Was wondering if anyone could tell me if Monarda would be something that would keep the color going in the garden. I have been very happy up til now for a particular bed. But it seems to need something now to continue on with the color show. ;o) I have never had Monarda and was thinking it is a later bloomer than some others. What do you all think. I'm looking for things that bloom brightly from somewhere around the middle of July and keeps going for a good time. And pics would be great with maybe height and bloom period. Hope you can help. Or suggest something else? Not annuals though. Already plant enough of those and am trying to downsize the amount I have to buy every year. I do love zinnas though. And they bloom forever! But they are kind of expensive when you're talking about the amount I need. ;o( Does anyone know if zinnas are easy to grow from seed? Can I winter sow them? I'm thinking of trying to do some winter sowing this year. Will be a first try. Too many ideas and not enough expertise!!! LOL
Thanks for your help.
Sherry
Monarda or Bee Balm
Hi Sherry,
Monarda for me is an early to midsummer bloomer here. It does well in clay and is low maintenance with a few colors available.
For the bloom time you want I like coneflowers, heliopsis,helenium and asters.
I start all my zinnias from seed and they are starting to bloom right now. I would think you could winter sow them, but they really bloom fairly soon after seeding.
I'll get back to you with some pics.
Al
My Monarda is just starting to bloom and will do so for about another month
Also the coneflowers are just starting.
Here I sow zinnia seed in early spring. I don't think they would do well winter sown.
Sherry, I'd agree with bigsityal's suggestions and also add Belamcanda - Blackberry lily. The coneflowers and blackberry lilies are both quite tall and would help you keep that riotous color scheme going. (Here's a pic of both right now in my front garden.) Also Persicaria 'Firetail' is just coming into its own here and is you have room for Buddleia, that will bloom for months to come. Malva 'Zebrina' would fit your criteria, too. I've started all but the Persicaria from seed. I'll have loads of Belamcanda seed in a couple of months and could send you some, if you'd like. My Monarda are all near the end of their bloom periods.
Here's pic of Blackberry lily. If started early enough, will bloom 1st year from seed.
and, a close up -
Chrysanthemums a/o dahlias would be another option.
I wintersowed three varieties of zinnias very successfully.
I think the Monarda is great, and for me it starts blooming early summer and just keeps on..however, I do often have to cut it back about mid summer due to fungal stuff. You are in a cooler and much drier climate, so this would probably not be a problem for you. It readily comes right back and keeps on blooming until fall so long as I keep the old blooms cut off. I have two varieties, and both are very tall (at least 3 feet, maybe more), and for me both have an open branching growth habit, so you need to have something in front of it because the foliage is not thick. I would agree with other comments--to me, coneflowers are a better option as their growth habit is prettier, but they still bloom through the late summer with great color. Also, have you thought about Asters?
Monarda is a great choice. In duluth it starts blooming in the 1st or 2nd week in July and stays in bloom for over a month. It is great for attracting humming birds and butterflies. It is pretty much a low maintenace plant. It spreads so I occasionally have to dig some up and give it to another gardener. I already have people standing in line for next spring. A trick I learned to prolong the bloom is once the plant is a couple of feet high I shear 1/2 of it down to 1 foot. When the sheared portion has regrown to 2 feet I shear 1/2 of it down to 1 foot. Ths really prolongs the blooming. It 's a great partial shade plant.
Monarda took over one of my daylily beds so I had to dig it all up and give it away. This summer I saw the garden of one (97 year old woman) person that I gave some to and I wanted it back ! Mine never looked so good. Think I could ask for some back?
Wow Guys!
Some awesome suggestions here. It is funny how the same plant (flowers) blooms at different times depending on where we live. My coneflowers seem to have started blooming around the 20th of June and they do bloom all summer. I think you're all right on adding some coneflowers in that bed, so I dug up a couple and planted them in that backyard garden.
Al,
Thanks for the suggestions of heliopsis and helenium. I've never had either of these and yellow would work good in this particular bed because it's viewed from a ways back when we're sitting by the pool. I think the yellow would brighten things up a bit because I have some golden yellow daylilies that are new to me this year in that bed and they really stand out from a distance. I've never started zinnias from seed. It's nice to know it's not that hard. But I've never grown anything from seed yet. It sure would help though because with 3/4 acre and such large beds, it gets quite expensive to buy all those pony packs!
fancyvan,
See what I mean about how different the bloom times are for everyone. Thanks for the input.
mickgene,
I really like the Persicaria 'Firetail' . They are beautiful. I have a similar plant called 'Persicaria affinis 'Dimity'. but they are mixed up in the bed and getting kind of covered by other perennials. I think I will have to move them further to the front. And they have been blooming all summer. I really like them, but they don't have the bright color I am looking for. Ohhh, I like the Malva 'Zebrina' too. Very pretty. I would love to try some of your Blackberry lily seed. Thank you. Can I winter sow them? I am going to be trying this for the first time this year.
jmorth,
Thank you for the pics of the Blackberry Lily. Very nice. Thanks for the other suggestions. This bed is pretty full now. I just have to figure out how to get the best bang without adding too many more plants, but definitely need a few later blooming things. I ordered some new lilies from one of the co-ops to add to this bed. I need to go and look them up again and see what the bloom time is on them. Hopefully, they are later blooming.
Zeppy,
Thanks! That's great to know! I need to learn how to winter sow now. LOL
yotedog,
I'm really not in a cooler area. We are basically dry like the desert. It's been 95 to 105 degrees most of the summer. But it is dry. I actually have some asters blooming right now in my island bed in the front yard. I bought them last fall and didn't know they would be blooming this early. But that's a great suggestion.
duluth,
Thanks for the shearing tip on the Monarda. I was thinking Monarda liked full sun. Am I mistaken?
corgimom,
Sure you can ask for 'SOME' of it back. LOL Isn't that the way it always goes???
Anyhow, thanks to everyone for all the info and great ideas and suggestions. I will be even more confused now. LOL Just kidding. It really does help to have a few ideas from others who have grown a particular plant. I appreciate your input so much.
Sherry
Sherry,
I'll send you some Blackberry lilies once the "blackberries" are ready for harvest. Are you in the addy exchange? You can just toss them in the area you want them to grow in. They are tough buggers. Of course, you can also winter sow them in containers if you prefer. But I have allowed them to go to seed every year and always have a gazillion sprouting. (I like to see the "blackberry" seed heads all winter, especially with snow.) Luckily they are very distinctive seedlings and easy to pull out for sharing. BTW, these plants are direct descendants of George Washington's own BL's, they said when I bought them. The original plants in my garden came from Mount Vernon's gardens.
Another thought I had yesterday was maybe a couple of cannas? There are many bright ones and they would be quite visible from your distant vantage point. And mine are just now beginning to bloom.
Monarda do like full sun, but they are also partial to water. If they have too much sun and not enough water, the bloom period will be quite short and even the mildew resistant varieties are likely to develop powdery mildew. The longest-blooming variety I have is 'Marshall's Delight.'
Bee Balm is good for full sun to partial shade. It does very well in partial shade. It spreads enough that I have some to give away almost every spring. All mine is planted in partial shade, but I might have to get out of my rut and plant some in my sunny front yard.
duluth -
In the past, I have cut back my Monarda when they are short, but you seem to have a more layered strategy. I am not sure I understand. After cutting half the stand in half when they are 2' tall, am understanding that you let that half go and cut the other half of the stand down to 1'? I am confused, but I get the general idea.
Peter
This message was edited Jul 18, 2006 9:22 PM
I've just planted Jacob Kline in a partial shade area. We'll see how they do there. I have full sun areas I can move them to if necessary, but I wanted some color in this particular bed. I'm looking forward to seeing them bloom, which will likely be next year since they're pretty tiny right now.
PdKrone,
The aim in shearing them is to get the stand to come to bloom at three different overlapping times so you have an extended bloom time.
Therefore, when they get to about 2 feet I cut the front 1/2 of the plants down to 1 foot. I now have two blooming times.
i wait until the 1/2 I cut down to 1 foot has regrown to 2 ft and cut the front 1/2 of them down to 1 ffoot so I know have 3 bloominhg times.
If you think of it as dividing the stand in sections, the back one 1/2 will bloom first, then the middle 1/4 will bloom and finally the front1/4 will bloom.
Of couse, you could do 1/3s also but I have always done it this way so I continue.
Hope this helps.
I and the wife had supper on the deck last night and watched the humming birds come in and feed on the Bee Balm and chase each other off. Very entertaining.
Mickgene - Can I ask a stupid question? If I was to plant some Blackberry Lily seeds this fall, would I have flowering plants next fall? I haven't grown much from seed, except marigolds and zinnias when I was maybe 10 years old, so detailed instructions would be welcome. Thanks.
Thanks, duluth - That is clear. I am sure there are many variations, but that works. As an added bonus the plants get bushier with cutting, and probably shorter, so your method keeps the monarda in layers from back to front!
I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I have Ponticum bee balm. I moved it to part-shade, compost enriched clay soil, watered daily. It flowers now & seems happier, but still only have 3 spindly stems. I am afraid to cut them back, that I might lose the plant altogether? Love the smell of the leaves! Makes it all worthwhile.
Here is a nice bit on the blackberry lily. I am sure that micgene knows more about it from firsthand growing, but just thought I would throw it in. Apparently seed sown this year will bloom in '07:
http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week099.shtml
When I saw the ;pictures of the belamcanda, I was reminded of the pardancanda x norisii, or candy lily. I guess that the belamcande foliage is a little less bold, but very different, and the flowers, even the seeds are very similar:
http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week099.shtml
I have one of these, and moved it for more sun this year because it got really leggy and spreading. A thread from last year led to this picture of some of the lovely flowers of this plant, which is apparently Iridaceae like the belamcande:
http://www.geocities.com/jpwflowers/intropardancandas.html
Peter
PrairieGirl -
I have one patch of monarda that blooms beautifully with little attention but water, in poor soil. I have another patch blooming poorly, because the soil is too heavy with organic matter and can't breathe. It is organic matter over clay, and needs loosening. Could this be the problem with your spot?
Peter
I'm not sure, well I could try digging more organic matter into the soil, but it's not compacted if that's what you mean. I just moved it, so I may wait until next spring to fool with it anymore. I used mushroom compost in the bed I moved it too, it was on it's own before that. I mistakenly was led to believe that it was drought tolerant, learned to never buy another plant without doing my own research first! Hey, at least you have patches, I have stems, LOL.
Thanks peter for the links on belamcanda, they remind me of toad lilies, Tricyrtis hirta, with their polka dots! I really want to try it.
I think the candy lily was developed from the blackberry lily.
Blackberry lily seeds will bloom their first season. I've started them inside in March with blooms that summer. They are fairly heavy self-seeders too.
PrairieGirl, is everything else growing okay with the mushroom compost? Just in case that's the problem: sometimes it can up the pH or contain too-high salts if it's very fresh.
oh, I was not aware of that! Yes, everything else is fine so far. I've got hostas, brunnera, geranium sanguineum, sweet woodruff, creeping jenny and astilbe.