I'm trying to overwhelm the grass in a certain part of my yard. To that
end, I've planted some portulaca. But this area would also be perfect
for bluebonnets. Can I plant some bluebonnets in there, too, or will
the portulaca overwhelm the bluebonnets, too?

Karen

In article .com,
" wrote:

I'm trying to overwhelm the grass in a certain part of my yard. To that
end, I've planted some portulaca. But this area would also be perfect
for bluebonnets. Can I plant some bluebonnets in there, too, or will
the portulaca overwhelm the bluebonnets, too?

Karen


You could try it and see. :-)
The bluebonnets are only going to last thru the first part of spring,
then die back. The moss roses will last all year, and bloom all year
once they get going!

Good choice. Beautiful little plants!

I've never tried using annuals to choke out grass. does this really
work??? If so, I might plant a border of those in the bulb garden
instead of my usual caladiums...

The penneyroyal I put into the greens garden DOES seem to be preventing
weeds without hurting the swiss chard tho'.

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

I know that the bluebonnets won't last very long--I'm concerned about
them being able to come back next year.

I thought that portulaca was a perennial. In any case, I don't know
about annuals choking out grass, but there are some ground covers that
will--veronica is one. That was my other choice. But I thought that
would be even more difficult for bluebonnets to make their way through
next year. (What will choke one thing will probably choke another...)

I was hoping someone else had some Actual Experience with these two
plants.

Karen

In article . com,
wrote:

I know that the bluebonnets won't last very long--I'm concerned about
them being able to come back next year.

If they throw seeds, I don't see why not.
You can always re-seed annually. Bluebonnet seeds are not expensive, but
most annual "stands" of bluebonnet I see around here seem to seed
themselves and come back every year.

The moss roses will freeze back also. I almost never have them come back
unless they seeded themselves.


I thought that portulaca was a perennial. In any case, I don't know
about annuals choking out grass, but there are some ground covers that
will--veronica is one. That was my other choice. But I thought that
would be even more difficult for bluebonnets to make their way through
next year. (What will choke one thing will probably choke another...)

There is always native clover. ;-)


I was hoping someone else had some Actual Experience with these two
plants.

Karen

I grow moss roses in pots because I like them, and they remind me of my
late mom. She grew them every year, but we just put them in containers.
Never used them as a ground cover.

Sorry!




--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

I've tried to grow bluebonnets from seeds, but didn't have too much
luck. My neighbor, the manic mower, mows where I planted them. I bought
some and planted some around a tree on that part of my property, and
she mowed those last year. That was annoying, but mostly I am grateful
that she mows that middle stretch between our houses; I hate mowing.

Which is why I want to kill the grass.

My expectation is that when I plant these bluebonnets, that they will
reseed themselves. I'll see what happens with the portulaca. I bought
them in the section of the nursery that said "perennials", but I just
looked at the label, and they don't say.

I generally don't have a lot of respect for annuals, but even if the
portulaca were annuals, if they grow as I expect them to, I think I'd
plant them again; they are very pretty, and I love the colors. I also
planted some primula, which were labeled annuals.

And now I have to go plant broccoli with my last 15 minutes of
sunlight.

Karen

In article .com,
" wrote:

I've tried to grow bluebonnets from seeds, but didn't have too much
luck. My neighbor, the manic mower, mows where I planted them. I bought
some and planted some around a tree on that part of my property, and
she mowed those last year. That was annoying, but mostly I am grateful
that she mows that middle stretch between our houses; I hate mowing.

Heh. Mowing isn't freindly to bluebonnets. ;-)
Most people around here that have patches of them in their lawns are
very careful to mow _around_ them.


Which is why I want to kill the grass.

Well, there is always landscaping fabric, and gravel!

Take a look around the desert areas of Arizona. Few people have lawns,
instead they landscape with various colors and sizes of gravel, and have
beautiful cactus gardens in between.

Oh! If you really want to kill grass, I'll loan you my border collie! My
front yard is pretty well denuded now. sigh The Ivy is doing ok as
long as the main bed of it is protected. I'm thinking of trying a pallet
of St. Augustine or something that must might survive the dog in the
center of the yard!


My expectation is that when I plant these bluebonnets, that they will
reseed themselves. I'll see what happens with the portulaca. I bought
them in the section of the nursery that said "perennials", but I just
looked at the label, and they don't say.

Well, for me, they go away every year but sometimes come back in the
pots on their own. I'm assuming it's from seeds dropped by the blooms?


I generally don't have a lot of respect for annuals, but even if the
portulaca were annuals, if they grow as I expect them to, I think I'd
plant them again; they are very pretty, and I love the colors. I also
planted some primula, which were labeled annuals.

Yes, they are lovely and heat hardy!

Petunias seem to do pretty well too, and begonias are another popular
one for blooming ground cover.


And now I have to go plant broccoli with my last 15 minutes of
sunlight.

lol Yeah, my computer eats a lot of MY sunlight hours too! ;-)
I did get some gardening today and oh! happy dance I got my very first
EVER passion flower bloom today!!!

Hey! That is another possibility for you!
Passion vine or english ivy. Those work pretty well as ground cover and
are both freeze resistant perrenials! My passion vine grew all winter
long and did not freeze at all!!!

Passion vine has the most beautiful bloom. I took a picture of it and
will post it as soon as I process it. :-) The camera pics, even with it
set on 1 megapixel, are too large so I have to re-size them with
photoshop first. It's a 4 megapixel camera.

The flower is gorgeous........ and they throw a LOT of them once they
get started!



Karen

--
K.