A Shade-Loving, Unique Perennial After extensive trials of perennials at Chicago Botanical Gardens, the hybrid, 'Sinonome' was rated one of the top toad lilies. It has shiny, green leaves that cover all sides of the upright, arching two to three foot high stems. In late summer to early fall, the stems will be topped with the one inch blooms that toad lilies are known for. The lightly fragrant blooms, which will grow in clusters, are white with purple-ruby (raspberry-colored) specks.
Planting and Care
$7.85 from 1 quart pots; save 10% when you buy 3 or more. |
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Message From Alan If you want blooms for Christmas, now is
the time to bring in your poinsettia and start the ten week/fourteen
hour nighttime darkness regimen. Keep the soil evenly moist and include Check your
lawn for beetle grubs. Several people who had lots of beetles are
reporting no grubs. However, some folks who saw very few beetles this
year are reporting lots of grubs. It's all very strange.
I notice that one of the large grass seed packagers actually recommends
an understandable rate to apply tall turf type fescue seed. They
recommend 12 seeds per square inch. At least, this formula is a good
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Garden Club
Questions and Answers Question: How does one propagate a butterfly bush and a hydrangea? What season is this best done in? When can I trim both of them safely? Answer: You can propagate both hydrangeas and butterfly bushes from cuttings taken in mid-summer and placed in a light professional soil mix. Although you are past the ideal time, I'll bet that cuttings taken now will still root and grow if kept indoors until late May. Butterfly bushes are best pruned to within a foot of the ground in early spring and trimmed again lightly just as the initial bloom fades in early-mid summer. Continue trimming away spent blooms through the end of August. Blue or pink blooming hydrangeas are best trimmed at the end of July, just as the blooms fade. Question: Have you ever tried starting Liriope from seed? I would like to harvest some seed and try later this fall. Do you have any suggestions? Answer: Liriope can be grown from seed. Pick the black seed pods, let them dry and store in the refrigerator until late February. Then start the seeds indoors. Liriope spicata, the groundcover liriope with the narrow leaves and runners, comes true from seed. Clump forming Liriope muscari is often variable and inconsistent from seed; so the resultant seedlings aren't really satisfactory as an edging or for mass planting. Question: Something is eating the bark on my lilacs and is actually killing whole branches. Do you have any idea who the culprit might be and what to do? Answer: Large European Hornets are the culprits. They are particularly prolific this year and they are also eating rhododendron bark. These hornets are not very aggressive towards humans and are actually beneficial because they attack and kill leaf-eating caterpillars. It is hard to know what to do. There are reports that "Tanglefoot" acts as a deterrent but does not kill the hornets. The hornets usually attack the largest stems so it is not necessary to apply "Tanglefoot" to the smaller stems. These hornets are night fliers and they continue stripping bark into November to make their nests. They make new nests every year in tree cavities, or free hanging in a protected spot, such as a corner soffit. If you can find the nest and if you absolutely must spray, use Sevin. The hornets fly in straight lines and are relatively easy to follow into the nest, albeit at night. Question: The callicarpa that you sold me a few years ago is now loaded with berries. I was planning on cutting some. Do you recommend putting them in water or letting them dry?Answer: I have never tried callicarpa in water because I have always been concerned that the stem would not take up any water at this time of year and the water would putrefy. Because callicarpa berries are not well affixed to the stems, I have avoided a regular water-changing regimen. So I have always kept my cut callicarpa stems without water. In a few days the leaves turn dry and are easily removed and the beautiful berries last for a month or so indoors.
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