Re: Aconitum

**C* U* <c*@sbcglobal.net>**

Hmmm. I have had a somewhat different experience with Aconitum here in
Chicago. I bought my 3 plants mid-summer in gallon pots and they grew
up to bloom sparsely that first year and the year afterward, which
caused me to think they were in too much shade, even though they're
touted as a shade plant. A year and a half ago I moved them in March,
once they were showing tufts of new growth. I had been told they don't
like to be moved so I figured I should do it while they were still
somewhat dormant. I monitored them carefully and watered regularly.
They took off and were so much happier in their new location where they
get more sun. They're still showing some bloom, although they're
clearly on the way out. I live near Lake Michigan and I don't usually
get frost until November. (I still have impatiens blooming and one
recent year I left a cymbidium out until Thanksgiving.) One interesting
note pertaining to the shade issue: the plants are now near a magnolia,
and there's a real stair-step display, with the plant getting the most
sun being the tallest, and the one nearest the magnolia being the
shortest. Yes, they bloom in shade but they bloom better with more sun.

Carolyn Ulrich

On Thursday, November 4, 2004, at 09:22 AM, Garden Design, Inc wrote:
Nancy:
 I realize as I write this that this should be posted to the
gardeners

list. But I think there's also a green industry/political question
wrapped

up in your praise of Aconitum.
 Aconitum takes pride of place as the most favored perennial that I
have

ever put in the ground. Pictures of it accompany every plant lecture I

give. I have a great, tall stand of them at the top of a bank against
the

back of my border. The sun sets behind them. It's backed by Rudbeckia

nitida 'Herbstsonne' and fronted by New England Asters and a great
group of

annual salvia. Before the frost it was framed with a large mass of
'Gay's

Delight' Coleus and the fall color of a large Chionanthus. It is an

stunning fall collection.
 However, we seldom use it in any of the designs that leave this
office.

When I've talked to other designers and garden center owners about the
sad

neglect of this wondrous plant, the answer is always the same: it
blooms

too late. There is some slight concern also about it's poisonous
heritage.

In the spring, at the garden center, no one notices it just peaking
out of

its pot. By the time it's tall enough to be "showy" no one is
shopping. As

a designer's tool, it's either unknown or too difficult to find or
keep in

the holding yard. It's very difficult to hold in quarts--it gets
leggy and

flops, or gallons--where it has a bit of a temperment with water and

nutrient requirements. It wants to be planted quickly and that's not
always

possible. It's also very slow to acclimate. I've had it in my
church's

symbolic garden for three seasons in full sun and it still isn't big
enough

in its clumps to stand upright throughout the entire season.
 I think a lot about all of the plants that are underutilized in our

industry. I struggle constantly with the great "winners" in my garden
and

recognize that with each of my passionate picks there are reasons why
they

wouldn't be good for the clients or the garden centers. Even with a
sense

of strong commitment and dedication to communciation, is this a good
plant

for everyone? No. It requires patience. Most of our client's just
can't

wait for the lust garden and instant gratification. I think that the
big

box shopper is of the same mentality.
Kirk R. Brown
Joanne Kostecky Garden Design, Inc
4905 Hamilton Boulevard
Allentown,  PA  18106
610-530-8752

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