Harbingers of Fall - Part I
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- JohnH_3
- Marge_Talt
- Cottage_Garden
- Marge_Talt
- Cottage_Garden
- Frances36
- Marge_Talt
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» Marge_Talt - Gee, thanks John, I'm glad you're enjoying my "style" (wasn't re
Gee, thanks John, I'm glad you're enjoying my "style" (wasn't really sure I had one :-) ) I'm looking forward to your tales from 'Down Under'....see ya' around the Suite.Marge
Gardening In Shade
-- posted by Marge_Talt
» Cottage_Garden - Hi Marge! Here's a question for you. I grow a clump of what wa
Hi Marge! Here's a question for you. I grow a clump of what was supposed to be "Gateway", and it's really nice and has grown well for me, and the flowers are about the size of dessert plates. A client has "Gateway" from another source and it has grown phenomenally and has flowers the size of dinner plates. They are both about 4 feet tall, the stems are dark... as you said, I really think the types are up for grabs, but could the bloom size difference be accounted for by culture?I'm sure hers has been watered regularly during our horrifically dry summer, fertilized according to Hoyle and mulched with cow manure and generally treated to a fabulous regimen of care. Mine, on the other hand ....
Anyway -- we have the white "bride" wild locally and I love the blue mist in the garden. They have started to bloom in town, but not at my house yet. I sort of hate to see them start -- they really are harbingers!
Barbara Martin
Eco-Gardens Editor
-- posted by Cottage_Garden
» Marge_Talt - Hi Barbara, Yes, I think cultural differences could account f
Hi Barbara,Yes, I think cultural differences could account for the flower size because I've got it in two places; one is the gravel parking area, where it seeded, and the other is in the berm border above the parking area, where it was actually planted on purpose.
Now, with our really dry summer, the gravel has been damper than the border and the flower heads on the guys in the gravel were twice the size of their parents in the border.
These plants really love moisture and I think lack thereof makes them unhappy and they show this by making smaller flower heads.
Interesting that both yours and your friend's are about four feet tall. Mine are somewhat taller, but I think that is due to their being in partial shade...you guys must have yours in the sun.
And, I agree, the types are up for grabs, considering what I found when I was doing research for the article. It also appears that the name 'Joe Pye Weed' is being used for others of the species because someone posted on Gardens-L that her 'Joe Pye Weed' had white flowers! As far as I know, this one would have to be another of the species since 'Joe Pye Weed' always has the pink range of flowers. As she bought hers with that name at some nursery, I have to say I wish nurseries would be a bit more careful with their nomenclature! Plant names and species identification are confusing enough as it is.
Marge
Gardening In Shade
-- posted by Marge_Talt
» Cottage_Garden - Hi Marge! Both of ours are indeed in full sun, and I know hers g
Hi Marge! Both of ours are indeed in full sun, and I know hers got more water than mine did. Makes sense it would stretch in the shade, too.I have seen a white version of Joe Pye called Bartered Bride -- it's a wild flower around here. "Eup. something" so it is a cousin at least!
Barbara Martin
Eco-Gardens Editor
-- posted by Cottage_Garden
» Marge_Talt - Re: Joe Pye
In response to message posted by Frances36:Hi Frances, Welcome to Gardening in Shade!
Yes, you can divide Jo Pye. They make a congested mass of fairly thickish roots. If you dig up a clump and shake or wash off the soil, they are pretty easy to shake apart into individual units that will put up one stem each. Each will have a growth point and roots that fan out around it in a circle.
Best time to do this, IMO, is early spring just as growth is starting but before the stems have gotten more than an inch or so high - this to avoid breaking them; they're fairly brittle...also gives them time to recover and they are raring to grow.
I have dug young ones up about any time during the growing season - but not for division. You can transplant about any time, although it's easier when they haven't put on much growth because they get so tall. These are pretty tough plants.
Depending on where you are, you could probably divide in fall, but if your winters are cold and you have freeze/thaw periods, it would be best to wait until spring as they would not be subject to frost heaving over winter.
My observation is that they don't put on much new root growth in autumn.
-- posted by Marge_Talt
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