Yea, technically this is a biennial, not a perennial...
I have a number of Lunaria annua seedlings (a.k.a. Money Plant, Honesty). It is getting time to plant these out in the garden. Since I have not grown this myself, I am a little fuzzy on some of its traits. I have seen pictures of the pretty spring flowers and the unusual seedpods. I am mostly curious about how the foliage holds up into late summer and fall. Do they start to decline after setting seed? Is this a plant that you would plant in drifts of 5 or more plants?
- Brent
About Lunaria annua
Oh I'm glad you asked Brent, I have a packet of seeds for these, it will be my first try. Yes (you will actually "harvest" them) and yes, the more the merrier LOL. The packet says they're 8 inches tall, and to thin to one foot apart. It has these Helpful Hints: "To dry, cut when pods are fully developed. Remove foliage, bunch loosely and hang upside down in a dry, airy place for 2-3 weeks, or until dry. Rub pods between thumb and finger to remove husks."
Oh no, I just read the part that says "Plants bloom and make pods the second summer after sowing" so be prepared to hurry up and wait LOL.
This message was edited May 10, 2007 7:46 PM
Do not many people grow Lunaria annua? If that is the case then check out this picture from the Photos forum: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/251871/ I am just curious how attractive that grouping looks come August. PG: 8 inches tall? That does not match up with what I have read.
- Brent
There's a white form and the two planted togethter look great.
That's gorgeous Brent, maybe it's supposed to say 8 feet? It's a packet from Burpee, Fordhook CollectionŽ. Since it's supposedly early, is it too late to plant it, or can I wait since it won't bloom til next year?
I have had this plant growing in the woods edge for 10+ years. It only gets about 8-12" tall. Saw the other photo maybe, in good garden soil it gets taller. It is currently in bloom , will try to send photo later camera out of battery and I need kids help to charge it .
I should clarify, I have seed to sow. You were smart planting it up early. :0)
Brent, I have a clump of Lunaria that came with the house. I like it a lot, it's a very tough plant. I did my wintersowing behind it and an Azalea this year, and stepped on them (the Lunaria, not the Azalea...) twice a day all winter and spring, it doesn't bother them a bit.
I'd say it's semi-evergreeen, and 8" tall in winter. It's 3 1/2 ' (feet) high and blooming now. Five or ten (15?) plants are the rough equivalent of an Azalea, in size and bright color value. I might get tired of all the foliage in summer and just let a few turn to pods, and there's still actually hundreds of seedlings. They're easily weeded though. There's some growing next to my compost bin with leaves as big as both my hands. It wouldn't be my first choice for a featured plant like a rose or something... it only blooms for a couple weeks, but most yards have a place for these plants, I would think.
PrairieGirlZ5, I bet if you start some now they'd bloom next year.
claypa ~ Can I sow the seeds directly in the garden? I really only wanted to try them for the novelty of the dried seed pods. I mean as far as growing them myself, not that you can't buy it already dried.
I don't see why not, since they self-sow so readily. I wonder if they spread by runners too, because I really just left a few to go to seed and there are sooo many seedlings and new plants.
One thing I always wondered about is there seems to be two different size seeds - some are almost the size of a pea smushed flat, and some are much smaller in the pods. Maybe they're not fully developed, I don't know.
This message was edited May 11, 2007 11:15 PM
I have grown this for years(purple). It would take determined action on my part to NOT grow it at this point, LOL. I grow it in shade, tree root competition, because that's where I have the room that I don't care if it's there or not. I think mine mature up to about two feet tall. To answer Brent, right now I have all done blooming and are growing pods. Pretty soon, all the leaves and the pods will start drying up. All these matures ones will be dead for summer into fall. I have new small babies outthere to bloom next year. I think it's all seed, not runners. Anybody wants seeds, come on over in July..............
I have this plant, first the bottom leaves grow, looks.almost like a hosta, than the purple flower stalks emerge, than the money coins and seeds, which I just collected. It dried up now, so I removed all the dry leaves, and trimmed it down to the stems. I have done this before, and it just grows right back up again, a very surprising plant.
do you have any pictures of this progression? thanks.
Sorry, I didn`t catch any pics this time around.
As I told sally when I was there and wading through her "forrest" of Money Plants, the dried, cleaned off , iridescent membranes that remain on the plant as it dries is quite desirable to people who work with dried flower arrangements. There MIGHT be some real money in them thar "Money Plants"......
The blooms are very pretty and a shade of blue that is to die for. The rest of the year, the drying plant looks like tall, browning weeds. The seeds are on either side of the membrane under the outside cover on both sides. When the plant is completely dry, you rub off the outside membrane between your fingers and the seeds fall out and then you have the pretty part left on. They have many uses in crafts.
Gita
Gita
Or you could forgo the money totally and just use them as cut flowers...I am pretty sure they make really nice cut flowers, but mine are just a few months old (although well taller than 8"!) and I haven't had them bloom yet.
Suzy
I have had lunaria growing in my garden for at least 25 years. I honestly don't remember the origin - probably my husband just scattering some seeds around. Now they self-seed and come up all over the property and produce either purple or white flowers. At this point I am pulling up the plants and leaving just one or two of each color in each area. They will reseed in July or August and not bloom for two years - next year they will grow large but no blooms and the following year bloom. I don't really find the plants that are producing the seeds to be especially attractive although the "money" is an attractive pearly tint when the outside "skin" comes off. It is the new ones from last fall that offer the green foliage for the rest of the summer as they continue to strengthen and grow.
There is a new variegated variety available as well. I purchased three plants from Select Seeds (had no luck getting the seed packet to germinate) but they don't look variegated. A grower suggested that the variegation will show up next year when they are set to bloom. I will see!
Anway, enjoy the money plant. If it does well it may require some controlling as it does for me but it is a beautiful spring sight when in full bloom, coming after most of the daffodils have finished! It grows in shade or sun.
This years seedling.
flower from a month ago,on second years growth. note the 4 petals . here it flowers the same time as some woodland phlox and looks very much alike but phlox has 5 pedals.
this is from today -forming seed pods.
dried seed pods. the dirty looking ones still have seeds ,note upper right and lower left are shinny and have had the outer skin and seeds removed.
Great photos -- thanks, Gus! I appreciate your note about woodland phlox... I've been seeing something like this popping up in dappled shade in some wooded areas, and I'll have to count petals next time to see if it's lunaria rather than phlox as I'd been assuming.
There's some more photos here in PF, http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/794/index.html
A friend of mine in VA had a big clump of lunaria in her garden, and I thought they looked attractive in all seasons... one or two plants might have a "dead weed" look when brown, but a group of them (hers was at least 3 feet across) made a definite statement, especially in fall/winter. She picked a few stems for flower arrangements, but mostly left the plants to their own devices, although I think she did cut back the dead ones the following spring.
Picture's a bit dark, but these are under maple shade and in vinca. Tallest may be close to three feet, but I have others in other areas which are mostly two feet, down to under a foot that bloomed. They are starting to yellow now, mid June. Sometimes they are in bloom with some daffodils which are nice together.
After the seeds dry, if the stems are left too long, they can get mildewy, tattered and pretty unattractive. Gita, my mom used to 'peel' these and take to her church rummage sale for arrangements. Maybe one could take these to a flea market or directly to a florist. They would be impossible to ship I would think.
bags of soil etc left in 'for scale' ha ha
This message was edited Jun 14, 2007 9:33 AM
Thanks a bunch for the info gang. Sally: LOL at the "for scale" comment. I don't know how many of my pictures had hoses running through them until I got in the habit of taking a few seconds to clear out the clutter before snapping the picture.
- Brent
Isn't that what the "crop" feature is for in my photo edit software? I have to laugh at how many times I've used that feature (or "clone," to erase unwanted bits) inside... snapping a quick photo of an african violet blooming on the counter, then realizing the shot included a great view of a sink full of dishes, etc.
Oh that's how to make those dishes disappear, LOL. Thanks sally for the pic, I've never seen it growing in the ground. It sounds to me as though it's pretty adaptable as far as sun/shade goes? so I'll have to tuck some seed in somewhere and just go for it!
Finally grew this one this year from seeds started last summer. I love the flowers, but I'm finding them sort of sloppy as they set seed. They're drooping and crowding other things. I'd love to pull them out right now, but I want more for next year.
Started from seed last summer (Select Seeds) and was sooooo happy this spring as it started to bloom! I love it! I bought more seeds and I bought some plants just this last month. It's going to be a staple in my garden (well, unless I get tired of it). The variegation is beautiful and the pods are great!
Sanna
do you have variegated leaves??
yes ~ seems to me if I remember correctly though the variegation didn't show up until the second season. The first year it just sort of sat in the ground, not much going on..... then this spring it took off like crazy, beautiful leaves, wonderful blooms!
Sanna
sounds much bettter than the old standard. I'm going to look for it in plantfiles. Yes, very nice! esp as I grow it in shade, would show up more.
By the way, ones I have back where my old compost was have much bigger leaves (not surprisingly..) In shade.
This message was edited Jun 19, 2007 12:33 PM