deck, right over the edge of the raised bed. This Spring, right in with the garlic grew the nicest clump of nasturtiums. Talk about a "lonely little petunia in an onion patch!" Then, behind the peppers I found French hollyhock mallow growing, yards from the other plant volunteers. what wonderful surprises.
Seeds have such a miracle inside each one. They look so lifeless and then with some water, soil, and light they spring to life. I enjoy nasturtiums a lot and really think even the seeds are pretty (all wrinkled like little tiny walnuts). And then you look at tomatoe, squash, peppers, and my everlovin' mallow and they are all so very differnt. I just love this gardening life!!
My chocolate eupatorium plants finally bloomed this past week. Anyone else? Cathy
Mine to! Not as tall as I was hoping, but this is their first year. Pretty though; I have them with some brick red mums and the leaves echo the mum color and the white is a nice accent. Been trying to get a good shot of that combo with no luck, but will post if I do. Neal.
Mine just started blooming this past week.
This is my "reseeded" chocolate...It is all over the woods and I can't get rid of it!
This eupatorium thread is interesting...I was just reading Allen Lacy's book "The Garden in Autumn" and he devotes several pages to the much overlooked and under-rated eupatoriums for American gardens...
He said that since it is generally known as a roadside weed (in the form of Joe Pye Weed), americans have overlooked it and turned their noses up at it, and it took Englishman Alan Bloom (from Blooms of Bressingham) to recognize it's value in the Autumn garden, hybridize it, and popularize it in the States. Likewise the Goldenrod.
I wonder if your chocolate eupatorium is a Blooms of Bressingham introduction?...He does not mention that one in the book, but the book is copyrighted in 1990.
This is what Lacy says about Eupatorium: "Our British cousins treat them as royalty of the late-season garden". Who knew?! lol
I have some common eupatorium along our woodside edge which I was trying to eradicate, but I guess I'll keep it now!
thanks for posting all this good information. t.
Also, please, I tried to look up Eupatorium or Eupatoria or Joe Pye Weed on Plant Files and only came up with a few entries--no chocolate, in any case, ...
surely I must be doing something wrong...or maybe no one has entered the chocolate and some of the more modern kinds...mmm...
I think the eupatorium rugosum 'chocolate' was discovered by Michael Dirr..the rugosum is known for its' habit of reseeding beyond the point of being nice. It was the GREAT PLANT PICK of 2004. I was dissappointed but many are not.
Howdy! I have the 'Chocolate" eupatorium and it's finally blooming, but one of the three I planted did flop open pretty far, it's a monster!! AAARGH! I plan on maybe trading these for something different, maybe just haven't found the right partner for it yet?? Any suggestions?
lev--yes, it sounds like the chocolate eupatorium has not seduced you with its charms as it did Allan Lacy! Really, as nice as it could be in the right habitat, I am surprised it was chosen as a 'great plant' for 2004, too.
When I did a little research on it, one site did mention to get the best from it to be sure to cut it back after flowering, which must be catalog 'code' for 'invasive habit', I think!
Here's a Cornell site that's kind of interesting showing a little slide show of Eupatoriums various...and other native plants, too...
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/faculty/wmiller/HORT300/plantlist1/sld042.htm
I bought mine a few weeks ago and it is just now starting to bloom ...
tabasco, here's the link http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/38299/index.html
thanks, rcn--don't know why I couldn't get that to come up....
Why does mine flop so badly? I've thought about making a sturdy wire hoop to keep it upright, but maybe the soil has too much or too little of something?
I wonder what superphosphate would do for it?
Maybe too much shade..although mine some of mine are in pretty deep shade and still do not flop. They seem to have pretty strong stems. Try cutting them back in June and then maybe they will bloom shorter.
I think some of them are just wild, heehee, others well-behaved.
Osteole ours is flopping this year also, although in the past it's generally been a fairly strong plant. Possibly this year 'floppy' because of the lack of water? We may have to start treating it like our Eup. 'Gateway' and give it a haircut early in summer to make it 'stronger' and able to hold up those huge heads.
Hi all I have a chocolate eupatorium that is floping also I thought it might need to be devided has any one devided one? do they respond well? I think I will try cutting it back next year maybe in july as suggested.I do love it though , flop and all it is covered in pretty white flowersthat are great in arrangements about 5 feet around and would be taller than me if it just stood up
I have a Chocolate Eupatorium that is flopping also. Levilya suggested too much shade as a reason, and I don't doubt her one bit, though I don't have have any in full shade myself. I do think that overfeeding/lots of sun probably does it too. I planted one of mine in a full sun bed with naturally good soil enriched with some cow manure. The plant tripled in size in less than a month and started to flop after the first rain. It is now about five times as wide and twice as tall as when I planted it, in full bloom, and flopping quite a bit, not helped by the eight straight days of rain we have had in New England. I have another older plant in part shade in poorer soil that grows modestly, but reseeds a lot if I don't watch it. Levilya also writes above that some of the seedlings come true, but for the most part, as she notes, they revert, and you have to decide if you want type E. rugosum in your garden, a very subtle plant that might not light your fire.
Laurawege, I really doubt you'd have much problem dividing this plant. It is as vigorous as it could be, and if it grows roots half as enthusiastically as it puts out topgrowth, I can't imagine you'd have much trouble with pulling it apart. Has it been there for more than a year? If so, you might have gotten seedlings that you could transplant if you don't want to divide the main plant. These plants seem very fertile and very happy to seed the earth around them, though not always to type as I wrote above.
-Greg
Greg, I planted mine in July and divided the floppy one into three good sized plants! Think it was in too rich soil, that always does it for the natives, my little bluestem got a little wide and floppy too, or else I just have a way too green thumb *smile* (that's a nice thought!) Will keep tendency to revert in mind and pull seedlings, thanks for the tip. The roots are pretty woody, and seem really sturdy, would like to know how these divisions are getting along. I moved the other two in order to frame sides of a wooden bench I have placed along a privacy fence, adds some nice height and subtle color that complements nearby hostas and lungworts. Love the pink flowers in levilyla's woodland garden, nice touch. Has anyone noticed lately how even the roadside weeds are so varied and all go together so well? Mother Nature sure is the best at combining plants!
I think my soil is to rich too it seems to get enough sun but when I devided it I am going to put a piece in FULL sun with sandier soil . If it ever stops raining ! I though we were suppose to see the sun today ? that big bright thing ya know it looks like dusk all day long lately . laura
PS good luck to anyone on low ground I will be keeping you in my prayers
I would love a good start or seed of the chocolate eupatorium. I have trades or postage or paypay for a flat rate box...........woods and meadows to make a good home for the plant
jackie
I will be most happy to send you some
well thank you.........May I send you some recently divided red spider lily? Lycoris radicans in the plantfiles.........or the vegetable asparagus plant?
Thanks...but I need nothing now. give me your address. Nancy