Fall is a great time to thin out and divided your German iris bed. With the recent rains in the Omaha Metro area this makes it easier to work the soil. German iris should be divided and thinned every three to four years. If you have a larger bed with multiple cultivars you may need…
Tag: Perennial
Three Perennials to Try
With more people working remotely this year we have received an abundance of calls this summer. Callers are looking to spruce up their flowerbeds. Some just wanted something new. Others were wanting to expanding gardens. Here are a few plants that are well known but often not used. Astrantia (as-TRAN-shi-a) or Mastewort is a perennial…
Double Trouble
Visit any of your favorite garden centers and you will see new introductions of old familiar favorites. For instance the purple coneflower is no longer purple. It comes a range of colors from red, yellow, orange, green, and white. You will even find cultivars where the traditional cone has been modified into flower petals often…
Two Weeds
Common names are misleading. I often talk to clients about planting regionally native plants and two standouts are Joe Pye weed and western ironweed. Both plants are great additions to the late season garden and benefit pollinators. However, the first question I get after recommending them is “. . . but why do I want…
Surprise & Toad
Nothing signals the start to the end of summer like seeing the surprise lily (Lycoris squamigera) bloom. We will start to get calls here shortly from clients asking what are those pink, naked, flowers blooming in people’s yards. Unlike most perennials that produce leaves and blooms at the same time, surprise lilies will produce long,…
Fragrant Solomon’s Seal
In the last two weeks besides being asked what to do about Japanese beetles I am getting bombarded with questions about what to plant in the shade besides hosta. True enough there are only so many different types of green hosta that you can plant in the shade and this is where Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum…
Tiny Treasure
Bitter root or Lewisia cotyledon (loo-ISS-ee-ah kot-ih-LEE-don) is a perennial evergreen native to the Pacific Northwest hardy to zone 4 (-30 °F to -20 °F). They form small rosettes about 12″ across and flowers that range from yellow, reds and white. Yes this little gem can grow in your perennial garden if, and only if,…
Barrenwort For A Barren Space
Barrentwort or Epimedium (e-pi-MEE-di-um) is a perennial that is often overlooked for the garden. As the name implies it thrives in barren locations. This is one of the few plants that can tolerate and grow in dry shade. The flowers are amazing and thanks to new introductions such as Epimedium x rubrum (picture shown in…
Winter Water
When we think of droughts we often think of soaring heat, lack of rainfall and summer. We never stop and think that a drought can happen anytime of the year in any season. Winter droughts do as much damage, maybe even more, as summer droughts. This is because we tend to not think about our…
Boo!
A few weeks ago I blogged about plant names and how they can be misleading. Since Halloween is only a week away I thought I would share with you three of my favorite spooky plants: Death Camass, Bloodroot and Skeleton Weed. Death Camass (Zigadenus venenosus) is a native bulbous perennial that is found throughout the…