My problem child is a boston fern. Everyone I know has them and they grow so good. Not me. I buy a new one every spring, and every winter it dies. Boo Hoo... it's become an obsession to make one live thru at least one winter.

Begonia is my best grower. I thin the plants and the ripped off pieces I throw on the ground root and grow.

I'm amazed at all the problems with lambs ears. We used to have them growing wild all over. This week I went looking for them and none to be found! I wonder what's going on with them this year?

i've got a lamb's ear baby!! just popped up in my dianthus...i'm not touching it! (chuckle)

shelly

Cosmos never reseeds or does well for me either. I have cleomes all over the place, but so far this year they look puny compared to last year--probably didn't thin them out enough, or maybe it's the poorly drained soil in some areas.

Sunflowers: most don't come up, if they do they look sick.

I just love to dig up my sick roses--then I can buy or transplant something new there, and planning is half the fun, isn't it?! I have a patch of pink old roses I found and transplanted when I moved here, bloom only once in the spring, but are so beautiful and smell so good they will stay, unlike the 'disease and insect resistant' Freedom Roses, of which I have one left, and can't wait to dig it out (I find most mini-roses short-lived as well). But I will certainly check this thread before making a final decision on what to plant there.

Brenda in Fla.: Have you tried 'Wilt-Proof' spray on your oleanders? I plan to try to overwinter mine outdoors using this to protect the leaves, but I'm only in z 7, so I'm beginning to worry, since I haven't had luck rooting cuttings of them yet. Last year I brought mine in when the temps got down below 10, and I had some damage but it is now in the ground, about 5 feet tall and blooming nicely ( I don't plan to break my back trying to move pots anymore). Maybe it's the variety you have? I hear the darker pinks are hardier, though there are some white ones supposedly hardy to z 7.
I have never seen my oriental lilies bloom after I put them in the ground from the pots they had been blooming in. Some foliage, then that's it. Last year I think rabbits got them, but this year they haven't even gotten that far.

Then there are all the seeds I've planted in containers that have failed because of fungus gnats or something. And maybe I pulled out the ones I threw in the ground because they looked like weeds.

My hollyhocks looked great at first, but now they're about 10 feet tall and flopping over their stakes--soil must be too sandy in that spot? In another area, one is blooming though only a foot tall--that's the clay soil area. Maybe we all just need more compost and time to amend the soil?

Well this has been fun; I can see why this thread keeps going!

My tall phlox is dying a stalk at a time. The leaves start to dry from the bottom up and then the whole stalk starts to fall over. Very ugly. It looks to me like the center of the phlox has gotten old and "woody". Mums die out in the center, could that be what is happening to my phlox? Has anyone else had this happen? Would it help if I dug out the middle for next year and separated the young shoots around the perimeter? I love my phlox and want to keep it pretty and erect.
In addition, I have tall orange lilies that bloom in the spring. Then I have to look at the bare stalks for months while they "feed" their bulbs. I have an idea and want to see if anyone has tried this. I would like to dig up the bulbs with the stalk intact and move them to the edges of my compost pile where I would cover the bulb with the composted soil and let the stalk yellow there. Then I would cut off the stalk in the fall and replant before frost. Please give me your thoughts on this process. Thank you.
A thought on everyone's zinnias problem. I raise a lot of them and feel they give you a lot of blooms for very little attention. I don't put them in until the end on May, I'm in Kansas. Zinnias like it hot so there is no reason to put them in earlier as they just sit there and wait for the heat. I also don't crowd them (I have in the past and powery mildew takes over). Then I water from the bottom, never wetting the leaves, they get about an inch of water twice a week from my hose. I ordered my seed from Redbud Farms on the web and they are huge, thick stalked and gorgeous, almost Dahlia like. Redbud Farms offers their seed in single color packets and I love that because whenever I've purchased a package of "mixed" all I get are yellow and orange. This way I can plant the colors I want for bouquets. I did use bamboo stakes as we sometinmes get fierce rainstorms here (this year no rain at all) that knock everything over. Hope this info might help those of you who have troubles with raising Zinnias.

I saw someone post that their coreopsis pretty much did nothing after planting. I planted coreopsis tinctoria a couple years ago. It's an annual but mine acted like a biennial. First year it grew to about 2 inches high and had about 10 flowers. They say it's supposed to get 3 ft tall. 3 ft tall... hmmm.. well the next year it made up for it and got over 6 ft tall and bloomed all over. This year there's nothing left in the ground so I'm guessing it's starting over and will be about 2 inches tall again.

Gardenia - plant every year, lose every year
Hydrangea - ditto
Verbena - likewise
Gypsophilia - see a pattern here?
Lantana - grows, but looks really scraggly

I have a pretty green thumb so I don't have to many problem plants, but verbena is defintly one of the few. I used to buy the annual six packs but gave up a few years ago as i watched my 1.29 wilt, shrivel, or just sit there and do nothing every single year. the other one I'm not very happy with at the moment is Astible. I bought one on sale two years ago. Last year it did absolutely nothing as far as flowers. All I had was a clump of small fern like leaves. I got sick in September last year and wasn't able to water it well and it shriveled on me. I thought for a while it wasn't going to come back this year, but as I was counting the self sown seedlings around a hellebores I have planted in the same area I noticed the reddish baby leaves poking up through the mulch. They look a lot bigger this year, maybe the damn thing will finally bloom.

bouganvillea

I know people that have a lot of luck with it, but I'm not one of them.

When I went to California and saw it basically growing like kutzu does in Mississippi but with beautiful blooms, I realized that it flowers with greater ease with a very long growing season and mild climate.

I'll stick with hibiscus for beautiful flowers.

bob

Australian blue hibiscus.

For some reason I have never been able to have success with Phlox. I've tried it several times but it just never did well at all. Could be my soil ??

hybrid tea roses for sure; I only bother with the shrub type roses now with a few climbers. I just put up with the blackspot on the ones that get it. I have a couple of hybrid teas that I moved this year and am waiting to see how they do. I have a 'New Dawn' climber that I planted last year and am hoping I'll have luck with it without having to put up with blackspot. I also treated all my roses today with a systemic product that's supposed to control bs and bugs. Here's hoping :-)

I just cannot get moonflower to grow, much less bloom. And I haven't had any luck getting passiflora to bloom. I have several ivy's growing on a fence and they all appear to be dying. I also killed a pot of ivy I grew in my house this past winter. How can ANYONE kill this plant?? Evidently I do!! Do I have a black thumb or what??

MINE IS ROSES BUT I CAN GET CLIMBING ROSES TO GROW. BUT THE REG. ROSES DIE VERY FAST ON ME. I KNOW IT'S NOT MY SOIL BECAUSE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW LIVES ON THE SAME PROPERTY AND SHE HAS ABOUT 10 ROSE BUSHES AND THEY ALL LOOK LOVELY. BUT HER CLIMBING ROSE LOOKS BAD. GO FIGURE.

Hmm..can't say I've had a truely disappointing plant other then buying what I thought was a gardenia but turned out not to be (still don't know what it is) but then again I've only really been gardening a year. I can admit to the fact I think my poor Key Lime is permanently stunted since I left it out one night and it got too cold for it - Lost ALL leaves and is just now sprouting more but they're comeing off the trunk of the tree lol.

Well the list of the dead in my yard is long. Lets start with tea roses. then we can move on to delphinum, ferns,and the beautiful but dead black eyed susan vine. Some days seems like the best crop I have is all of my rocks. They come up well every year with all of their cousins right behind.

I bought 3 beautiful thriving (but not yet blooming) Blushing Butterflies gauras in one-gallon containers a few days ago. Planted them in Georgia red clay and within 24 hours, they were completed wilted. I replanted them in another spot, gave them a good watering, and in the next 24 hours I realized they were in poorly drained soil. I just replanted them again--in their wilted, sad condition--in a sandy, well-draining spot. But they're still wilted and dead-looing. But could the roots have already died within a few days? What are the chances these beauties will recover? THANKS ANYONE!

Cat mint. I hope none of you were injured when you fell out of your chairs laughing. I can't grow cat mint of all things. That's like saying I can't grow crabgrass (which I grow very well).

The blackened yellow leaves, the ever present cloud of whiteflies that hover around the leaves and twigs, the motely growth of smallish leaves which remain pale green for a day and then have the life sucked out of them by the flies and mites. My Gardenias were causing my BP to rise every time I went in the back yard. The plants have been pruned severely, several times. True to their form, they make a successful comeback after every pruning to provide a feast for the white flies and to torment me some more.
I had tried the "water jet" the soaps, the tobacco juice, and failed. I have also tried insecticides which harmed the plant more while the flies kept on hovering. Finally I discovered "isotox", the systemic insecticide which is gentle on the plant but deadly to the flies. 1/2 tsp in 16 oz of water (added a drop of dish soap -for better wetting) and sprayed the 3 bushes, exactly a week ago. Happy to report that most of the infestation is GONE! and only a fly or two on some isolated leaf flutters when shaken. Lots of new green growth that has remained unblemished. Now I plan to apply it for two more times at a weekly interval to "break the life cycle" of the flies. Yesterday I caught myself humming near the gardenias :)

I haven't been able to find a gardenia that will survive Clemson winters. Do you know where I can buy the old-fashioned Cape Jasmine, which I have always heard called "kate Jessamine"?

I live in Clemson and have August Beauty planted against the East side of my house (morning, overhead and some afternoon sun. They have been there about 7 years and are doing fine. I also have an old gardenia about 10' x 10' growing on the South side of my house which came with the place. It may be 50 years old or more. The trick may be to plant them next to the house.

I have killed alyssum several times. Water, no water, sun, no sun, feed, don't feed. You name it, I've tried it. Suggestions?

I have had Gaura for 2 years and it has not bloomed for me? The only time I cut it back was late February...Also, asters look so pretty in the catalogues....but you can't grow them in the south...Humidity!

Hmm. I can think of a bunch...

Carpet roses. My idiot brother-in-law praised these things to the skies a few years back, so we planted half a dozen of them. About the only good thing they do is keep the dogs from digging. Poor growth habits, blackspot-o-rama, skanky looking flowers - they're even worse than my hybrid teas (which are also scheduled to go to that great compost bin in the sky this year).

Salvia spp. See above about idiot BIL's recommendation. Flowers don't make up for weedy, scraggly-looking foliage.

Pieris spp. Idiot BIL hit the trifecta. We put it in a sunny, well-drained spot, added lots of compost and soil conditioner and fed it Holly-Tone every year. Three years later, it's still sulking there, the same size it was when it came from the nursery. A couple of hydrangeas planted nearby at the same time are now 6' around and laughing at it.

Oh, and in case you're wondering what Idiot BIL does for a living: he has his own landscaping business. I only hope his clients like his work better than we did.

Oh Wow! I have Terrific! luck with roses and I don't spray or fuss over them. I think the key to good rose success is to find the right varieties for your area. Also, stay away from hybrid teas. I can't grow Boston ferns, ditto lambs ear and guara and, don't laugh, Cosmos!

Thank you, thank you ! I thought I was the only one who can't grow "easy to grow" plants. My passion vine doesn't bloom but grows like crazy - one pot of moonflowers is doing great - another pot 4 feet away looks sick, zinnias, cosmos won't come up, gave up on plumbago, lamb's ear - so-so, do good with snapdragons and shasta daisies, finally got coneflowers going after two years, have given up on sea holly (oops, no I haven't - I just ordered a plant! after trying seed for 3 years!!) time will tell on this one. Many others that come and go quickly, but the fun is in the trying different things. This is a great support group ---Hi, my name is Diane and I am a plantaholic.

LOL, this is great. I'm currently on trial at the plant court for the killing of 2 camelia's, 5 boston ferns, 6 azaleas and 4 poppies. But... I'm hoping for probation to take care of the dozens of impatiens, geraniums and angel trumpet plants that I started from seed and wintered over plus my 4 gardenias that are beautiful. Maybe they won't hear about the numerous spider plants or wandering jews that have gone to their maker while residing in my home. If you are on the jury please be gentle with me. LOL

Cindy

I live in north central Florida, and I killed a hibiscus. Seeing them all over my town, I thought it would be easy to keep alive, so it was one of my first plants in my first garden. In the shade, the leaves turned yellow and fell off, so I moved it to a sunnier spot. I watered regularly, but the leaves continued to be sparse. Finally, winter hit and it did not survive the cold.

I have had some luck with a rose plant my neighbor gave me shortly before she moved and I would love to find out what kind of rose it is. The plant has thin branches and small, fucshia flowers. It has been growing rather quickly and, since spring, it is blossoming quite abundantly. I haven't experienced any black spots, like my other roses right next to it get, but it has had a "swiss cheese" type of disease that is easily controlled by spraying soapy water on them. As it continues to multiply, I think I will be populating other parts of my garden with it or sharing it with friends in the area. It's a low-maintenance, beautiful plant.

Well,

I used to grow roses and was pretty good at it--I had lots of blooms. However, the blackspot, thrips and watering schedule were just toooooooo much for me. If scientist could create roses that could resist blackspot, then maybe I would grow roses again. Blackspot was the main reason I gave them up though--that stuff was like wildfire once it started.

Also, the pesticides and fungicides needed for roses were definitely NOT good for me to breathe in or to be around all the time.......so I just gave 'em up for that reason and went with hummingbird/butterfly natives and other fragrant plants. Glad I did.

Mine was the foxglove. I bought a nice clump and the first year they were simply spectacular. This year they got fungus and did not look good at all. I am tempted to put them on the compost heap. I know they are biennials but I wanted the same show the second year. We have a lot of heat and humidity here and get fungus and bugs but I hate to spray.

"Geranium Tiny Monster" from Park's!!

I have had one for two years (the other two died.) This morning my husband was reading a Park's catalog and said "Hey look at this! It oughta be great out back of your pond".

So I took him out back of my pond and showed him the "Tiny Monster" that I have renamed "Sulking Bratty Kid". He said "Where are the little blue flowers?" He just doesn't get it.

My list of disappointing plants has grown to volumes since this thread started.

Here's a few: licorice plant. I bought 3 this year and all died from rot /and or mildew. All were in separate locations too. Of course, we have had tons of rain.

Yuletide Camellia. Many of you love this variety. Mine has beautiful foliage ...and buds that freeze each year...except on the back of the plant. My other camellias do not do this. Ive had mine for 3 winters now.

Magnus Echinechia- Spindly and not vigorous. It gets the same light, soil and fertilizer as its neighbor's autumn joy and goldstrum rubeckia. They are magnificent.

And yes, Endless summer hydrangea. I haven't given up yet, but Nikko does as well, if not better.
I have 2 endless summers-bought last summer and a dozen or so NikkoÂs.

Hopefully, this yearÂs purchase- Lady in Red, will not make this list!

i can't grow clematis.....does it really exist how they show it in the magazines? or is that just trick photography??? what a mean joke to play!

Canna. The pests drive me crazy and it is not worth spraying the heck of them.

For Lambs ears, Dianthus and other plants that cannot stand a lot of moisture at their base, I first create a small mound of soil, cover it with gravel or sand (about an inch) and then put the plant in at the top. That way the leaves stay dry and do not rot. I water only once a week during the driest months. Susan

I can't get my firebush to grow. It's a native, so it should thrive, but it hates me. It's been 2 feet tall for 3 years now. I'm gonna move it soon. My neighbor planted hers last year, and it's six feet tall! No, mine isn't a dwarf, just won't do a thing.

I've also been disappointed in my purple ruellia. I wanted them to spread, people promised me they'd spread, but they haven't at all. I think I have one of the new non-invasive hybrids. I need the invasive kind!

yeh, the fuzz on lambs ears is definatly a adaption to prevent water loss so it will like it very well drained, hot, and dry.

I cant get beebalm to grow, it always is defoliated by midsummer.

I can grow lambs ears with no problem. I cannot grow Heuchera, astilbe, or nemesia. I have one heuchera (purple palace) that is doing just okay...it bloomed, but the others I planted are all dead. Atilbe dies almost immediately. Peonies will not even come up. Dahlias are puny and long and straggly. Maddening!

Nanahanna

Well, thought I would come back with the end of summer woes. I started about 15 hibiscus this year. Not one single bloom on any of them. I lost about half of my angel trumpets to bugs. These same bugs killed a lilac and a pussy willow and really did some damage to my sweet potato vine and even my coleus. I cannot find the bugs so I can't figure out what it is. I've been out in the middle of the night with a flash light with no luck either.

About mid summer I cut all the rose bushes back. They had black spot so bad from all the rain they looked like they were in agony. They have actually started coming back and I discovered a pretty yellow bud on one of them last weekend.

I put 3 rhodies in the ground and they died almost immediately but the 2 in the greenhouse are doing wonderful. I don't know why. My Heuchera did fine but like Nanahanna my astible keeled over almost immediately.

It's really disappointing. I don't understand why I can grow things beautifully in the greenhouse but planting them outside is like pronouncing a death sentence on about half of them. I can only think that I have soil issues for some things.

Next summer I'm going to stick with what I did well and what seemed to be happy in my dirt.

Hee hee, I guess that's the best part about gardening. There is always next summer!!!

Cindy

Looks like the newer passionate gauras are worth looking into. I think they might do well in my East San Francisco Bay garden, where summers are hot.
PLANT PROFILE
In recent times members of the gaura clan (more commonly know as 'Butterfly Bush') have seen a resurgance of popularity amongst Australian gardeners. In earlier times their sprawling and somewhat untidy habits meant they were almost exclusively utilised in mixed perennial borders where they could weave their impressive floral display through supporting neighbouring plants or shrubs but in the past few years we have been fortunate enough to have the introduction of a selection of cultivars that added new flower colours such as the popular G. 'Siskiyou Pink' as well as those with dwarf habits and/or ornamental foliage (see G. 'Crimson Butteflies').

The PASSIONATE range of gauras, however, now offer us that keenly sought upright, erect form which not only keeps a tall dense habit but also retains a neat appearance throughout the winter months.

The prolific display of pink flowers are borne on shorter than usual stems and will add colour to garden borders for an extensive season with main flushes occurring during the warmer months although spot flowering may also occur during winter months. The dense, upright habit coupled with burgandy colouring in the new growth makes G. 'Passionate Blush' and G. 'Passionate Pink' terrific specimen shrubs as well as offering the potential for creating an eye-catching, informal hedge.

G. 'Passionate Rainbow' also offers ornamental foliage but differs in that foliage is variegate giving a more 'golden' appearance. All are easy to grow and require little maintenance for a great and lasting show!
PLANT USES
The most immediate application which comes to mind when viewing this vibrantly coloured plant is its charming presence for the traditional cottage style garden where it can casually intermingle with other 'frothing' perennials in a border for that romantic ambience often sought after. This is not to say that it cannot just as easily be incorporated into simpler schemes for those limited in time. Also a particularly good choice for water wise gardens. A particularly striking garden feature that could be achieved using these robust performers would be an informal hedge which, when in flower, would be hard to upstage! PASSIONATE range gauras could also be grown in a large size container or tub for inner city gardens or paved areas.
CULTURAL CARE
Gauras are easy and fast to grow. They tolerate a wide range of soils from sandy to clay based although performs best in a well drained, moist and fertile soil. Cold and frost tolerant. Will grow in hot, dry conditions, however, mulching and occasional deep watering during extended dry periods is recommended. Easy to prune - simply trim off up to half of the plants overall size in early spring to promote flower production and to maintain a neat shape. A light prune to remove spent flower stems in mid summer can extend flowering into winter. An application of slow release fertiliser during early spring would also be beneficial.

I am glad I am not the only one with magical plant-killing powers! My husband INVARIABLY sees me with new plants/seeds and says "What are those?" When I tell him, he always says, "That may be what it is NOW, but in a few weeks it will be just as dead as all the rest." Really, I am not that bad, he just teases me cause I get upset when things won't grow for me. I am a little naive, too, because I really thought everyone else out there just planted whatever and it grew effortlessly! Thanks for reassuring me.

Datawgal, you can send me the pink flowered ruellia; I think they are gorgeous and if they grow prolifically for me I will feel like a success! (I am zone 7B, so would not make it here anyway)

Amy

Was surprised to read that someone had managed to kill obedient plant. I've been trying to do that for several years, now and can't get rid of the stuff. Obedient it ain't! Invasive, yes.

Isn't it amazing how different people have problems with different plants? How can that be?

I have to agree with whoever was having difficulty with marigolds. And I find that embarrassing! Those are supposed to be easy enough for small children to raise!

No problems with gaura - which I adore - and my roses are amazingly stubborn in spite of a bit of neglect. My stokesia is utterly gorgeous and just divided it early this spring so I can have even more of it! Even my lamb's ear is doing o.k. Not as big and wooly as I'd like but it made it through a deadly summer and a winter so far and is actually growing.

Black eyed susans have refused to thrive since we moved to this dry place in the country. They were EVERYWHERE in the bog we lived in before. Do they really need THAT much water?

Oh...and my blueberries are acting sickly. What's up with THAT?

My Stokesias are out of control. They reseed so much, I no longer have any idea which plants were my original selected forms and which are now seedlings (except for obvious ones that have sprouted several feet away from my original plants). I have a hard time bringing myself to pull them out. I should take the time to dig up a bunch and replant them elsewhere where I could use some spreading plants.

I have a green thumb with most things - but there are some things that confound me. I can't seem to grow a decent Fig tree for anything... And my banana trees never get very tall .

I can grow some monster Gardenias though! :)

glad i live in oh. i think i have a green thumb. i can grow just abt anything.albeit i mught have to overwinter some bulbs and tropicals.the problem that your having in zs 7,8,maybe 9 is that your simply giving your lambs ear too too too much water. It will grow in the poorest conditions!

I just like having a five year old thread!

Lantana is king right now....

I have rotten luck with roses. This year I have planted 8 total; 6 to begin with, and replaced 2 of the 3 that died before they grew.
RIP:
Mister Lincoln
Queen Elizabeth
Gold Glow

The BIGGEST disappointment, though, is the "EASY DOES IT" rose. It's still alive, but every time it buds out it gets powdery mildew and I have to cut it back again. I have yet to see this plant bloom.
Next time it turns all white and fuzzy, it's gone.

And Gaillardia will not grow in my yard at all. Just turns all spindly and yellow.

I live in North Georgia where morning glories and honeysuckle runs rampant. Everywhere except my yard, I have tried everything I can think of, just past my fence honeysuckles grow rampant, but they die as soon as they try to cross the fence even if I just try to let the wild ones in they yard.

:(

I can't get thyme to grow well - it ends up twiggy, and suspending itself of light. Blueberries are struggling as well.

My growing area transitions from bog to clay over a short area. A huge grasshopper population demolishes any leafy greens I plant.

I kill roses and geraniums. Think it is just too humid and rainy in my Summers. And if the roses survive the wetness, the deer eat 'em anyway!