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celtic_07

favorite perennial

celtic_07
11 years ago

Hi was wondering which perennial you couldn't live without and /or what one does the best .I know it's like choosing your fav. child. I grow perennials on a few acres and would like to see what others find are there fav.that I might be able to grow here in zone 3a-4b. Lois

Comments (18)

  • northspruce
    11 years ago

    I can't pick a favourite but right now I'm really liking Iceland Poppies. They're easy and re-seed just the right amount, and they look so bright and keep blooming a long time. Every colour looks like it would be a flavour of Sunny Delight. LOL.

    I also like Penstemon 'Dwarf Navigator'. They don't reseed but they can be easily grown from seed and they are reliable with no bug or disease problems at all.

  • Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden
    11 years ago

    Well, I AM a little prejudiced so I have to say peonies. I do have many different cultivars. They are just so tough and so, so. beautiful! Of course I also have many daylilies and many irises too so the line is very close. :)

    Ginny

  • LeoPrairieView
    11 years ago

    There is a 'Dropmore' cultivar of yellow foxglove that was bred by Frank Skinner. It has been coming back in the same place for several years now and so appears to be very hardy. The D, Grandiflora I had before that re-seeded in a different place each year and then died off completely. I have no idea if it is still available anywhere.
    Leo

  • LeoPrairieView
    11 years ago

    Oops! My last post was meant to go on the Foxglove thread.
    I don't think I could say which is my favourite perennial. Chrysanthemums perhaps, particularly now with the Jefferies
    hybrids which are hardy on the prairies. One perennial that I am very pleased with is 'Gentiana septemfida'. It has a long blooming time, is completely hardy and is very easy to grow but doesn't look like it.
    Leo

  • ostrich
    11 years ago

    Oh my! What a very difficult question.... so many wonderful perennials... hmm... the first one that came to my mind is tradescantia Blue and Gold. Have you seen that foliage!? OH MY GOODNESS! It is completely golden chartreuse, and forms an astonishing contrast with those deep blue flowers! Speaking about attention-seeking but with utterly good taste! :-)

    I grew them in my zone 5 garden before. Now that I am in Calgary, I was completely overjoyed when I saw them for sale in a garden centre recently! Supposedly it's zone 3 hardy. I must get it when my backyard is finally ready for planting! :-)

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    11 years ago

    Wow, that is a hard question! I guess i would have to go with lilies - a person can never have enough! Daylilies too. I also really like my lythrum - it has been so reliable and well-behaved over the years.

  • justjoey57
    11 years ago

    Iris's and peonies

  • CLBlakey
    11 years ago

    Bleeding hearts and peonies(crimson ones)

  • don555
    11 years ago

    Daylilies. Hardy, reliable, and so many different varieties. Ooh, clematis are nice too....

  • marricgardens
    11 years ago

    My favorite perennial is Rocky Mountain Penstemon, it's a true hummingbird magnet. Other than that I would have to go with iris, hostas or daylilies. I like the iris in spring, then the daylilies from summer into fall and when I need to rest my eyes on something that looks cool and relaxing, I head for the hostas. Oh, I almost forgot peonies! Marg

  • nutsaboutflowers
    11 years ago

    I really should stop reading this.......

    I haven't finished planting everything you guys "made me buy" last year, LOL !!

  • CLBlakey
    11 years ago

    NAF- you can't blame me I just got here a month ago "Whew!!"

  • nutsaboutflowers
    11 years ago

    Watch yourself.

    These people like to make the newer members into plant addicts =:)

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    11 years ago

    Clematis

    waterlilies

    Rhubarb ... okay, it's a perennial and gotta love rhubarb pie, lol

  • jel48
    11 years ago

    Hostas! But other favorites are iris, peonies, bleeding heart, lupines, roses, clematis... and the list could go on!

    But don't forget crocus! Do crocus, being a spring flowering bulb, count as a perennial? I love them because they are early flowering, when we still have feet of snow in some parts of the yard! And the primroses too!

  • celtic_07
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks guys I do grow a lot of those mentioned and LOVE them all. I think that my favs change with the blooming times.
    The spring brings tons of primulas for me white anenomes, virginia bluebells that I dug out of a ditch on a country road ( ? how they even got there no homestead anywhere)arabis creeping phlox called "firecracker" hot pink on long stems that blow in the windand the whispy forget-me- nots, need I go on.

    Now the irises (siberian @ bearded ) are putting on a great show ,gerianiums"Anikins pride" "ballerina" splish-splash""splendora"etc. John coutts centerau,oriental poppies and on and on , The paeonies are almost ready to bloom along with the daylilies.Roses are all on their way too.
    Sooo many childern!!!!! So CLBlakey watch out as NAF said the addiction goes on and on as well as one generation to another ( My father and Grandfather) Got to luv it Lois

  • Arrowwind
    11 years ago

    Im in a zone 2b to 3 and its pretty rough here. We have lots of sage brush with white yarrow that I assume is indigenous. Ive started planting rose, lavendar and golden yarrow in the sagebrush. Its super hardy and will spread and looks so beautiful out in the sage. A much better show than the white.

  • CLBlakey
    11 years ago

    it is a good thing I have other addictions (painting and decorating) to keep it in balance. I have been very good so far this year only bought 2 trees and some petunias. I have been giving away Jacobs ladder like crazy though.

    Arrowwind- it is amazing what you can grow in 2b if you prep your soil we have clay here- I have bleeding hearts, peonies, columbine, irises (not sure what kind brought them with me from zone 5), jacobs ladder and my neighbour (the real gardener) has tons of other perennial flowers too.

    Cindy

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