plantfiles.info

Rudbeckia Maxima Dumbo Ear Coneflower

If you want something amazing that nobody else is going to have in your neighborhood, consider the Rudbeckia Maxima. The Rudbeckia Maxima is perfect if you want to add some height in your garden. These incredible flowers grow stalks that are well over 6 feet with a great looking and large coneflower on top. The stalks are extremely rigid and the plant is very well rooted once established so they do not need any sort of staking. The flowers are very long lasting and after they fade, you are left with an interesting black cone full of seeds that birds love to eat. While these are grown for their flowers, their enormous basal leaves are just as incredible. Each leaf can get about 12″ long or more and are a blue steel color turning to green later in the season. The clump can get a few feet wide so some space will be required.

Growing these is very easy so long as you have a full sun spacious spot. They are relatively drought tolerant though I like to water mine on a regular basis because they are some of my favorites. ForThe Rudbeckia Maxima is an incredibly fast growing flowering perennial. I started out with some young plants that were pretty small and had a full grown plant the following season. They were planted late in the season so most of the growth was put on in less than a year. Another great thing about this plant is that it can be planted at just about any time during the growing season as they are extremely tough plants. I planted mine in the middle of the summer and they came through like champs. They are not particular about soil. Just amend some decent garden soil with your native soil and plant them. Water regularly until established then watch them grow like crazy. While it may not look it when you get it, keep in mind that these get huge! They grow well over 6 feet so keep that in mind.

Care is very easy.  You can leave the stalks for most of the growing season until they dry up completely. You can then just clip them off. You will need some strong pruners because the stalks are very strong.  Leave the leaves to overwinter as many of them will remain green. You can  clean up all the dead leaves in the spring and leave the surviving green ones.   All in all, a very care free plant.

Finding these will locally will probably be tricky. Sure you will see lots of regular old coneflowers  but these might prove hard to find. Luckily, you can get them via internet mail order  from Blue Stone Perennials. I have bought 6 from them and they have all done great.  I highly suggest you give these a try, you will love them and your neighbors will stop by asking you what they are!

Heat Tolerant Zone 7 Euphorbia

One of my favorites is the Euphorbia.  This Mediterranean native is perfect for those extremely hot and dry areas of your garden. Even in the heat of the summer here in zone 7, the Euphorbia stays upright and colorful.  Despite it’s bullet proofness, this plant has the daintiest, unique and delicate little flowers you will ever see.  Quite amazing for a really tough plant.  The plant has an upright branching habit growing to about 1-2 feet and comes in variety of colors like green, red, burgundy and purple. The lovely blooms are usually brilliant in color in most varieties and are quite stunning when they emerge in late spring, early summer. This is a great little plant that looks great year around.

Despite its great all around qualities, you will be hard pressed in finding these at a local nursery. I have never seen them myself and ordered some via internet mail order from Directgardening.com and they have done absolutely great.

Care is very easy with this great accent border plant.  Being a Mediterranean native, heat is not a problem. It’s toughness is only surpassed by its great looks.  Very drought tolerant but it should be watered somewhat regularly when first planted until it’s established. Not very particular about soil, simply amend some garden soil with your native soil and this plant will do great. Takes winters like a champ as well. You may get a little die back on the top, simply clip off the dead areas if any and that’s it.

Now for a bit of a dark side. When cutting back, these plants secrete a white sap from the cut stems. Extreme care should be taken to keep this sap from your hands. Even more care should be taken from keeping the sap out of your face and eyes! The sap is toxic and known to cause temporary blindness. Wear gloves and wash hands thoroughly after cutting back! There are stories of people being hospitalized from getting the sap in their eyes. Make sure to keep children away from these plants. Also keep your dogs away! That being said, don’t let this keep you from planting these magnificent looking plants, just keep their toxicity in mind!

All in all, an awesome little plant that you will simply love. You won’t be able to plant enough of these, guaranteed!

Hardiness Zones: 5-8
Sun exposure: Full Sun to Mostly Sunny
Height: about 18?
Width: Varies up to 12″
Bloom time: Late spring, early summer
Bloom Color: varies from brilliant yellow to chartreuse
Watering: Average
Soil: Average, normal, amended clay

Availability: Direct Gardening, Bluestone Perennials

Automn Joy Sedum in Zone 7

I recently discovered this little beauty after seeing it used in a landscape for a commercial building. The building is more modern and has windows that extend down to the sidewalk. Autumn Joy is planted in masses all along the length of the building up against the windows. It’s a very interesting sedum and has a resemblance to cauliflower or a head of broccoli.  The flowers are light, a creamy pale pink and in the fall turn to a deeper pink and eventually a deep rust.  What makes this sedum interesting is its vertical growing habit.  Reaching about 2 feet tall with brilliant flowers on top. They make an excellent addition to any landscape but particularly if you have an area that gets a lot of sun but are unable to water very often.

I planted them at our driveway entrance where there is sun about 8 hours out of the day. They stand upright and do not needed staking. I can’t stop admiring them - they’re just so cheery. The flowers attract butterflies and in the winter the dry flowers  provide some interest and food for birds. Once spring arrives, cut back by simply cuttting the dry stalk as new growth begins to emerge -  around February here in zone 7. They  were planted in a landscape that includes a variety of Rudbeckia such as Cherokee Sunset, Grandiflora and Cherry Brandy. Other plants also included are Giant Hardy Phlox, Red Hot Poker, Ajuga and Golden Yellow Creeping sedum. These colors are all similar - reds, burgandys, yellows, lime green and purple. It would also be attractive planted with Russian Sage, Lavendar, Alluim and Silver Mound. All of these plants are drought tolerant and require 6 to 8 hours of sun.

I would recommend any type of sedum because of the low maintenance and general hardiness that this type of plant offers. It is also good for people who live in lofts or places where container gardens are kept.  Autumn Joy happens to be one of the more interesting varieties so I highly recommend them!

Directgardening.com offers lots of inexpensive plants, trees and shrubs but many have doubts about the quality of their items. Before i get into that,  I should let readers know that I have ordered from Directgardening.com for 3 straight years now since discovering them and have had good success with 90% of the items I have ordered.  That being said, there are things to keep in mind before trying them out.

Why is it so cheap?

The reason why Directgardening.com is so inexpensive is because they offer bare root dormant plants.  This typically means that you will get something that resembles a “stick” with roots if its a tree/shrub or just the roots if it is a perennial.  They do have some “potted” items but most are quite young. What does all this mean? To put it simply, it means that if you go this route,  you will  need patience to see your plants thrive.   If you want instant gratification or if you need instant landscaping, then Directgardening.com is not for you. Also, do not go overboard on the plant buying.  I highly discourage you from going crazy and spending hundreds of dollars. I do, however, highly encourage you to place small orders in case you are not satisfied it will not be the end of the world. Also remember to keep the packaging in case something dies and you would like a replacement.

What types of Plants are Best?

From experience, I have found that woody type plants are the best to order from them. I have had great success with a variety of bushes and shrubs.   Interestingly enough, the shrubs I have bough from them have more than outperformed nursery shrubs costing many times more.  Bulb, tuber, rhizome type things have also performed great.  Roses also do great from them as well. As far as perennials go, i have had some ok success but no where near as much as shrubs. Definitely avoid anything that is the slightest bit fussy even under the best of circumstances. To summarize, I highly recommend trees (be aware that they will be small), shrubs, bulb/tuber/rhizome plants and roses. Avoid fussy or hard to care for plants.

I have checked places like Gardenwatchdog and have seen negative reviews, what gives?

My personal opinion based on some of the reviews is that a great deal of customers simply do not know that they are ordering bare root plants. They see the colorful catalog and think they will get exactly what’s pictured.  The fact is that all bare root nursery catalogs do the same thing.  Is it bad to order from places with these catalogs? Not at all, it would be pretty difficult to order from a catalog full of bareroot “sticks”!

Another common theme to many negative reviews is that people simply do not have enough patience. They plant their “stick” and expect it to do something overnight. The fact is that it can take 1 to 2 weeks for your “stick” to start showing signs of life. Once it does, you will be amazed at how fast it leafs out and grows!

Yet another common mistake is that many people simply buy way too much. They order hundreds of dollars worth of plants and don’t have a chance or the time to plant them right away. Their plants die and they say the plants were DOA. When planting bare root, it is important to plant as soon as possible or at least place the plant roots in some soil if you cannot plant them right away.  Based on the prices,  buying 300, 400, 500 dollars can mean hundreds of perennials/trees/shrubs to plant!

Finally, one of the biggest complaints I see are people complaining that their plants arrived too early or too late.  It’s is impossible for online nurseries to perfectly time their shipping to your local weather conditions.  The best time to order is mid to late spring. This way you have plenty of time to plant and avoid any late frosts that will kill your newly planted bare root plants.  Fall planting is a bit trickier so unless your weather is pretty predictable, I would avoid bareroot planting in the fall.

Conclusion

Directgardening.com can be a great place to get some excellent inexpensive plants provided you know what to expect and don’t mind waiting a bit longer to see them thrive. I have personally been ordering from them for the last 3 years and have never had a problem.  Some of the first ones I bought are now beautiful large plants and shrubs that would have cost 10 to 20 times more had I bought them from a regular nursery. Did I mention how rewarding it is to see that “stick” grow up to be a full and healthy plant?  Do some things die, sure. I have had expensive plants die from nurseries too. That’s just the nature of gardening.  So if you are on the fence as to whether to order from Directgardening.com or not, I highly recommend trying them out with a small order.  Remember these pointers and you will not be disappointed with the results.

Decorative grasses can make a huge impact on your garden.  The trick, of course, is to find the right grass or grass like plant that will do best in zone 7. The thing about zone 7 is that the weather is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.   With this in mind you have to pick some grasses that are both hardy and heat tolerant.  Below are some grasses that will do great in Zone 7.

Pampas Grass

zone 7 pampas grass

Pampas grass is a zone 7 favorite because it is both heat tolerant and very hardy. In addition, it can have a huge impact on your garden. In fact it can be one of the most impressive plants in your garden collection. It features both thick, lush fountain like foliage and some extremely beautiful plumes that come in white or pink. In addition, the plumes add some winter interest even after the plant has dried and gone dormant for the winter.

Despite it’s popularity, Pampas Grass can prove a bit tricky to grow. The keys to growing a beautiful clump of Pampas Grass is 3 fold.  Provide it with full sun, give it plenty of room (these grasses can get extremely large) and plant it in well draining soil. The first 2 may prove easy enough. The last no so much. Many a starter plant has met its doom because it is planted in a soil that does not drain well.   This is particularly important during the winter as a clump will quickly die on you during the winter months if not planted in well draining soil.   If you have nothing but clay,as is the case in much of zone 7, then some good soil amendments will be required.  As an alternative, it can be planted at the top of a slope where the water will drain nicely.  Many if the well established grasses here in Tennessee are planted at the top of sloping landscape.  Nicely sized plants are quite common in big box stores and local nurseries so finding some quality plants should prove quite easy.

Zebra Grass

Zone 7 Zebra grass

Zebra grass is prized for its white striped weeping foliage, hence the name. This grass grows very nicely here in zone 7 as it is both hardy and heat tolerant. Another nice quality is the fact that it is tolerant of varying soil conditions, so it will grow in all but poorly draining soils.

As with many large decorative grasses,  zebra grass should be grown in full sun conditions for best results. That being said, it will tolerate a bit of shade without any problems. These grasses can get up to 7 feet tall but will remain somewhat compact spread wise, getting up to 4 feet wide.   This grass is non invasive so it can be planted along other plants in garden bed type setting.  Despite its nice growth habit and ease of care, it does not seem to be quite as popular as the pampas grass so you can still have so you can plant this yet still be original. Like the Pampas Grass this can be found at many big box stores and local nurseries.

Japanese Forest Grass

Japanese Fores Grass

Japanese Forest grass is perhaps one of the most stunning grasses you can plant. The lime/yellow waterfall like foliate  is truly amazing , quite beautiful and really stands out amongst green foliage plants.  In my opinion, the best looking grass that can be grown here in zone 7.

Unlike many decorative grasses, this one needs to be grown in part shade to part shade conditions.  This Japanese native grows on the wet, rocky cliffs in the mountains of the southeast Honshu, Japan so it will not tolerate long exposure to the hot sun here in zone 7. That being said, it is quite easy to grow provided you plant it in some rich well draining moist soil.  This grass will be right at home planted amongst your Hostas. Finding this grass at the big box stores can be difficult, so you may want to check out your local nurseries. You will also need a lot of patience because they grow very slowly. Don’t expect to have a large beautiful clump as you see in pictures for a few years unless you shell out big bucks for larger specimens.