Hi Guys,
I have a question and need some advice. I know it might be kind of hard to come up with something that will work, but I'm open to all suggestions. In the pictures to follow I will show you what I normally do with the front of my front yard island bed. What I'm wanting to do is replace the petunias I plant every year with some kind of perennial that will flower from mid July hopefully through August or longer. I know, I know, hard to find a perennial that will do that. But my petunias aren't growing like they used to in this spot and I think it's because they've been planted there for so many years in the same spot. So...any ideas out there? ;o)
Thank you,
Sherry
Here's the first photo. Ignore the weeds, please. ;o)
Advise for perennial to use as replacement
Ooops, picture would help!
Sherry
Here's another photo. All the other plants are perennials. So something the size of petunias is needed. It could be a little taller though I think and still work.
Sherry
This message was edited Jul 15, 2008 4:31 PM
One more longer shot so you can get a better idea of the layout.
Sherry
And the last shot, a little further along.
Thanks again!!!
Sherry
How about hardy geraniums? There are lots of varieties that bloom mid-to late summer. They are easy to grow and are
hardy in your zone. Go to PlantFiles & search under the common name Cranesbilll.
Or try 'Snow lady' Shasta daisies, they only get about 12" tall.
Hi Sherry, I just looked again at your pictures. I think a row of daisies in front of your rudbeckia & phlox (is that the pink one you have there?) would look fabulous, & then Rozanne or Johnson's Blue geranium in front of that!
There are dwarf forms of just about everything - dwarf balloon flowers, dwarf daisies (Silver Princess?), dwarf black eyed Susans, ... How about dianthus?
Hi guys,
Thanks for the suggestions. I do have some hardy geraniums in the backyard garden. I'm just not sure if that's the look I want for this area. But it's something to think about.
And my experience with Shasta daisys is that they bloom once and then they are mostly done for me until next year. At least that['s what happens in my garden with them. Maybe I need to check out some other varieties.
I was thinking maybe some kind of monarda, if I could find a lower growing variety. They bloom in July and August, don't they?
;o)
Sherry
If you DO find a lower growing variety of Monarda, PLMK. But in general, and this is a gross generalization, perennials bloom for a shorter period than do annuals. You mix em up so as to have more going on - something coming IN when something else is going OUT. Let us know how it comes out - it's awfully pretty with the petunias! Maybe compost or something?
what about lady's mantle? The foilage is lush, the *flowers* are airy. They hold up well in my zone (5a) and should do well in your zone.
Sherry, there is a very cute pink monarda that grows only 9-12" high. Can't remember the name though, sorry.
Here are my Snow Lady daisies about 2 weeks ago & they are showing no signs of letting up now.
Monarda 'Petite Delight' is a small, well behaved pink variety. I bought one last fall, and this summer it is a beautiful bushy multistemmed plant about 15 inches high. It's acting nothing like the sprawling 'Coral Reef' variety planted at the same time.
How about verbena bonariensis? I've heard it can be invasive but the one I tried this summer has been blooming forever with no signs of spreading. Not sure it is perennial in our zone, but it is an airy plant with blue-lavendar flowers that would contrast nicely with your yellow and pink.
There is also plenty of room for some salvia in that bed. Can you tell I love blue flowers? :)
how about the short campanula carpatica
I use "white clips" and blue clips" - they are tidy, dependable, form a huge clump quickly that you can divide to make more if you want.
After my first show of flowers are through I quickly shear them back and get another mass of flowers
here's a pic of my blue clips
and here is my white clips, my favorite
Here are pics of 'Petite Delight' monarda. I think it is so pretty.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/83545/
Lin
Wow, lots of great ideas here! Thanks guys. ;o)
I know that perennials need to be mixed and I have many already mixed in this bed. But I am just trying to replace the petunias with something showy and that bloom from mid July through at least August. I know it's a tall order. ;o) I am leaning toward the dwarf monardas. I have never grown monarda, but have always admired photos of them.
lisabees, you are right. There are a couple of smaller types of monarda. Looks like it might work.
Goldenberry, thanks for the info. Do you happen to have a photo of your smaller monarda? I agree about the verbena bonariensis. I already have a little of it in this bed. But I think the monarda would be a better replacement for the petunias. The monarda seem to be more showy and have the more bushy form like petunias. At least that's what it looks like in the photos I see. And I agree about the salvia too. I already have some in this bed. ;o) But it blooms it's little heart out, then I have to chop it down and get sporatic blooms after that. I'm waiting to see how well it will rebloom since I chopped it off. So you see, many of your ideas are already in this bed. ;o)
sammigirl, I love your 'blue clips' campanula carpatica! But are they still blooming in August? Very striking flowers!
I found another small monarda called 'Petite Wonder'. It looks like it might just fit perfectly in place of the petunias.
Anyway, some great ideas! Here's the photo with the salvia blooming in this bed.
Sherry
Gorgeous color combo, Sherry - I love purple & red together! Is that a Japanese maple? Man, I wish I could grow one here - way too dry though :0(.
If you want to stick with the petunias, which are lovely in your photos, try giving that spot two years off, using another annual. Generally things do better when they aren't planted in the same spot for more than 2 - 3 years. I knew that about vegetables, but I recently heard horticulturists discussing the same problem with flowering annuals.
How about an ageratum on the "off" years, or a tiny zinnia? Or a mixture of the two for a nice textural contrast?
Julie
how about portulaca? Thats the cutest, most easy care reseeding annual I know!
Your flower bed is awesome looking!!!
Theresa
There are some nice verbenas in a wide array of colors that might do, too.
Ground cover sedums come to mind. They put on a nice show of both color and interesting plant textures.
Yes, I was having the exact same thought about Sherry and her petunias. She needs to plant a cover crop of winter wheat and plow it under. (I'm talking through my hat.) But the idea of crop rotation, and that one area cannot be expected to satisfy the needs for a monoculture indefinitely are ancient truths.
Try something else for a year, or even (here's a bizarre idea) put composted cow manure where the petunias usually go, in the fall, and cover with lots of mulch, landscape cloth, or SOMETHING aesthetic. Put in CONTAINERS of petunias. Then the following year try the petunias in the ground again. I think that's kinda sorta what I was getting at with my feeble fertilizer suggestion way upthread.
Carrie (a petunia lover)
Thanks to DanceyTX for the photo of Monarda 'Petite Delight'. It looks exactly like mine, and this is in its first year, so pretty impressive for a perennial. I don't know how long it will continue to bloom. So far it's been a couple of weeks and still looking good. Also, no problems with powdery mildew or leaves browning. Of course we have had a very wet summer around here, so that might be a factor.
Campanula Blue or White Clips are among my favorites, although mine died out after several years. As long as they're deadheaded, they will bloom all summer into the fall.
This message was edited Jul 22, 2008 1:34 PM
Goldenberry,
Are your petite delight monardas still blooming? Inquiring minds want to know! LOL
Sherry
Carrie,
Can you believe I've been planting the petunias there for about 10 years in the same spot!?! I am thinking you're right about the rotation thing. But I don't know why just this year the petunias are not doing well, at all. They never did take off at all this summer. Weird. But definitely time to change it up a bit. But gonna try perennials, for sure, in the spot of the petunias. Also, your idea of petunias in pots is a GREAT idea! Do you mean to dig the pots down into the ground or just fill the pots and let them sit on top of the ground?
Sherry
Sherry, the Petite Delights have a couple of blooms left but otherwise seem to be done, at least for now. It would be great if they get another flush of blooms.
For all-summer perennial blooms, I like the little campanulas. My Blue Clips are looking good, and I have a Campanula persicifola (?) 'Cherry Bells' planted last fall that's been going all summer too.
This message was edited Aug 5, 2008 12:28 PM
I have petunias in pots on the ground, actually, on gravel on the ground, but sinking pots in the ground would probably work too.
BTW my balloon flowers are still flowering, just not as strongly as at first, or as remarkably as at first. ^_^
Wow, your garden is beautiful! I live in red-clay country, so I'm jealous of the soil you guys have out there! One annual I've had good luck with is Pentas. The ones I had were reddish pink and about 15" tall. The butterflies love them, they bloom for a long time, and they fill out an area nicely. I don't have a picture, but I found them in Plant Files. I was thinking of trying some Monarda this fall myself, but I'm worried about mildew. Good luck!
Hi Everyone!
Well, here I am, getting ready to figure out what to order to replace the petunias in that bed this year. I'm leaning toward dwarf monardas, but just not quite sure. Gotta read through this thread again. All new ideas welcome too! ;o) Wow, how time flies, huh! Already thinking of orders for this spring and it's FREEZING out!
Sherry ;o)
Sherry, I'm finding with Mondarda if you deadhead they'll send out lateral bloom stalks. Have you considered some of the creeping Veronicas? They rebloom well if deadheaded also. I have pink and hot pink (sold as red-'Red Fox') varieties that make good edgers. Have you considered ground cover or miniature Roses? There are some tough as nails varieties available these days that crank out blooms till past frost, many that remain 18" to 2' tall, but spread wider. Thread leaved Coreopsis also comes to mind, like 'Moonbeam'.
I have 'Moonbeam' and it is very ill-mannered, although Sherry, you are in a much different climate from me. But if you want some, I can send you plenty.
I read something somewhere about petunias needing to be rotated (and I thought to myself "oh, that's what that person was talking about." But of course I don't remember where I read it or when, and at the time I couldn't remember this thread!
Laughing carrie 'cause I read your article about your moonbeam wars...;))
Chuckle ... that was fun to write, too. We've pretty much given up, although I saw some coreopsis "Creme Brulee" or another different cultivar for sale somewhere that looked EXACTLY like my Moonbeam. Moonbeam was supposed to be a less aggressive form of this other one (and I don't think it was Creme Brulee) but still.
1. Was mine labeled correctly
2. If that's "less aggressive" then what's normally aggressive?
Moonbeam behaves just fine out here, so I suspect it won't get out of control in the dry part of WA where Sherry lives. I've never found even a single seedling from my 'Moonbeam' and I have probably close to 20 of them in various areas of my garden.
Interesting, for me 'Moonbeam' isn't aggressive at all. It actually tends to diminish after a few years if I don't divide them and add some compost.
Maybe what I have was mislabeled, but I have something!
...or they may just be extra happy in your garden.
Really REALLY happy.
Hi Sherri, your gardens are always so pretty. Would replacing the petunias with annual vinca work for you? (I know that you asked for perennial suggestions, but thought vinca sprang to mind when I saw your garden.