I had some fantastic results with impatens last year using them in nearly every
flowerbed. They grew early, stayed flowered the entire season and bulked up
nicely to form a beautiful wall of color and then winter came and, of course,
they died.

I would like to find a perennial that can come close to the benefits of the
impatens. For me that means that they'd be in bloom most of the season, require
little maintenance and fill out solidly. The basic colors are nice as well.
Whites, reds, etc.

I'm no gardner so this is all pretty new to me. The closest I have come to this
is a dianthus. I have one I love but it's still very small and I have not seen
its coloring on any other dianthus.

This is for Southern NJ. I'd go with impatens all the time but to do it the way
I'd like would require a yearly outlay of roughly $1,500 which is WAY too much
in my view to spend on annual flowers. The landscaping is already enough of a
small fortune without that cost.

Can anyone recommend a good solution or am I asking for the impossible?

*** RTH ***

"Rich Heimlich" wrote in message
...
I had some fantastic results with impatens last year using them in nearly
every
flowerbed. They grew early, stayed flowered the entire season and bulked
up
nicely to form a beautiful wall of color and then winter came and, of
course,
they died.

I would like to find a perennial that can come close to the benefits of
the
impatens. For me that means that they'd be in bloom most of the season,
require
little maintenance and fill out solidly. The basic colors are nice as
well.
Whites, reds, etc.

I'm no gardner so this is all pretty new to me. The closest I have come to
this
is a dianthus. I have one I love but it's still very small and I have not
seen
its coloring on any other dianthus.

This is for Southern NJ. I'd go with impatens all the time but to do it
the way
I'd like would require a yearly outlay of roughly $1,500 which is WAY too
much
in my view to spend on annual flowers. The landscaping is already enough
of a
small fortune without that cost.

Can anyone recommend a good solution or am I asking for the impossible?


I think your expectations are a bit high for a single perennial. Most
people plant their perennial borders with a wide variety of plants that
bloom at various times over the growing season. You could start with spring
blooming bulbs and pansies for early color. Then come the spring blooming
trees and shrubs and so on through fall. To that you can add texture and
color with foliage. You can phase it in with some beds being left for
annuals and others converted to perennial beds. It is nearly unimaginable
that a person could spend $1500 on annuals! That would be around 200 flats
with a quantity discount, maybe more.

One solution would be to do nothing. I find that impatiens reseed
themselves pretty reliable. If you don't use Preen, you should see them
return on their own. I'm sure that any reputable landscape firm would be
glad to assist you in planning your beds. I doubt that even few commercial
customers spend $1500 a year on annuals.

"Vox Humana" wrote:

I think your expectations are a bit high for a single perennial. Most
people plant their perennial borders with a wide variety of plants that
bloom at various times over the growing season. You could start with spring

But if you want a full bed how would you pull that off? Only small pieces would
be in color then.

annuals and others converted to perennial beds. It is nearly unimaginable
that a person could spend $1500 on annuals! That would be around 200 flats
with a quantity discount, maybe more.

Well, I can't get a flat here for less than $12 where you have yours at $7.50
above. I also have a large number of beds. I paid to have this done last year
and now I'm spoiled. It was incredible. Various colors the entire season from
April to October and just completely blanketed.

As far as doing nothing, that's what's happening right now in most of those beds
and so far, not a hint of a single plant for last year can be seen. All the
perennials are back and well on their way including the small dianthus which is
already in bloom. The clematis on the mailbox is already over the mailbox and
close to blooming. The nursery said I'd never see the impatiens again and so far
they seem to be the correct ones, sadly.

*** RTH ***

On Sat, 24 May 2003 16:45:45 -0400, Rich Heimlich wrote:

I had some fantastic results with impatens last year using them in nearly
every flowerbed. They grew early, stayed flowered the entire season and
bulked up nicely to form a beautiful wall of color and then winter came
and, of course, they died.

I would like to find a perennial that can come close to the benefits of
the impatens. For me that means that they'd be in bloom most of the
season, require little maintenance and fill out solidly. The basic colors
are nice as well. Whites, reds, etc.

I'm no gardner so this is all pretty new to me. The closest I have come
to this is a dianthus. I have one I love but it's still very small and I
have not seen its coloring on any other dianthus.

I've started getting into Dianthus the past 2 years, it's even somewhat
perennial here in S.E. N.Y. zone 6 if kept by the house foundation.
Whites, reds,pinks. GRanted their no impatiens but still look o.k.

Tom Randy wrote:

I've started getting into Dianthus the past 2 years, it's even somewhat
perennial here in S.E. N.Y. zone 6 if kept by the house foundation.
Whites, reds,pinks. GRanted their no impatiens but still look o.k.

I planted literally 3 a couple years ago and 2 died the first season (burned out
I believe) while the third has flourished and just keeps coming back. I'm been
thinking about dividing it which seems to be the way to spread it as its own
growth is slow. The only issue is that sites about them suggest they're a bit of
a pain. Having to pay attention to precise depths of planting, not allowing
mulch over them (the third one has had mulch over it every season), dead-heading
it, etc.

The one thing I really like about it is that it's a very full plant which is one
of my main concerns.

*** RTH ***

"Rich Heimlich" wrote in message
...
"Vox Humana" wrote:

I think your expectations are a bit high for a single perennial. Most
people plant their perennial borders with a wide variety of plants that
bloom at various times over the growing season. You could start with
spring

But if you want a full bed how would you pull that off? Only small pieces
would
be in color then.
-----------------------------------------

You can't, in my opinion. I suppose you might find some ground cover/shrub
roses that would bloom continually over the summer, but I don't know of any
perennials that will bloom for a prolonged time. Of course cannas are
perennials that should start blooming in late June in your area and they are
winter hearty in zone 7 and above. The would not be anything like impatient
however. I have had the small dahlia's like the Figero Mix miniature
dahlias come bake for a few year in zone 6. They would give you a low (10 -
14 inch) bed of colorful flower that bloom all summer and fall.

----------------------------------------------
As far as doing nothing, that's what's happening right now in most of
those beds
and so far, not a hint of a single plant for last year can be seen. All
the
perennials are back and well on their way including the small dianthus
which is
already in bloom. The clematis on the mailbox is already over the mailbox
and
close to blooming. The nursery said I'd never see the impatiens again and
so far
they seem to be the correct ones, sadly.

The impatiens don't come back until the weather really warms up. It is too
early. Also, if your landscaping people put down Preen to prevent weeds of
if the are is very heavily mulched they probably won't come back.

On Sun, 25 May 2003 03:29:32 -0400, Rich Heimlich
wrote:

"Vox Humana" wrote:

I think your expectations are a bit high for a single perennial. Most
people plant their perennial borders with a wide variety of plants that
bloom at various times over the growing season. You could start with spring

But if you want a full bed how would you pull that off? Only small pieces would
be in color then.

annuals and others converted to perennial beds. It is nearly unimaginable
that a person could spend $1500 on annuals! That would be around 200 flats
with a quantity discount, maybe more.

Well, I can't get a flat here for less than $12 where you have yours at $7.50
above. I also have a large number of beds. I paid to have this done last year
and now I'm spoiled. It was incredible. Various colors the entire season from
April to October and just completely blanketed.

As far as doing nothing, that's what's happening right now in most of those beds
and so far, not a hint of a single plant for last year can be seen. All the
perennials are back and well on their way including the small dianthus which is
already in bloom. The clematis on the mailbox is already over the mailbox and
close to blooming. The nursery said I'd never see the impatiens again and so far
they seem to be the correct ones, sadly.

Possibilities: for $1500, you ought to be able to get a garden
center/nursery professional to work up a plan for various perennials
that would (eventually) provide the sort of display you want, as well
as buying a large number of the plants suggested. This probably
wouldn't be perfect the first year, as many perennials take some time
to become established. But in 2-3 years...

If you have time and space enough, impatiens are *very* easy to root
from cuttings. And fairly fast-growing. I usually take some cuttings
before frost (later here than your zone), root in water, and plant
again in the spring. Not on the scale you're talking about, but they
*do* grow so easily. I got 2 hanging basketsful and a very nice
shrub-front display from a single 6-pack of small plants and some very
persnickety pruning and rooting.

What about "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow?" Dont't know its scientific name,
but it comes from white to purple, all on the same bush, and I believe it's a
tender perennial.
zemedelec

"Zemedelec" wrote in message
...
What about "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow?" Dont't know its scientific
name,
but it comes from white to purple, all on the same bush, and I believe
it's a
tender perennial.
zemedelec

I think that's a viola. Violas don't do well in heavy shade and don't like
really hot weather. But they will seed themselves around.

"Julia Green" wrote:

I think that's a viola. Violas don't do well in heavy shade and don't like
really hot weather. But they will seed themselves around.

The shade issue is okay as most of the beds are exposed with a few getting light
tree shade but the second part is the tough part. They don't like really hot
weather? Sounds like they need to grow in San Diego. grin It does get to be
100 here, not often but it does and we do have droughts though I do have a
sprinkler system so they would be watered enough.


*** RTH ***

"Rich Heimlich" wrote in message

The shade issue is okay as most of the beds are exposed with a few getting
light
tree shade but the second part is the tough part. They don't like really
hot
weather? Sounds like they need to grow in San Diego. grin It does get to
be
100 here, not often but it does and we do have droughts though I do have a
sprinkler system so they would be watered enough.

It might be worth getting a few plants and seeing how they do before going
out and getting (or starting from seed) a whole boatload of them. Having
some shade will help with the heat some, but you'll probably just have to
try some.

I have no personal experience, yet, but I have invested in some primula seed
this year and we'll see how it goes. They are more foliage than flower, but
the colors are bright and they are a perennial.

I'm with you on the annual vs. perennial thing, but for me it's more a time
issue than a money issue. And I love seeing them come back each year- like
an old friend!

Cheers-
Erin

"Steve & Erin" wrote in message
news:XdXAa.751071$OV.687379@rwcrnsc54...
I have no personal experience, yet, but I have invested in some primula
seed
this year and we'll see how it goes. They are more foliage than flower,
but
the colors are bright and they are a perennial.

I'm with you on the annual vs. perennial thing, but for me it's more a
time
issue than a money issue. And I love seeing them come back each year- like
an old friend!

Primulas are lovely but they only bloom in the early spring. By fall, they
can look quite ratty in my area. Logically, if there was a perennial
replacement for impatiens (something that stayed compact and was covered
with flowers from spring to fall) wouldn't everyone just buy that plant
instead of impatiens? Annuals have their place, but I think that a well
planned perennial border is much more interesting than an entire landscape
planted with a single type of annual. Another downside to planting a singe
species in every bed is that is far riskier. Should there be an infestation
of insects or fungus or a strange turn in the weather, your entire display
would be wiped out. After about mid-June I find it very difficult to find
flats of annuals and the ones that are available are very expensive.