Re: Lamium and pinks
- Subject: Re: Lamium and pinks
- From: B* C*
- Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 18:05:43 -0500
Claire:
I have a large quantity of limestone screenings left over from having
interlocking paving installed last year. I intend to use it, and a few left
over rocks (I'm sitting on about 40 ft of glacial deposits-there's plenty of
leftover rocks) to build a gravelly raised bed for my dianthus. I don't mind
if it's straight dianthus-there's a specialty perennial nursery near me that
usually has way over a dozen varieties and species for sale at any one time.
Ajuga growing in the lawn would be quite an improvement over all the other
stuff I have in the lawn-It used to be a hayfield and has never been treated
for weeds since it was. I figure after reseeding when we put the new septic
system in it's maybe 30% grass, the rest being assorted broadleafed weeds
(and Geranium pratense, Lychnis coronaria, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, poplar
saplings, and so on).
I know Lamium needs to be kept dampish when first planted but we only put a
new drilled well in last fall. Before that it was a dug well, with just
enough water for household needs if we were careful. Two loads of laundry a
week, and think before you flush. I may actually be able to water during
the dry spells this year.
Killed my A. major too, which was annoying because it was an expensive named
cultivar. I carried water to it for a couple of weeks and it seemed to be
coming along all right so I stopped. So did it.
Bob
>From: ECPep@aol.com
>
>In a message dated 4/1/02 6:56:18 PM Eastern Standard Time,
>llebpmac_bob@hotmail.com writes:
>
><< Ajuga and lamium are supposed to be thuggish-they're groundcovers. I
>wish
>I
> could get lamium to grow in my garden. Of course I also wish I could get
>my
> pinks to grow somewhere besides the driveway. That's life. >>
>
>Bob,
>
>USDA Zone 4 would be a maximum of 30 degrees below zero F. However that is
>not the only factor. The average number of days between killing frosts is
>also a zone factor. I never lived anywhere that an apple tree would not set
>fruit until I lived in the mountains. That was difficult to understand as
>they flower well. This past year we have not had temps below zero, not
>once
>and most of the freezing has been around twenty degrees F. ( around minus 5
>C.) So..........we don't know what zone we are in either. The beginning
>of
>spring growth, last frost and the first September frost remains at about
>115
>days though so fruiting woody plants are still restricted. That may be the
>more important zone factor.
>
>I could be lynched for this I suppose but I let the ajuga grow right into
>the
>lawn. Two or three colors. It blooms in the lawns and looks pretty good.
>I
>have no interest in lawn so the ajuga is not trouble to me. The lawn
>belongs
>to the other person on this farm who sees to it that what grows there is
>all
>about the same height. Ajuga lives perfectly well beneath the lawn mower.
>So does thyme. If you like perfect weedfree lawns, don't do this as you
>will
>never be free of it.
>
>The lamium will get started in damp shade. For some reason that is the way
>it thrives here. It did not like general border conditions. Will not do
>well with dry conditions. Here same as astrantia - same problem.
>
>Pinks of all kinds do not grow well in acid soil or even soil with a
>neutral
>pH. I also had dianthus deltoides all over the driveway for years until I
>planted them on slopes in nearly all sand or grit and added lime. I used
>plaster rubble as it seems to work better or wood ashes but I suppose
>agricultural lime is fine as well. Other lime lovers can be added so you
>don't have an isolated dianthus area. Centranthus did the same for me. I
>tried to grow that for ten years here and lost the plants every summer,
>half
>way through the summer, until they joined the sand and gravel and plaster
>area. Irises will like it there also (bearded irises). I like the very
>dwarf irises, the tall ones blow over in the wind and attract those awful
>iris borers. You can keep the area reading a high pH by adding the wood
>ashes over time and mulching with gravel. Another plus is that this type
>of
>planting needs no watering.
>
>Claire Peplowski
>NYS z4
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