Re: daisies for shade

Roberta:

Thanks for your comments about daisies. Do you by any chance know the Latin
name of the woodland sunflower? I've seen two referred to by this name, and
one of them doesn't seem to be really shade-tolerant. (By the way, I meant
to say that I was staking Echinacea, not Rudbeckia. I think R. Goldsturm is
usually pretty good in shade.)

I had forgotten about the wood asters, which are basically weeds around
here--A. divaricatus and cordifolius. The wild ones grow at the edge of
woodland in highly acid clay soil, which, unamended, has the consistency of
concrete. In truly drought-stricken summers they fade away, only to return
the next year, but they put up with worse conditions than any other plant I
have. I have transplanted them to good, loamy soil, and while the roots
improve incredibly, the plants don't really perform any differently.
Conceivably, the plants really *like* bad drainage, and can't cope with the
gravel in your yard. What's interesting to me is how much the blue wood
asters (cordifolius) are affected by the amount of rain that comes down
right before they bloom. If there's suddenly a lot of water, the whole
neighborhood turns into a blue haze. Otherwise, the flowers are much less
prominent. (I've found that rain, but only in a particular time frame, also
has a big impact on Rose of Sharon and Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' blooms.) I
tried one or two of the cordifolius hybrids, and honestly, I can't tell the
difference between them and the species. But anyway, if you want any seeds
next fall, just let me know. I can easily mail you a few million.

Nancy (NYC, zone 6B)
>
>I too love daisy-shaped flowers. For me, Rudbeckia (don't think it's
>Goldsturm; it was growing here when we moved in 25 years ago) blooms well
>in shade, full or half. It does not need staking, so I'm guessing that the
>CV I have is more shade tolerant than Goldsturm.
>
>We also grow the Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus) and it does OK in full,
>dry shade but there is a high ratio of leaves to flowers. Still, visitors
>always admire it when it's blooming. It too was here when we moved in.
>
>There is another perennial daisy that I like called heliopsis that has
>both single and double-fl'd CVs and blooms a long time. It has very rough,
>hairy leaves and grows in sun to half shade.
>
>Re the Anemone blanda, I find that the blues last quite well but that the
>whites and pinks peter out after a year or two. Even with the blues, it
>doesn't hurt to plant new bulbs every few years just to replenish the
>stock. They are inexpensive.
>
>Some of the woodland asters might do well for you in half-shade. They tend
>to be white or pretty shades of lavender blue. I personally have had no
>success with them, but will keep trying. Does anyone have any tips? I see
>them growing wild in forests around here, but fancy cultivars I've
>purchased always seem to disappear. Maybe I should swipe some from
>someone's woods.
>
>Oh yes--I used to grow Doronicum and eventually lost it. Thanks for
>reminding me I need some more! I love the color. I believe it does go
>dormant once the hot weather arrives.
>
>Bobbi Diehl
>Bloomington, IN
>zone 5/6
>
>On Sun, 6 Feb 2000, Nancy Stedman wrote:
>
>> I have a real attachment to this flower shape flower even though it's more
>> associated with meadows than woodlands. I've done fairly well with Rudbeckia
>> 'Goldsturm' in half-shade (plants are much more open than they would be in
>> the sun), but I've lost all my Anemone blanda (whether due to dry shade, or
>> squirrels, I don't know) and my coneflowers have to be staked. Any other
>> suggestions for half-shade? Every now and then I see a reference to
>> "woodland sunflower" (various species of helianthus), and I also wonder
>> about Telekia speciosa and inula. How about doronicum? Does it go dormant?
>> Nancy S. (zone 6B, NYC
>>
>
>
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