Re: New or Tried and True?
gardenchat@hort.net
  • Subject: Re: New or Tried and True?
  • From: P* E* <g*@gmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 12:14:31 -0600
Tried & true works for me.  And using more xeriscape stuff all the time.
Something croaks, it gets replaced w/ a rosemary shrub, a regular purple
coneflower or a salvia of an appropriate size to fill the hole.  I'm going
to re-do the flower bed in the Kemp city park in March w/ all xeriscape
stuff.  rosemary, cenizo, salvias, 'Powis Castle' artemisia & lavenders.
Another gal is going to get the rocks and gravel & I'm supplying the plants
and doing the planting (she has bad knees & no health insurance)  No more
dead flower bed in the center of town.  The mayor is delighted of course.
Plus all that stuff is evergreen so will look good 12 months of the year.
Woo.



On Sat, Dec 18, 2010 at 11:06 AM, Daryl <dp2413@comcast.net> wrote:

> I found that the Chicago-bred coneflowers never went dormant for me, and
> were then killed when the temps dropped abruptly into the teens, as they do
> here. Are you trying them, or Saul's? Saul's seem to do better here -
> probably because they're breeding and growing them here in the HHH south.
>
> I was working Customer Service for Van Bloem's during the 'Limerock Ruby'
> fiasco. I can't tell you how much we refunded on that one the year we
> carried it. It quickly left the catalog, as you can imagine.  I'd gotten a
> sample at a GWA meet the year before. Too bad nobody asked me. :-(
>
> One nice thing about being a member of the Garden Writer's Association is
> getting plant samples before they hit the catalogs. I've found some things
> that I absolutely rave about to my readers, but then there are those that
> are absolute duds in my climate, like the CBG coneflowers. Sometimes I'm so
> entranced by a plant that I've purchased additional plants the next year, or
> two or three if the sample fails, but I'm learning now to trust my instincts
> rather than to waste money. And frankly, if it doesn't like our climate, my
> readers aren't going to be able to grow it, either.
>
> d
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "andreah" <andreah@hargray.com>
> To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
> Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2010 11:30 AM
> Subject: RE: [CHAT] New or Tried and True?
>
>
>
> I'm really leaning towards the tried and true. I LOVE LOVE LOVE those new
>> Echinacea, however every single one I've ever tried has died except, of
>> course the original purple cone flower. Those, I can't divide fast enough.
>>
>> I tried the Limerock ruby back when it came out. It died. So, I am
>> sticking
>> with what I know will do here now. I don't want to spend the money and I
>> want my plants to thrive!
>> A
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Daryl
>> Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2010 11:20 AM
>> To: gardenchat
>> Subject: [CHAT] New or Tried and True?
>>
>> I was reading a trade article and the interviewee was asked what he
>> thought
>> of
>> some of the new perennials. He replied, " Coreopsis 'Crhme Brulee,' and
>> 'Limerock Ruby': These were hot, hot plants five years ago. Everybody had
>> to
>> have them. Now, they're like the lepers of the perennial community."
>>
>> I like that phrase, "the lepers of the perennial community." It fits. The
>> only
>> thing good about some plants, like 'Limerock Ruby', is that they make way
>> for
>> something else to kill.
>>
>> I've seen so many plants come and go in my previous hort-head life that I
>> now
>> prefer to grow the tried and true. If they're newer plants, I want them
>> tested
>> in my climate. I don't care whether a plant does great in Chicago. I want
>> it
>> tested at UGA. Even though UGA is a bit warmer in winter than my area, and
>> the
>> soil is better, and there are plenty of garden slaves (hort students) to
>> take
>> care of the beds and to weed and water, at least it's humid - with
>> hideously
>> hot days and many hot nights. If a plant thrives there, it's likely to
>> survive
>> in my garden.
>>
>> What do you think? Are you still wanting plants that are on the cutting
>> edge,
>> or do you prefer to save the money and the aggravation?
>>
>> d
>>
>> Visit the Gardening Forum Home Page to see what's new.
>>
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-- 
Pam Evans
Kemp TX
zone 8A

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