Re: Sucker born every minute...

Karen,
I agree that some incidents could rate  the "Sucker" listing, but not all.

1. Violets - some violets are lovely and desirable.  I'd like to have
Syletta, but friends who've had it find it dies out like my Dancing Geisha
violet did.  I have had Labrador violets for years.  They spread nicely, and
are welcomed.  If they show up in the wrong place, I just pot them up and
give or sell them.  There are many beautiful violets, like Mars, out there,
that may not be to your liking, but for others, they exude a delicate
beauty.

2. Ivy - I'm not as happy w/Hedera helix as I once was.  It's nice in one
area, but where it comes through under the fence from my neighbor's garden,
I am constantly yanking it out.

3. Oxalis - like violets, they look pretty in a pot and make a nice little
gift.  Would Myosotis fall into this category?  Every spring I pot those up
for my annual sale and they all sell.  They make a lovely gift you can plant
or throw away.

4. Sweet Autumn Clematis - I have 2 rambuncious vines that only infrequently
toss out a seed that germs.  no big deal.  Re "Canna Omega, or Giant Arundo
grass, Helianthus (any?),White ginger,", Canna - not hardy here, not
familiar w/Arundo, have only seen perennial sunflowers in a prairie, and I'm
guessing the White Ginger is a Hedychium which isn't hardy here.

5. Crinums - I've paid the price and tried them, but they're not hardy here
and they never performed well.  They charge what they do because people will
pay for something pretty.

As to people being suckers for buying these plants, I don't necessarily
agree.  You seem to be targeting the quick growers.  To me, the suckers are
those that fall for the beauty of the Himalayan Blue Poppy or the Chilean
Blue Crocus (I'm guilty of both) and try to grow them in the wrong climate
without any chance of success.

Kitty


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tiede, Karen E" <karen.tiede@eds.com>
To: <perennials@hort.net>
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2005 5:59 AM
Subject: Sucker born every minute...


> Someone at the local farmer's market sells violets.
>
> Personally, I could consider almost any ivy in the same class as the
> more aggressive oxalises, but I admit, I've paid for the fancies.
>
> There's a white aster for sale and even the local garden columnist
> admitted she bought it on the strength of the description--only to
> discover it was the same as the weed she spent a lot of effort removing
> every year.
>
> I have some sweet autumn clematis free for the digging... It never
> spread in my last home, 35 miles north, and is everywhere and resistant
> to Roundup in this lot.  How about Canna Omega, or Giant Arundo grass,
> or Helianthus (any?).  White ginger, anyone?
>
> Even milk-and-wine crinums--I'm not offering to let anyone dig mine, but
> I'm pretty amazed at what they sell for, given how they have taken over
> the bed.
>
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