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#1
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North side of house - insane plants?
No surprise there, Face.
Both are weedy trash plants anyway. You might want to replace them with more deserving plants that are better behaved and more aesthetically pleasing. BTW, how do you know when your plants have gone insane? rosemarie face wrote in message ... I'm in z5 and have two Forsythias and a Rose rugosa growing on the north side of my house. They're growning like crazy. Rosie z5 Indiana |
#2
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North side of house - insane plants?
In article ,
"Cereoid+10" wrote: rosemarie face wrote in message ... I'm in z5 and have two Forsythias and a Rose rugosa growing on the north side of my house. They're growning like crazy. Rosie z5 Indiana No surprise there, Face. Both are weedy trash plants anyway. I like R. rugosa for the winter fruit & I have lately been considering it as a low maintenance street plant on the low end of a hillside road. Never having yet grown any I can't guess why you'd dismiss it so wholeheartedly, but seems to me even a lot of "weeds" can be garden treasures, that the difference between a weed & a flower is often subjective (I let a nightshade vine remain in one yard, a complete & utter weed, but it has been spectacularly lovely for its arrowed leaves, its blue flowers, & its red berries, & it even developed a pretty woody structure -- I'll pull out any others that appear but keeping one as a happy flowering vine is a happy thing to do). I'm not much of a rose fan overall, & the fancier the type the less interesting it is to me; the simpler the type, the more saving graces it has. Not long ago I was wandering along a sal****er inlet & came upon a large stand of R. rugosa thick with soft seedy hips, & was really impressed with how tasty they were right from the branches. I'd cooked hard rosehips before but somehow hadn't previously realized the rugosa hips are good fresh off the thorns in winter, if one forgives the percentage of seeds & lets the pulpy part melt in the mouth. I also liked the appearance of the old neglected tall & extremely upright winter thorns -- interesting winter appearance is another thing that attracts me to things. I saw a snowy-white blossoming forsythia & it struck me as quite pleasing & since it's the only one I've ever seen so far, can't regard it as overly common. I wouldn't want it, on some level it would be too much like my wild Philadelphius mock orange (another exciting weed). There are so many interesting new cultivars of yellow forsythias, & it is so reliable in its early-season heavy bloom, I really don't mind that it is overused. There was a huge one already on the property when we bought the place, so I wasn't tested as to whether or not I would personally have planted anything so common. But having inherited it, it has never disappointed me. I put up a page for it he http://www.paghat.com/forsythia.html plus a colorful autumn leaf page for it: http://www.paghat.com/autumnleaves3.html I do too often see in other yards forsythias trimmed back severely to contain the size, & though these butchered specimens still bloom well, when not blooming they look ugly as hell. But if it has room to fountain it can be a deserving center of attention, plus there are true dwarf cultivars if there isn't room to fountain, so no excuse for those butchered ones. Like many other over-used things (lilac trees spring to mind) they are popular because lovely & reliable. Here though is a buttercup winter hazel: http://www.paghat.com/winterhazel.html which is sometimes recommended as a less common & subtler choice instead of forsythia. It's never showy but it can be awfully pleasant in its lowkey manner. You might want to replace them with more deserving plants that are better behaved and more aesthetically pleasing. BTW, how do you know when your plants have gone insane? In my case, when I am listening to the shrubbery having conversations among themselves & with me, I can tell by their varied obsessions which ones are crazy. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
#3
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North side of house - insane plants?
The message
from "Cereoid+10" contains these words: rosemarie face wrote in message ... I'm in z5 and have two Forsythias and a Rose rugosa growing on the north side of my house. They're growning like crazy. No surprise there, Face. Both are weedy trash plants anyway. You might want to replace them with more deserving plants that are better behaved and more aesthetically pleasing. BTW, how do you know when your plants have gone insane? When they make crazy growning noises? Janet. |
#4
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North side of house - insane plants?
"Cereoid+10" wrote in message y.com...
No surprise there, Face. Both are weedy trash plants anyway. Since when? rugosa is edible - that alone makes it non-trashy in my eyes. And forsythia makes the very first flowers around here, and is a breeze to propagate by cutting (just push a stick of forsythia in the ground in october, and it will put leaves in March). And they are both relatively carefree. You might want to replace them with more deserving plants that are better behaved and more aesthetically pleasing. rosemarie face wrote in message ... I'm in z5 and have two Forsythias and a Rose rugosa growing on the north side of my house. They're growning like crazy. Rosie z5 Indiana rugosa will die in full shade. Even in part shade it will suffer. It needs full sun. Forsythia does a lot better in part shade. |
#5
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North side of house - insane plants?
paghat wrote: I saw a snowy-white blossoming forsythia & it struck me as quite pleasing & since it's the only one I've ever seen so far, can't regard it as overly common. I wouldn't want it, on some level it would be too much like my wild Philadelphius mock orange (another exciting weed). The white forsythia is not a true forsythia - it is Abeliophyllum disticum, aka white forsythia. Slightly tender, it is a much more attractive and well-mannered plant than forsythia. In our climate, it often blooms before forsythia, only hits about 5' max, has fragrant flowers and wonderful dark purple stems that contrast nicely against the white flowers. A far superior plant for these reasons, but like the true forsythia, doesn't have much to say for itself when out of flower. pam - gardengal |
#6
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North side of house - insane plants?
In article , Pam wrote:
paghat wrote: I saw a snowy-white blossoming forsythia & it struck me as quite pleasing & since it's the only one I've ever seen so far, can't regard it as overly common. I wouldn't want it, on some level it would be too much like my wild Philadelphius mock orange (another exciting weed). The white forsythia is not a true forsythia - it is Abeliophyllum disticum, aka white forsythia. Slightly tender, it is a much more attractive and well-mannered plant than forsythia. In our climate, it often blooms before forsythia, only hits about 5' max, has fragrant flowers and wonderful dark purple stems that contrast nicely against the white flowers. A far superior plant for these reasons, but like the true forsythia, doesn't have much to say for itself when out of flower. pam - gardengal Thanks! When I was told "that's white forsythia" I assumed a novel cultivar. But I disagree yellow forsythias aren't much out of flower. I've seen this comment often, but it strikes me as true mainly of cut-back specimens which are stubby & ruinous looking. I love the sweeping naked branches in winter when the bark turns rather yellow; the brilliant yellow & red leaves of autumn with occasional sprinkles of last-minute rebloom; the deep green sweeps of summer foliage... There's not a season I don't like a big wild-looking one, even if it outdoes itself most extremely when thick with yellow flowers. I've noticed not all of them gain the brilliant autumn coloration & that would be disappointing, but the one I inherited luckily has amazing autumn color. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
#7
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North side of house - insane plants?
paghat wrote: In article , Pam wrote: paghat wrote: I saw a snowy-white blossoming forsythia & it struck me as quite pleasing & since it's the only one I've ever seen so far, can't regard it as overly common. I wouldn't want it, on some level it would be too much like my wild Philadelphius mock orange (another exciting weed). The white forsythia is not a true forsythia - it is Abeliophyllum disticum, aka white forsythia. Slightly tender, it is a much more attractive and well-mannered plant than forsythia. In our climate, it often blooms before forsythia, only hits about 5' max, has fragrant flowers and wonderful dark purple stems that contrast nicely against the white flowers. A far superior plant for these reasons, but like the true forsythia, doesn't have much to say for itself when out of flower. pam - gardengal Thanks! When I was told "that's white forsythia" I assumed a novel cultivar. But I disagree yellow forsythias aren't much out of flower. I've seen this comment often, but it strikes me as true mainly of cut-back specimens which are stubby & ruinous looking. I love the sweeping naked branches in winter when the bark turns rather yellow; the brilliant yellow & red leaves of autumn with occasional sprinkles of last-minute rebloom; the deep green sweeps of summer foliage... There's not a season I don't like a big wild-looking one, even if it outdoes itself most extremely when thick with yellow flowers. I've noticed not all of them gain the brilliant autumn coloration & that would be disappointing, but the one I inherited luckily has amazing autumn color. In the proper placement, I'd guess I'd agree with you, but most seem to be planted in an area they rapidly outgrow and suffer for it by ill-mannered pruning. As a background shrub in a mixed shrub border, they can add to early and late season interest (not all get good fall color, though), but most seem to be placed as a stand-alone, single specimen - wouldn't be my first choice! BTW, I have seen a well-done forsythia hedge. Very neat, tailored shape and good blooms - guess they must prune annually immediately after bloom to get it to look well AND bloom. pam - gardengal |
#9
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North side of house - insane plants?
Very funny Cereoid ! But I still love these plants!! They don't look
like weeds to me . Rosie z5 |
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