Star Wars Garden Gnome Around Disappointments - Rose Verbena, Toad Lily, Epimediums Too Partridge Berry

I lately wrote most a duet of native groundcovers - golden groundsel as well as rose petty - that conduct maintain impressed me alongside their performance.

(That doesn't hateful I won't modify my hear alongside a few to a greater extent than years of growing sense nether my belt. That's happened earlier many times. But correct now, color me impressed. And I similar to recollect that I've learned to hold off at to the lowest degree a trivial longer earlier passing snap judgments.)

Anyway, it's non all sunshine as well as roses inwards the .

I've been forced to confront closed to disappointments this spring.

And since i of the principal goals of my weblog is to assist others acquire from my mistakes (and successes), I idea I'd percentage these disappointments alongside you:

Rose verbena (Glandularia canadensis) non looking its best

Rose verbena, Glandularia canadensis - Relatively piece of cake to respect at local nurseries (though typically inwards the shape of the 'Homestead Purple' cultivar...which may or may non truly live a hybrid), I'd heard warnings that rose verbena liked expert drainage as well as could choke if forced to overwinter inwards heavy, moisture clay soil (which I've got inwards spades).

Interestingly, rose verbena seemed to last our relatively mild wintertime without likewise many problems.
It fifty-fifty stayed somewhat evergreen as well as started blooming early on inwards the spring. I saw a swallowtail butterfly nectaring on i of the plants, which made me happy.

But soon, i past times one, the rose verbena plants started turning dark-brown as well as crispy. I'm calling this a failure as well as assuming either (a) it's a very short-lived perennial (practically an annual) or (b) it needs much improve as well as lighter soil than I tin give the sack provide.

It's a shame, because I've been trying to respect effective, native groundcovers, as well as rose verbena had closed to appealing characteristics - it's fast growing, semi-evergreen inwards zone 7, heat as well as drought tolerant, as well as has a long bloom season. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to conduct maintain the toughness or longevity I involve inwards a groundcover.

Don't run into anything here?
That's because I mowed downwards the onetime Epimedium leafage a calendar month or 2 agone as well as the novel slow-to-emerge leafage as well as flowers got chomped past times something (probably a rabbit). Which is a trivial odd, since the rabbits never bothered Epimediums much before...

its ain weblog postal service inwards May 2015.

Most sources recommend cutting off onetime Epimedium leafage earlier the novel leafage emerges. In years past, I done this alongside bypass pruners, but equally the patch grew a combat larger, I decided to travail mowing downwards the onetime leafage this year.

I don't know if the mower was to blame, but the novel flowers as well as leafage seemed irksome as well as lean to emerge this year. I was but starting to run into a fair amount of leafage when something - I recollect a rabbit - came as well as devoured everything.

That's interesting, because inwards years past, the rabbits conduct maintain seemed completely disinterested inwards Epimedium. Even earlier my Epimedium displayed a vulnerability to herbivores, I had soured a trivial on it. The flowers are pretty, but short-lived as well as rather inconspicuous. It grows slowly, which tin give the sack live a expert affair (you won't conduct maintain to worry most it conquering a garden bed piece your dorsum is turned), but it also way that you'll live waiting a loooooong fourth dimension for this groundcover to embrace closed to the world as well as get-go displacing weeds.

Although 'Frohnleiten' has grown fairly good hither inwards Middle Tennessee, the other Epimediums that I tried (x warleyense and x versicolor 'Sulphureum') conduct maintain non fared nearly equally well. They haven't been growing equally long as well as I've heard that Epimediums are notoriously irksome to settle in, but Sulphureum disappeared during final year's autumn drought as well as hasn't been seen since. The warleyense hybrid hung inwards there, but barely sent upwardly whatever novel leafage as well as then far this spring, as well as what did emerge was eaten but the same equally the 'Frohnleiten'.

I haven't given upwardly quite yet on my Epimediums at this point. If they recover from the rabbit assail as well as ship upwardly novel foliage, I'll live tickled pink.

And if that does happen, adjacent throttle I recollect I'll but acquire out the onetime leafage to decompose naturally without cutting it at all. I tried that final year, as well as fifty-fifty though the rough, leathery, tattered onetime leafage detracts a combat from the freshness of the flowers as well as novel leaves, it also provides a contrast that makes it easier to see the bronzy novel leafage on 'Frohnleiten' (which tin give the sack otherwise live a challenge to notice against a background of mulch or dirt) as well as also I suspect that the onetime leafage deters herbivores from chowing downwards on the novel growth.

Still, fifty-fifty if my Epimediums practice phase a comeback, I can't imagine getting whatever to a greater extent than at this point, as well as I'd solely consider recommending them for a really pocket-size garden where the irksome horizontal increment charge per unit of measurement would live an asset, or a larger garden where groundcover needs were somehow minimal.

Partridge berry (Mitchella repens) does embrace ground, but it's a pretty subtle plant. You mightiness easily overlook it inwards a large garden. And the ultra low-growing leafage doesn't block all the weeds.

Partridge berry, Mitchella repens - I've gone dorsum as well as forth on this plant. Much similar alongside Epimedium, i of my principal complaints would live that it's a sloooooow spreader. And the leaves are tiny. Which way that fifty-fifty where it does spread, weeds tin give the sack withal forcefulness their way through.

A close-up on the partridge berry. Note how the pocket-size weed - in all probability closed to type of Oxalis - has poked its caput through the partridge berry leafage without whatever difficulty. Having a ground-hugging establish similar partridge berry has closed to advantages - there's no involve to chop downwards onetime stems or seedheads, you lot won't conduct maintain to worry most it swamping whatever nearby plants - but it does throttle the weed-blocking purpose it tin give the sack play inwards the garden.

That said, I don't desire to live likewise harsh on this native plant. It blocks closed to weeds. It's essentially evergreen inwards Middle Tennessee. It had a few tiny flowers final year, though if it produced whatever berries, I didn't notice. I sure wouldn't discourage anyone from using this, nor am I contemplating removing mine. In fact, I but added closed to other clump of this establish to the garden this spring.

But I'm a combat disheartened at its irksome spread as well as imagine it volition live many years (if ever) earlier I conduct maintain a nice, thick, noticeable clump similar this.

Again, if you lot conduct maintain a really pocket-size garden or a garden alongside solely a pocket-size patch of bare the world to cover, this mightiness live but the ticket.

PS - Partridge berry is as well as then diminutive that I've oftentimes wondered how it avoids getting smothered past times leaves inwards its native woodland habitat. According to Brooklyn Botanic Garden, it to a greater extent than oftentimes than non grows on steep slopes where fallen leaves slide away. If you lot conduct maintain it growing on apartment province (like I do), you lot mightiness involve to brush away leaves to permit it run into the light.

Chomped toad lily.

Toad lily, Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki' - Bought this i on a whim during a plant nursery see this spring. Turns out that it makes first-class rabbit food. (Or nutrient for closed to other herbivore, but the signs betoken to a bunny.)


How most you? Any groundcover / perennial disappointments recently? Or happy surprises?