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Darren's Hortus: Tips & Comments

(updated June 3, 2007) Copyright D&S Productions

Note: Darren's Hortus describes his experience in an urban residential environment in St. Paul, Minnesota, in sandy-loam & clay soil on fairly high ground. Your mileage and aesthetic opinions may vary, especially if you have a higher clay content, or more water. This, like the rest of this website, is a work in progress.

All of the plants listed here have existed at one time or another in our garden. Plants that did not survive or that we intentionally eliminated are included and noted. The vast majority of the plants listed are currently found in our garden unless otherwise noted. Planting dates are indicated, so you can tell how many years it has survived under the conditions we have provided it. At last tally, I count 225 distinct species of plants mentioned on this list (including the bulbs and annuals). They are found, or once were found in our garden. 41 plants mentioned here are not currently in the garden. Notations have been made as to the reasons for their demise or removal.

Click here for general tips on soil, fertilizers, etc.

Click here to read about our new Circumpolar Rock Garden

Achillea spp. -- Yarrow [Compositae] This easy plant is available in white, yellow, ochre, pink and pinkish red. It likes full sun and well-drained infertile soil. It does not seem to need much water either. It's a great plant to put in where you don't want to put a lot of work into the soil--like a boulevard on a busy street, a back alley. Most of the species tend spread through the roots and flopping stems. Control and division are relatively easy if you keep up with it on a two to five year schedule. I'm sure it propagates easily by layering or tip cuttings in spring or early summer. Bend a stem down so it touches the ground, and bury it partially with dirt. Hold it down with a wire loop or a rock. The stem will root by the following season, and can be severed from the mother plant and divided. For winter treatment, cut it back in Fall or Spring and remove dead stems from clump. They can form choking masses of leaves. These masses of leaves make effective mulching for fragile bulbs if you plant them at just the right distance from the achillea and divide it regularly so that it doesn't overtake the bulbs.

All Achillea make excellent and easy dried flowers that last as long as you can tolerate the collection of dust on it. The 'Coronation Gold' is outstanding for this purpose. White and yellow cultivars seem to produce the best results after drying. More information on assorted Achillea click here.

Achillea X 'Paprika'-- Yarrow [Compositae] Leitner's 1994. 2-3' When it gets too much water and fertilizer it doesn't flower well. It needs division to flower well also. 2004 it seems to be fading.
Achillea X 'Salmon' 1994 2' Actually, this appears to have been an assorted hybrids that contained a dusty rose colored variety and an ochre colored variety that is interesting and grows quite well with neglect. 2004 it has been vanquished by vigorous monarda incursion thanks to the installation of the soaker hose to our back alley garden.
Achillea X 'Coronation Gold' 1995. It would appear that rabbits like it for nibbling. This one seems to be the least trouble in terms of division and doesn't form dense masses of ferny leaves that smother everything nearby. It is my most recommended of the Achilleas. After seeing the results of the rabbits nibbling it off, we determined that the plant looks nicer it has been sheared off to about 2" when it's about 3" tall. It produces more flowers. Excellent dried flowers that hold their yellow color. For the botanically correct, this hybrid hasn't produced a single seedling in nine years, and has maintained a stable, very formal appearance in fairly sandy, poor, hot soil in our back alley facing south. It does get water from the soaker hose system, but it doesn't appear to be that critical given normal rainfall here.

Acontium spp.: The aconitum family are the darkly ominous cousins of the ranunculaceae family. This has two explanations: appearance and chemistry. Bearing a strong family resemblance to its close relative the Delphinium, whose phallic spurs correspond to the vaginal form of the Aconitum, it has a distinctly mysterious or ominous aspect that permeates its beauty. The leaves too are similar, but the Delphiniums tend to be slightly fuzzy and pale in color, while the Aconitum are more delicately incised and usually a bit glossy--especially in bright sun.

Also, unlike the Delphinium, the Aconites have a large tuberous root that looks like a turnip. This is probably the greatest danger of the plant--that someone might confuse the root for an edible tuber like a turnip. The aconitum tuber is one of the most toxic vegetables on the planet. Other parts of the plant are not nearly so toxic, especially in normal garden interactions. The number of cases of accidental poisoning from garden aconite are extremely low. Some people have dermatological reactions to the foliage, but I do not.

More numerous cases of aconite toxicity occur in Asia where herbalists still prescribe it for a variety of ailments. The Chinese have long used aconite as a yang tonic (it is the most powerful Yang herb) in small doses, but I doubt that this is worthwhile. It is also a common ingredient in homeopathic cold remedies, where it is used in miniscule quantities. Tinctures made of the root are extremely dangerous--the sort of thing one might use in a murder mystery to assure an agonizing death for Colonel Mustard in the study.

Beyond these trifling details, the reputation is highly exaggerated. For many years paranoid Americans feared it. Aconite is finally making a big comeback in the garden shops. They are not very dangerous to touch, though they are supposed to be highest in venom right before flowering. If you get the juice from the stem on your hand, I would imagine that quick rinsing to avoid getting it in your mouth would be in order. I have not experienced any ill-effects from the sap of the stems and leaves touching my hands, though I do rinse them if I get juice on me. I even rip up seedlings with my bare hands. However, I would not recommend ripping a large juicy plant out of the ground without gloves. Apparently it is possible to be poisoned by contact with the plant, and there is no known antidote for aconite poisoning. Animals don't have any interest in it. It's highly unlikely that eating a flower would do more than give you mild stomach cramps.

Drying or curing decreases the potency considerably, so that dried aconite flowers are not so dangerous. Nevertheless, aconite poisoning is extremely unpleasant, involving intense pain, convulsions and the like. The vast majority of aconite poisoning cases occur as a result of herbal Chinese medicine, where it is known as Chaun Wu, Cao Wu, Rhizome Carmichaelii. From what I can tell, aconite is not a useful herbal drug, in spite of the fact that it is still common in Chinese medicine and homeopathy.

Don't fear the Aconite! (he says, as a crack of thunder splits the silence, and hideous laughter rings from a distant hilltop.) In normal perennial garden interactions, it's just not dangerous. Keep it away from your vegetable garden, where I suppose a person could confuse the tubers for an edible vegetable. In spring, the shoots are finely divided so that an unperceptive person might think they are an edible tuber of some other genus. Rabbits will not bother it. Alas...

Aconite is lovely, and a must for the Gothic Garden. With colorful names like "Monkshood" and "Wolfsbane" you know it had to be in many witches brews as a narcotic. It was used to make a poison for killing wolves, and the Indian species A. ferox produces a substance that has been used for poisoning wells to exterminate entire villages. If you have a kid who is likely to pull one up by the roots and munch on it, then you should probably have the kid examined for mental disturbances and not worry about gardening for now. There are a lot of poisonous house plants too. The Gloriosa Lily and the Castor Bean (source of castor oil) are radically poisonous plants too. It's funny how the aconite got such a bad rap. I think it's really because up close the flowers are as erotic as anything Georgia O'Keefe could dream up.

Give aconitums rich soil, medium sun, good water, and don't let other perennials crowd them out. They like shade from trees, but dislike other plants close to them. I think it's a ventilation issue. Some varieties will need staking, others are quite stout. All of them are outstanding as cut and dried flowers. The dropping petals could be a risk, but as far as I know, nobody has been killed accidentally by monkshood. I suppose if you have a cat or dog that's dumb enough to eat flower petals, you might want to avoid bringing them into the house (either the animal or the flower--take your pick). The petals are certainly not one of the more toxic parts of the plant, especially after they dry up and fall off.

I notice that they are again fairly common in flower arrangements now, so florists must not be too afraid of them. They also dry very well. Dry them the same way you would use for larkspur and delphiniums. We have cats, and we do this. If you are fairly clean about picking up fallen petals, it's just not going to be a problem. But, if you're one of the less adventurous types, you probably shouldn't have aconite. I have five different species and cultivars now. Ba-hah-hah!

Thin the number stalks if they become too crowded. Provide acidic soil. Since they like acidic soil and shade, you can grow them below oaks and conifers if they get sufficient water--a tamarack bog would be a very good place for aconite. Taller aconites seem to be good candidates for tomato cages (tall and narrow). I am currently experimenting with a couple of plants under blue spruce along with heathers in our rock garden. I have had much better luck with Aconites than I have with Delphiniums, which seem to be much more prone to aphid attack, as are the Consolida (Larkspur). Aconites are very pest-resistant, and they like a bit of shade.

Aconitum carmichaeli 'Arendsii' -- Monkshood or Wolfsbane [Ranunculace] Leitner's 2001 This is (I feel) the most desirable of the Monkshoods I have seen in the gardening books. It is new to our garden in 2001, so I'll give updates as it grows. The flowers are larger, more numerous and close together, and the color is more azure than the others below. Winter 2002-2003 update: The buds didn't start to appear until September. I think that the reason was excess shade caused by an overgrown silver maple. We had the tree severely pruned (limbed up from the bottom), so the garden will get a much larger amount of sun in Spring 2003. The stalks were about 36" high, which was taller than I expected, but very sturdy for a tall ranunculaceae. The foliage is also very attractive and sturdy--much more so than a delphinium. The buds didn't start blooming until right around frost time in October. The first real frost wilted it a bit, but it kept blooming until about Halloween. It really was very attractive. The key issue is growing season length. The deep blue flowers were also darker than I had expected, but really nice. Tough, waxy, dark green leaves stayed healthy all the way to frost. Fall 2004 update: They bloomed a bit earlier this year, giving a nice show from late September until Halloween. Now that I have seen the 'Arendsii' and the 'Jupiter's Casque' bloom fully, I think I can better describe the form. The Aconitum napellus has the longest and densest racemes, making it most like a showy, prolific delphinium. The A. carmichaeli/fischeri have the largest flowers, but the racemes are much shorter and less branched. I'd say they are about 10" racemes, compared to the 2-3' of the A. napellus. But, the flowers of the latter are only about 1" long, while those of the former about 2-3". The shades of blue are definitely remarkable. Since they bloom so late in the fall with big purple, satin frills, they attract some attention. You may have to cover them to protect them from freezing rain or early frost. However, I must say that the A. carmichaeli and fischeri would clearly be happier with another month of autumn warmth because they flower in October. Minnesota is not the ideal spot for these unless the obviously warming climate here continues. I wonder if "hothousing" these with a glass cloche starting around March 1st would accelerate things, but I also wonder if they are triggered by the post Equinox lighting.
Aconitum fischeri 'Jupiter's Casque". I got in 2003 at the Society of Friends School plant sale. Apparently A. carmichaeli and A. fischeri are the same. It is a late bloomer also. In the autumn of 2004 they bloomed for the first time right after the Autumnal Equinox, and have been staying pretty fresh looking through Halloween. They can tolerate some cold, but I recommend covering them on frosty nights until they finish blooming. The color of this plant is absolutely stunning. It is a cultivar of the previous, so read the above entry. It died during 2004 while we were in Spain. Lack of water was the culprit.
Aconitum henryi 'Spark's Variety' -- Monkshood or Wolfsbane [Ranunculaceae] Bachman's 1995 The flowers are larger and more beautifully dark blue-purple than A. napellus, (see below), but I suspect it's actually a cultivar of it. The flowers are suspended out up to 6" from the main stem on wavy horizontal stems, which makes it much more airy than the densely packed A. napellus. 4 to 8 foot stems tend to be almost vine-like. Ours are in a pretty shady location and they reach 6 feet. Must be staked or placed in a tomato cage early in the season. I moved them to the front yard to accompany some boulder landscaping we have planned around our blue spruce trees, where it will have acidic soil and more sun. This is the third season that I will be playing a prank on unwitting gardeners who pass by. I placed a nice clump of this about 2 feet to the side and a bit back from a rhododendron bush so that the tall, lanky and flexible stalks can be bent and threaded through the branches and tied inconspicuously with jute twine. The effect is stunning, as the bush provides a canvas for the blue violet flowers, and the casual look would give the impression that something that looks like a rhododendron is blooming in July with the most unusual color--deep blue-purple!
Aconitum napellus -- Leitner's 1994 Much more stout and full-flowered--similar in size and form to a delphinium. Much better as a cut and/or dried flower, but the color is not so pretty as the 'Sparks'. 3-4 feet high. Support with a stake and string is probably advisable, but not so much as the 'Spark's Variety'. There are also white and bi-color (white and blue) varieties. In notice that this one and the bicolor version thereof are the most commonly available in the stores. It is difficult to find other species.
Acontintum septentrinale "Ivorine" Linder's 2000. White flowers, shorter in size--about 10-24". It's leaves are very much like the A. napellus, but the flowers are very different in shape--taller and skinnier. Very nice, but reseeds itself vigorously. Cut the dead flower heads off after blooming. The stems are sturdier than the others, and don't seem to need staking. That's a plus. I don't think they form the characteristic turnip tuber either. I have this in a sunny location among vigorous growth of larkspur and poppies. It does well there and seems to reseed a bit. After dividing it, I placed clump of these right up against the sidewalk in the circumpolar garden.

Actea rubra -- red baneberry [ranunculaceae] Spring 2004 Friends School plant sale, I think. Located in boreal garden now in three locations in the circumpolar garden. A short version of the cimicifuga ramosa with leaves that are a bit more raspberry like. It is the only member of the ranunculaceae family that produces berries, though the cimicifuga come close. The berries of actea are poisonous. I have seen them in the wild in both lime and acidic conditions. All three of ours are in the boreal/acidic garden. In 2005, they all survived and expanded a bit. They also bloomed for the first time. Of the three I put in different spots, the one that gets the most sun has expanded the most and flowered the best. They are identified as shade lovers, but I recommend making sure that they do get a bit of direct sun, or bright shade to get the most beautiful plants possible. I would describe the location as getting about 3 hours of direct southern sun until the leaves of my maple come out, but otherwise, it's pretty much bright shade. My general impression at this point is that they are pretty tough, bug resistant and fairly tolerant of variable water conditions. (mild drought to overwatering) It is also long-lasting with its beauty. It does not collapse or get scraggly after blooming, so it would make an excellent alternative to or accompaniment for astilbe. [More info and image]

Adiantum pedatum -- Maidenhair Fern 1994, another in 1996. Very light, airy and only about 12-15" high. They are trouble free here in Minnesota and spread steadily to form beautiful masses. It makes a great companion to early spring bulbs like Crocus and hyacinth because they don't really cover them until early May. Not good for tulips, though, since they bloom later, unless you have taller species that can shoot up through a canopy of airy fern leaves. This is a highly recommended native to Minnesota, and very tolerant of lime/alkaline as ferns go. In the wild it seems to prefer limestone soil in moist conditions, and are often found in the presence of early meadow rue (T. dioecum). I have them with hepatica and thalictrum rochebrunianum. Our maidenhair ferns reached a size where they needed division after 5-6 years. They increase much more rapidly after that division, so the clumps need division every 3 years. In 2007 they continue to expand and look marvelous.

Agastache anisata 'Red'-- Anise Hyssop--[Labiatae] (not related to either anise or hyssop, though it does belong to the Labiat family) Leitner's 1995 As with other mints, the only trick is to pinch off tops in early summer to encourage branching. Unlike other mints, this one has woody stems and does not appear to spread outward much at all, but I'm sure it could easily be root pruned or divided given a strong, sharp cutting device. dies back in Winter and self-seeds strongly. Removing flower heads after blooming is strongly advised. It isn’t difficult to control if you are willing to pull up the plants before they flower again. I advise letting only a few plants go to seed, then rip out the majority of the adult plants, leaving some seedlings for the following season. These will flower on smaller, beautiful stems that work nicely as surprises in a perennial garden. I'm puzzled as to why this cultivar is named 'Red', considering that the only color I see on it other than green is lavender. This plant will spread rapidly by seed throughout your neighborhood. It might be a native, and if not, it serves the same purpose as similar labiatae, so it's not a big threat. However, given open garden soil without mulch, one mature plant left to its own designs will produce tens of thousands of viable seeds. The maintenance technique we use is this: select a zone for a parent plant, or large plants. Try to keep the seedlings within a limited perimeter of that plant. Kill all other plants that appear to be in their third season. Deadhead as many as possible, and make sure those that drift into new territory are controlled. Weed by hoe or hand the thousands of tiny ones. Leave a few in their second season to bloom. They can make pleasant, skinny surprises amidst other plantings. Rip them up after blooming.

Ajuga reptans -- Bugleweed [Labiatae] Mom donated a long clump about 15" x 4" in 1994 Sun or shade. Give it average to rich, well-drained soil. Aggressive 4-10" tall masses look like a cross between catmint and sedum. It spreads horizontally with creepers like Monarda. You can propagate it by cuttings or divide it anytime. It is somewhat vulnerable to crown rot. Destroy affected plants and dust everything around it with sulfur. Although it does spread, it seems to be easy to train it around other specimens and use it for ground cover as long as you keep an eye on it. Its flowers are beautiful in mid to late spring.

Akebia quinata -- Chocolate Vine [Lardizabalaceae, distant cousin of ranculaceae] Planted in Summer of 2003, nursery name forgotten, but it's a small shop on South Lyndale where it cuts over and turns into one way briefly before crossing 494. oooh! is this one ever cool. It survived the winter of 2003-2004 with no die-back on the woody runner, which grew to 4 feet in length the first year. It's the end of April, and the shoots are leafing out, giving signs that it will grow very rapidly this year. It was slow getting going after planting, and it blooms earlier than when I planted it, so I haven't seen it bloom yet, but it looks very hardy. The leaves are pretty--like waxy versions of a chleome, and the flowers are absolutely bizarre in a cute way. In warmer climates it's supposed to produce a delicious fruit. In warmer climates it can also be invasive. It's a big problem along the Atlantic seaboard. I'm going to keep a close eye on it as it covers an ugly chain link fence. By keeping a single plant, it's supposed to be very difficult to get it to set any fruit. Spring 2005: somebody accidentally snipped off last year's growth while doing spring garden cleaning. Not to worry. New runners were shooting up the fence within two weeks. Spring 2006: it is flowering for the first time. There are a lot of flowers, but unfortunately the weather has been wet and cold so we haven't been able to enjoy the fragrance. The clusters of flowers are really interesting--male and female flowers are together like planets around a sun. The female flowers are the more interesting. Intelligent pruning will allow the flowers to show if you take advantage of its talent. I have mine trained horizontally on a chain link fence across the top bar, which allows the flowers to dangle below the line of the leaves in a cute lavender chain. Because the new shoots tend to grow quickly upward, it requires a lot of vigilant pruning to prevent it from grasping and smothering nearby lilies, bushes, etc. In order to sustain its vertical aspirations the zealous akebia shoots will collaborate in twisted clusters to provide themselves support. Beginning in Spring 2007 I have taken to more vigorous pruning beginning in May. So far I see no ill effects, and it looks excellent. This season it was absolutely covered with flowers. Since it is evident that this plant is a rampant invader in warmer climates, caution is advised, but here in Minnesota it appears incapable of producing fruit, and I have had no difficulty keeping it from rooting stems or suckers. The main advice I have for using it in garden conditions is to be prepared to prune it a lot. [click here for info and pictures]

Alchemilla mollis -- Lady's Mantle [Rosaceae] 1995 Give it sun or shade. Protecting it from the sun in hotter zones. It prefers a rich, moist soil. Divide in spring or fall. Plants supposedly reseed, but I have yet to see a seedling even though I have never deadheaded them. The spreading appears to occur along rhizomes. It's really easy to grow and has very attractive foliage. The flowers are not especially interesting. It would be ideal around spring bulbs in deciduous shade that can be smothered after blooming. Spring maintenance involves trimming back the dead leaves to tidy it up in April. It grows more horizontally than vertically. It's probably about 5-10" high. After ten years, they are each about two feet in diameter at the base, and they spread to form masses of leaves about 40" in diameter. I have not done anything to them since I planted them. It looks like I could cut out some smaller satellite clumps it has formed, but I'm going to leave them there this year. One of the special gifts of this plant is the way it holds drops of water on its leaves. It is enchanting after a heavy dew on a bright morning. This is a wonderful, anchoring plant, and it only takes about 3-4 years to get a sizable specimen. I also think that this would be a good plant around which to plant small spring bulbs (snow crocus, chionodoxa, small fritillarias). The leaves will provide a nice mulch. In 2007, an amazing 12 years later, this original pair of plants has produced a small number of additional plants, and expanded in a very reasonable fashion. I think that this plant deserves high marks for low maintenance.

Amorpha canescens Leadplant [Fabaceae] Spring 2004. This is an experiment with a native Minnesota flower. I'm not sure it will be a keeper, but the leaves looked so cute on a small plant--almost like a button fern. It is supposed to grow in really sandy, infertile soil. I'm curious to see what it does. We put one in our "boulevard bed" next to the street, and the other in the Circumpolar garden. No endorsement is yet implied. Spring 2005: I read more about the plant and got the idea that it was too large and assertive for the area in which it was placed, so I moved it out to the boulevard bed with the other. I dug it up and got a look at the roots. It has fleshy roots that grow downwards. It is allegedly "deep-rooted" which in my book means that you better make sure that you want it. I like what I hear about it and the images are impressive, but it needs to be in the controlled conditions of the boulevard. Now in 2007 I have some comments. So far, it seems to be quite slow in developing to a substantial size. The young woody stem is quite small--looking rather like a year-old seedling from a tree that you ought to pull out before it becomes a nuisance. That's what happened to one of the three I have bought. The second is still unaccounted for in mid-May 2006. The third one looks quite nice, but still looks pretty demure. If you want to keep from killing it in the spring, you'll probably want to mark it well. In Spring 2007 the woody stems are only about 8-10" long. It looks implausibly small. By mid-May, the growth of the beautiful leguminous leaves is impressively accelerating, leaving me wondering how those stems will support all that. Soon, I saw that there was no question about this--the stems were lying flat on the ground. I grabbed an 18" length of bonsai wire and created a custom splint-support anchored in the soil. This works, but the branches are also drooping, so I will need a second wire for each plant. However, it is evident that this helps the plants get more light. [more info and image]

Andromeda polifolia 'Blue Ice' [Ericaceae or Empetraceae] Bog Rosemary. Fall 2002 Rice Creek Gardens. Placed in the rock garden. Pink, bell shaped flowers on a plant that does look a bit like rosemary. It gets about 12" high and 15" around and has steely blue foliage for winter. This plant has recently been adopted into the English Heather Society. Nice description and images , and here too. Now that we've seen it bloom in May of 2003, this one gets high marks. It's very short, which is what we want, and the flowers are really cute. May 2006 starting last year just before blooming a quick and virulent blight attacked about 2/3 of the shoots. The remainder bloomed nicely, and the plant seemed to recover. Again in 2006 this happened in spite of the much expanded and healthy appearance it had in April. I have a suspicion that a local cat or dog is pissing on it. I had a healthy miniature evergreen and miniature rhododendron have similar reaction in the same general vicinity. In 2006 the other two plants look fine. I'm puzzled. Still, the andromeda looks quite lovely. The blooms are subtle and cute, yet very visible. In 2006 I am attempting to grow a daphne, which sounds like a similar challenge. In Spring 2007 the second plant is quite dead and the first one is looking shabby enough that I am going to remove it. In retrospect, I suspect one of these causes for this failure: excessive sun, garden sulfur, animal urine (probably cat), fungus. That's a few too many variables, and the attractive appearance I described above is only possible with happy plants, and this one is way too expensive to treat as an annual. In a last ditch effort, I moved it to the Northeast corner of the garden where it will get only morning sun during spring and summer. After a week, it is looking better than it did.

Anemone spp. [Ranunculaceae] This large family of attractive and varied flowers includes some of the most beautiful members of the Ranunculaceae family. Most of them are easy to grow given the right soil and water conditions. There is quite a bit of variability among them in this regard. As far as I can tell, they are easy to divide and transplant. Some of them reseed easily, while others depend more on spreading through the roots. The smallest species are best in rock gardens, and the larger ones can thrive even among vigorous meadow plants.

Anemone coronaria 'De Caen hybrids' -- Poppy flowered Anemone Linder's 1996 Sun or light shade. Rich, evenly moist, well-drained soil. Plant tubers after soaking overnight. The colors on these are unmatched in the entire flower kingdom. Although they are like Papaver Rhoeas or P. Somniferum, the deep, vivid, opalescent colors of the Anemone make the poppy colors look like muted pastels. We have some difficulty with these tuberous anemones. They definitely need well-drained soil, so avoid using plastic pots. They don't appear to like to be crowded by other plants. They seem happier when stuck directly into the ground. Given the warm winters we have had, these garish zone 5 show-offs might actually survive several seasons. Extensive growth instructions available here.
Anemone X hupehensis 'Honorine Jobert' -- Japanese Anemone Linder's 2002 in rock garden. Sun or light shade. Rich, evenly moist, well-drained soil. Spreads by underground stems to form clumps. New species with white irregular flowers that bloom in September. When in bloom, it is covered with flowers in airy masses about 30-40" above the ground. See next entry for more info the cultivar we know better.
Anemone X hupehensis 'September Charm' -- Japanese Anemone Leitner's 1995 Sun or light shade. Rich, evenly moist, well-drained soil. Spreads by underground stems to form clumps. It took six years for ours to get to the point that we noticed it was spreading like that. The plant in our main bed, with alkaline-neutral soil lived for eight years but vanished in the cold, dry winter of 2003. The two in our boreal garden also succumbed to the nasty weather. Perhaps I will try again, but keep in mind that it needs some mulch for winter. Once it takes hold, it is fairly aggressive, spreading 3-5 feet away from the main plant. You will need to dig out those underground runners. Use them to propagate by root cuttings. Divide it after flowering in late fall. Supposedly it grows from seed too, though only a few seedlings are evident in my garden. It emerges fairly early in spring (tulip time) with little leaves that look like grape leaves. This is an absolute must for September-October flowers in Minnesota, the pink flowers have irregular, large petals that give it a whimsical look. When in bloom, it is covered with flowers in airy masses about 30-40" above the ground. Click here to see a picture.
Anemone lesseri -- Grecian Windflower Rice Creek 1995. Cute, brightly colored pink anemone. It's about 6" tall. The birds pick leaves off of it and just leave them. Do they dislike it? Seems quite easy to please if the birds would leave it be. Tiny, red and delicate, with interesting seed heads. Texture and form are similar to pasque flowers, though quite a bit smaller, and blooming about four weeks later. In 1999 it was finally vanquished by a vigorous growth of echinacea and rudbeckia. It would grow well in a rock garden or small specimen garden.
Anemone sylvestris -- Snowdrop Anemone 1995, 2002 Grow in partial shade in rich, loose, evenly moist acidic soil for best results. Some sun is clearly beneficial. Moist, humus-rich soil. Spreads by creeping rhizomes, which need to be dug out periodically to prevent it from taking over. It is a beautiful, white flower that blooms in late spring and repeatedly throughout the summer if it's happy. Ours started on the East side of the raised bed--along with a Max Frei Geranium. Neither did well, although they were clearly alive and not diseased. I moved the anemone to the south, sunny end of the raised bed. It reciprocated with a profuse display of beautiful white flowers. It too looks somewhat like the pasque flower, blooming about three weeks later. Two years after moving it to this raised bed, it mysteriously disappeared. I guess that it was overcome by columbines that dominate the area. A few years later, I put one in the boreal garden where it gets acidic soil. Within a year it was clear that it was very happy. In its third spring, my opinion is changing. The rhizomes are about 4-6" underground and spread two feet from the original location, sprouting new plants every 6" or so. To maintain this plant in its current situation require a buried pot to control the spread. That and meticulous deadheading. However, if you want an attractive plant about 1 foot tall that will fill in a large area of rich, acidic soil in part shade, then this one is a good choice. Clay will, according to some sources, slow down its spread. In terms of aggressiveness, this plant rates above such thugs as daylilies, snow-on-the-mountain, etc. click for image and info. In Summer of 2005 I decided that it was doing too well for its location, and would compete with the Wintergreen that is thriving in the same area. I killed it because nobody wanted it..
Anemonella thalictroides -- 1998. Partial shade, woodland plant. See above. You have to love the name, which means something like: "anemone-like pseudothalictrum" It self-seeds, and is positively adorable. Purple or white flowers. Ours is purple. It tripled in size in one year. Long blooming too! (looks like hepatica flowers, but tiny thalictrum like leaves.) Very highly recommended. I can't see any special needs or problems yet. I predict that it will start to spread by seed eventually. It's native to this area, so you don't have to feel un-pc about growing it.
Anemonella thalictroides ' double-flower' white cultivar from Rice Creek Gardens 2003. This small shade lover is absolutely gorgeous. The heavily-petaled flowers are white, about 3/4" across and last for a long time--mostly because it continues to produce more. Highly, highly recommended. in 2006 it has increased at least 4x its original size. Absolutely wonderful.
Anemonella thalictroides 'double flower purple' cultivar. Friends Plant Sale 2005. I paid about $35 for this in a very small pot. It was so small and fragile looking--I'd guess that it was a second season seedling when I got it. In 2006 it increased in size, but not really any increase in the number of shoots, however, it is in a fairly shady spot that gets bright shade without ever having direct sun during winter. This one seems rather delicate compared to the others.

Anthemis tinctoria ‘Kelwayi’ (dark yellow)-- Yellow Chamomile [asteraceae] This plant is much prettier than German chamomile, but no good for tea. Leitner's 1995. I planted a dense one gallon pot clump. It spread nicely--about like an achillea. Blooms midsummer to early fall. Good cut flower. Likes hot, dry, sandy spots. May need staking or caging. Divide frequently and remove dead centers. Dead heading is beneficial, prevents reseeding. It has a nicely aromatic foliage. The all-yellow flowers have handsome short petals and pillow-like centers. Ours was exceedingly floriferous for a couple years. It tends to spread, die out in its old center of growth, and demand that you dig up its satellites, and place them back in the old central core. After 3 years, ours appears to have nearly disappeared. (Ten years later there isn't a single stalk of it anymore). Apparently, a very temporary plant, or one that demands frequent division. Not recommended.

Aquilegia spp. -- Columbines [Ranunculacea] Give them sun or shade, but they prefer half shade. According to most sources, they also relish chalky, alkaline to neutral soil. That makes them perfect for Minneapolis metro area gardens. My observation is that they do nicely in acidic conditions too. Taller varieties need support and shelter from wind. Sow seed in May and transplant in September or the following spring.

Common knowledge says that because of their taproots they don't like to be divided or moved. Because of the rather unpredictable and prolific nature of the genus, following this rule can result in severe horticultural dilemmas. Because they are such nice plants, I can't bear to kill them--though I have been killing some. Because they tend to reseed in all the wrong places, it's inevitable that you will want to move some. My field observations indicate that with deep digging and just a little care, they can be moved, but definitely not divided. For transplanting a columbine out of the ground, best results are obtained with plants that are in their second season or earlier, though young seedlings in spring are best left to mature until Autumn. Mature plants, which can often be quite large. I have seen A. canadensis that reach almost four feet and spread out in a three foot diameter. The taproots on these kinds of plants should definitely not be disturbed. Don't move a big one unless you are willing to lose it. Don't even think about dividing one. It won't work.

After digging, it should be placed in a pot deep enough to accommodate the taproot in a fairly vertical position, and watered heavily until it recovers. What usually happens is that the central blooming stalk will collapse, especially if they are in bright sunlight or lacking water. If you can put it directly into the ground, make sure that you can provide some sun protection for a week, and water it pretty freely. My preferred trick is to move them into shadier locations, where they also tend not to grow so large--which can be a distinct advantage. If the central stalk withers away, but it looks like the lower leaves are still alive, don't give up hope. It will probably survive unless it is already an elderly plant, which leads us to the major flaw of the columbine: they tend to live about five years, and then come back smaller and smaller for a couple of years, and then they disappear. I have not had any trouble re-planting columbines that were potted up for a couple of weeks to see which ones survived.

Hybrids are the shortest lived. Don't be surprised if an exotic hybrid only lives one or two seasons. But, this interesting phenomenon is quite possible to create and view for yourself by taking advantage of the columbine's penchant for promiscuous cross-pollination. If you have several species near to each other, you are bound to get some interesting combinations. As my gardening tastes have matured, this particular trait has endeared me to these even more. For better or worse, they are also vigorous reseeders that benefit greatly from deadheading.

Rabbits and mice eat the seedlings and young shoots in spite of being poison to humans. Many people think these are called "honeysuckle bushes" and claim that they drink the sweet nectar from the interesting flowers. Since the seeds are indeed poisonous, I think this isn't very advisable. They are not honeysuckle, and they are not bushes, but rather a herbaceous relative of the thalictrum and monkshood. Plants in the Ranunculaceae family are nearly all poisonous (except for Goldenseal).

Most species require constant maintenance to control leaf miners. Simply pull off affected leaves and dispose of them in your trash. They are also susceptible to crown rot. The stems are prone to rot as they near the end of their bloom period. You can cut these stems clear down to the ground, completely stripping the plant after blooming. It will not harm them at all, and encourages new growth, prevents fungal rot, makes room for other flowers, etc. This reminds me--in the case of really large plants, I recommend hacking off a good number of leaves to allow light in and facilitate weed removal.

Deadheading spent flowers during the bloom will extend the bloom period. Flowers that come after the initial flush of blooms will be smaller. As you deadhead, keep in mind whether you want a plant to reseed and how many you want. Leave a few seed pods to ripen. To keep them tidy after they start going to seed, remove the flowers, then start shortening the stems. Watch for tiny new buds extending from growth nodes, and cut the stems above that point. These final blooms will occur closer and closer to the ground as you cut the lanky stems back along with them. When all the blooms are gone, you can take the entire stalk all the way down to the ground, leaving the ring of leaves extending like parsley from the core. I used to have a really nice red McKana hybrid that lived for about nine years, and that thing would produce blooms in a seemingly endless sequence from May through July. The problem was that it just couldn't stand up without stakes.

It is normal for most species to decline after blooming. In most cases, they will return the following year without difficulty, so it is best to cut away anything that looks bad. If you like the foliage effect of the columbine, I suggest using Thalictrum aquilegiafolium instead. Their leaves are vastly more durable and beautiful. The Semiquilegia is quite a bit smaller, but it appears to be a lot more rugged. Among the various species and hybrids, the easiest to grow and the most sturdy is the 'Nora Barlow.' The A. canadensis is also easy, but can become a real mess of leaf miner tunnels.

They are easy to grow, but require vigilance to keep them looking nice, and prevent them from taking over the garden. They bloom from late May through June. Try a variety of species and cultivars to see which does best in your conditions. They vary quite a lot, and the same plant can vary considerably from one year to the next.

Aquilegia alpina aka Aquilegia montana -- alpine columbine seeds brought back from New Hampshire and planted in Spring of 2003. They flowered in Spring 2004. They are very pretty, and so far seem to be very pest resistant. We thought these were going to be A. caerulea, but the lack of white color and the short curved spurs told me it was the alpine variety. They are very nice, and they stay well below 2 feet, which is a big plus in this genus. In 2006 the seeds I spread in 2005 have matured and the dense bed on our boulevard was full of them. During the bloom, this beautiful, deep blue-purple flower was absolutely arresting.
Aquilegia canadensis -- "" (came with house--extricated from a mass of grass in the West raised bed with about 4" of soil. It survived and did marvelously the following year.) It reseeds easily. Deadheading is effective at prolonging the bloom for about 5 weeks! These seem to be long-lived and vigorous growers. I have seen specimens 30" around and well over 36" high. Care as described above. They flower in mid-May, and with deadheading, can have flowers well into June. I am especially pleased with the specific genetics of our plant. They seem to last about five years. Spring 2005: These columbines are doing a bit too well. A few years ago I went about sprinkling seeds around, and now they're full size and crowding things out. I still like them, but I'm having second thoughts about letting them get around too much so I have pulled out about a dozen or so to give room for other plants. Click here to see an image.
Aquilegia X 'Dragonfly Similar to McKana below but the colors are assorted. I suspect it will be a short-lived plant. (I was very right) This is not a very stalwart species.
(Semi)aquilegia Ecalcarata [Ranunculaceae] Rice Creek Gardens Fall 2002. This incredible little rock garden gem has rose-wine colored spurless flowers, otherwise, it's just like an alpine columbine. Look at this lovely picture. There is some debate as to whether or not it's actually just an aquilegia, this seems an odd argument. It's obviously a very close relative. As near as I can tell after two and a half growing seasons, the Semiquilegia is immune to the problems that plague the larger leaved Aquilegias. It is only about 3" high in its leaves, but a mature plant sends up the lovely flowers about 10" high. The sellers on the 'net list it as hardy to zone 6, but one can safely assume that if Rice Creek sells it, it's going to be hardy in Zone 4. I have both specimens in a fairly sunny north exposure in fertile, acidic soil. They both thrived for a season, and then succumbed to crown rot, or something like that, vanishing almost without a trace. I expect to see some seedlings, though. However, unlike other columbines, known for their interspecies promiscuity, this one will not hybridize with other columbines. Native to central China and Tibet. Spring 2006 the seeds I sprinkles about are evident now, and doing quite well. However, there are no plants more than 2 years old. Therefore, my advice is to be certain to plant some of the seeds in situ to assure their survival. In spite of the short lifespan, I still recommend them strongly.
Aquilegia Flabelata 'Mini-Star'--Columbine (White and Blue) Leitner's 1994. Reseeds easily, compact, well behaved, beautiful in may, then the foliage is a pleasant ground cover. It seems to be more resistant to leaf miners and has a glaucus color and texture similar to Thalictrum Glaucum. Only 6"-12" high with short, chubby white flowers held barely above the foliage. The spurs are short and curled inward. Long lived, but sensitive to crowding. Flowers in early May. The white ones are really showy and lush. In a good year they can grow to be about two feet tall. They are a lot tidier and more formal in appearance than the A. canadensis or even the McKana hybrids.
Aquilegia X 'McKana' (Red & Yellow) Care as above. Tall, vigorous plant. Our specimen was planted in May of 1992 and appears to be strong as of May 2000. Vanished in 2001, but it reappeared in several new places in the garden. Considering that it lasted 9 years with an extremely long bloom period for a columbine, this one gets my highest rating of the spurred hybrids.
Aquilegia X 'Nora Barlow' Another tall, vigorous plant. We planted it in 1996 in a sunny spot and it did very well. In fact, it has reseeded all over the yard, and provides a nice show in late May. The bloom period is short. The flowers on these are porcupine or hedgehog pointed doubles that are colored almost like a candy cane. They also lack the trailing spines so common to columbines, making these highly unusual members of the family. It is an excellent cutting flower and foliage. Other columbines have not been effective cutting flowers. Very pretty when in bloom. The flowers grow in tighter clusters on very erect, close, long stems, giving them a very different appearance from the others in the genus, which tend to produce a more chaotic cloud of flowers. They have a tendency to look like a display of peppermint lollypops in a candy store.
Aquilegia viridiflora 'Chocolate Soldier' 2005 Friends School Plant Sale. The foliage is nice, and the plants are much more compact than the A. canadensis. Second season, it's blooming nicely, but it is quite petite as columbines go. I was hoping for a bit more height. They look to be under 12". Ideal for rock gardens. [click for info and image]
Aquilegia vulgaris 'Granny's Bonnet' ? 1995 Care as above. Vigorous grower. In form it has the vigorous growth of the A. Canadense and the short flower stems of the flabellata. The flowers are a curious dusty rose double similar to the flabellata as well. Some flowers seem to hide in the foliage though. Nice, but not as sturdy as others. Spring 2005 currently there are none of these in the garden.

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Massachusetts'-- Bearberry, Uva Ursi [ericaceae or empetraceae] Fall 2002. This low growing shrub will spread across dry, sandy or gravel soil on hillsides, even with some salt spray, so long as it has acidic conditions. It likes sun, but will take some shade, which makes it an excellent candidate around evergreens and oak trees where growing grass is out of the question. The berries are edible and medicinal, though not especially nutritious or tasty. The berries endure to Spring, making them important for late winter forage for birds and some mammals. Lots of information available at US Forestry Service. One plant in a gallon pot exploded with runners in two years so that it now covers about 6-8 square feet. Its seeds need fire to open, then cold stratification, so it's not likely to reseed in the average yard. The USFS recommends it for erosion control, and notes that it is an important plant for recovery after fire. Being a member of the family of ericaceae, it has the attractive, pale, bell-shaped flowers similar to those of blueberry, but smaller and less showy although they are a bit more colorful. In structure, it's vaguely similar to the vaccinium, but much more prostrate, with darker, waxier leaves on long, running stems. I really like it, and have seen no problems other than the speed at which it grows. Maintenance obviously involves assiduous pruning of the fast growing runners. In Spring 2006 it has a significant show of flowers for the first time. Apparently it flowers only on older stems--perhaps even three seasons old. I estimate that it has some runners that are about 7 feet long. Spring 2007 we had a tough early Spring for ericaceous plants. Early warmth teased them into bloom and new growth, but a hard freeze of several weeks had a harsh effect on this and other similar plants. There was a lot of singed brown foliage, and then some die-back. I think it's going to be okay, but it is evidently not happy.

Arisaema triphyllum -- wild Jack-in-the-Pulpit [Araceae--Arum family] (about 5 of them were given to me by a friend '94) Easy to grow. Plant the ripe seeds in the fall. When these pop out of the ground in mid-may, they have a radically reptilian appearance. I have a large one that grows right out of the leaves of a Thalictrum aquilegiafolium. The neatest thing about these peculiar beauties is that they occupy relatively little ground area, and their horizontal spread takes place largely above 20" over the soil. That means you can interplant them with shorter woodland specimens like anemonella thalictroides or any of the small species of thalictrum. Sweet Woodruff, Vinca Vine, Hostas, Canadian Ginger, European Ginger, Epimedium are just a few amicable companions that come to my mind. The second coolest thing about them is that the seed clusters that follow the flowers are almost as lovely as the flowers, and they're a nice scarlet color. The third coolest thing about the Jack-in-the-Pulpit is that when you put them side-by-side with such tropical specimens as Peace Lily or Calla Lilies (to which the flowers bear some resemblance), you realize that Arisaema Triphyllum is more stunning. The palate of greens and reddish browns that adorn them like strange lizards places them at the top of my list for the Gothic Garden.

This hardy shade plant prefers moist, rich, humus-rich soil--peat and leaf mold. However, I am pretty sure that it's harder to kill them than it is to keep them. Propagate by seed--collect red berries in fall, remove pulp, and sow outdoors right away. They will easily and freely self-seed, so it's best to take control of this. Seedlings have one leaf set the first year and take 2-4 years to mature to flowering size. They grow into rather large bulbs or corms like a gladiola. In my experience, they are very easy to transplant. Even if something happens to them during the season, they will be fine the following year. Plant them nice and deep--like 4-6" because the only enemy they seem to have is frost heaving. Since they like to be deep, you are avoiding problems by getting them down that far. Even after heaving, and being quite exposed to the Minnesota elements, I've seen them survive winter if you plant them before they thaw and rot. The corm, which looks like a gladiola, grows with the roots coming out of the top. Plants normally die back before summer ends and emerge in mid to late May. This seems to be most common with younger plants and those that succumb to bugs. Age seems to lend durability to the plants along with size. You'll want to look at them up close, so plant them in raised beds, next to paths, etc.

Highly recommended for woodland gardens. Click here to see a series of four images of the plant.

Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliant' aka 'Brillantissima -- Red Chokeberry [Rosaceae] Spring 2006 from the Friends School Plant Sale. This attractive shrub turns quite red in the fall, and the berries, like a Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum) stay on through the winter. The specimen I bought had a few berries still on it in mid-May, and is sporting a prodigious quantity of buds. The leaves are still quite small. It is about 3 feet tall now, and has a nice shape at the base. It's destined for the West side of the garage. Spring 2007 it is very dead. I am pretty sure that the cold winter got it before the nasty spring would have burned it. I replaced it with Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'.

Aruncus sylvester -- Goatsbeard [Rosaceae] 1995 Partial shade, moist, humus-rich soil. Stout roots can be cut with a sharp knife for control or propagation--leave one eye or bud per division. Do not move them after planting. One source recommended cutting it back hard in fall at the slightest sign of withering. I have never done that. I just leave them up for the winter because a male plant will not bear seeds. Spider mites may take advantage of a dry plant, so keep it moist. Given adequate (not a lot) of moisture, this one is very easy. It is an excellent architectural plant that creates nice height. Be sure to give it some support, like a high peony cage. Although it is herbaceous (it dies back to the ground every year), its size is comparable to a medium size bush, so give it plenty of room. I estimate that this one takes up about 12 square feet of ground area in full growth, and only about 1-2 square feet at the ground. So, you can plant it with fritilaria, crocus, hepatica, haquetia epipactis, or other plants that won't mind being somewhat covered up by June. I have a variegated hosta and some primrose along with Hacquetia epipactis and a clump of Thalictrum aquiliegiafolium and a clump of Thalictrum rochebrunianum in a railroad tie raised bed, with Lady's Mantle across the front at the ground level to hide the ties. The Hacquetia is spilling out and into my yard, where I plan to let it become a ground cover. This arrangement is located on the south side of our house, shaded on the west by our deck, and about 10 feet north by northwest of a 40' silver maple. Overall, this spot is shady. It gets a pretty good amount of early spring sun before noon. Once the leaves are out, it gets only filtered light. It took the plant three seasons to settle in to its home. Seven years later, it's gorgeous, and ten years later, it is still getting slowly larger. It reaches about six feet. Since it's a male plant, it doesn't reseed. It has spread outward less than it has grown upward and more full. If you have a similar tricky spot in tree shade, but you can make sure that it doesn't dry out, give this one a try if you're brave enough to forgo the dull and unimaginative arborvitae.

Asclepias tuberosa -- Butterfly Weed or Milkweed (not the Swamp Milkweed eaten by Monarch caterpillars) [Asclepiadaceae] Full sun in sandy, loamy, average soil. Remove unwanted shoots as they appear, as the plant can be invasive. Very late to emerge in the spring. You will think it didn't make it, and you'll probably not notice it until it's almost a foot tall, and then you can easily mistake it for a weed. Be sure to mark it and get to know what its foliage looks like. Somehow it manages to survive and then surprise me with its candy orange flowers. The foliage isn't much to shout about, but it is de rigeur for northern prairie and meadows. This native plant is one that Minnesotans (and I) ought to be more proud of. For creating an urban cottage garden like ours, plant a couple in widely separated parts of your garden, and let them do their thing amidst other plants. Because this plant has a deep taproot, you cannot move it after it establishes. However, that makes controlling it easier. Interestingly, this rather stunning and exotic native Minnesotan beauty is a relative of the Hoya plant. One look at the flowers of each will prove the case. However, no Hoya ever produced such an intensely orange flower. On the other hand, no Butterfly Weed ever produced flowers that smell exactly like Hostess Ho-Ho's. Click here to see an image.

Asperula odorata or Galium odoratum -- Sweet Woodruff, Bedstraw [Rubiaceae] (also apparently genus Galium) Leitner's 1995 Shade, even moisture, average soil. Propagate by stem cuttings in early summer (remove flower heads first). Pleasingly aggressive grower and spreader that appears to be fairly easy to control. So far I can’t say enough good about it. Thin it in early spring and fall. This evergreen plant spreads even under snow. It did not survive in the raised woodland bed (neither did Brunera macrophyla) It is fairly sensitive to cold and freezing rain in early spring. Leave the evergreen plants covered until about April. If they are killed back to the ground, they will return, but if it is sheltered, its evergreen leaves will survive even a Minnesota winter. I recommend uncovering it in very early March so that it CAN be killed back to the ground, and not hide small flowers of spring bulbs. Or, sheer it back aggressively (by mowing) in the late fall. They make an ideal groundcover around spring bulbs because the roots are very shallow. If you pull back the creeping stems and roots around other plants, it can be planted with other less vigorous companion plants if you pull back the runners from around those plants. It looks great with all of them. It responds well to mowing, and is a great substitute for grass in tough, shady locations. Click here to see an image.

Aster ericoides Heath Aster, Goodbye-to-Summer [asteraceae] Spring 2004 initially placed in our circumpolar garden. This white aster grows 2-3 feet tall, and looks weedy like most native asters. It was tall and lanky last year when I planted it. In 2005, I pinched it off in mid-May to see if that helps make it bushier. That didn't seem to have any effect, so I nipped it off again in mid-June, and that definitely made it bush out, but it's still too lanky. I bet the soil is too rich and damp for it. Spring 2006 I demoted it from its location to a more secluded spot where I can tie it up easier. It's just too lanky for anything but a thick woodland unless you are okay with having it flop over. Bottom line--it's pretty much an attractive weed.

Aster novae angliae 'Purple Dome' [asteracieae] date and source long forgotten, but I'm going to hazard a guess that it was 1995 and it probably came from Leitners. The principle interest of the asters is that they bloom quite late. This one blooms right up to the frost, and perhaps a little longer. Pinch the shoots off in June before the Solstice to encourage branching and more flowers. Cut off the flower heads in late fall to prevent reseeding. Divide early in spring or late in fall. Very, very nice, trouble free plant. Click here to see an image

Astilbe chinensis (white and rose)-- False Spirea [Saxifragaceae] ?came with house. Sun or shade. Increase moisture with more sun. Otherwise, they are extremely easy to grow--divide it, move it, ignore it. Even moisture demands seem less serious than the books imply unless they are in very sunny spots. Seed heads can be left on the plant for a nice decorative effect. These are as easy, reliable and architectural as the hostas and at least as visually interesting. Click here to see an image of a typical pink variety.

Astilbe thunbergii 'Ostrich Plume. False Spirea [Saxifragaceae] Linder's 1995. Same as the others but the rose colored flowers droop. Later to arise than the others by as much as three weeks. Much less vigorous and more fragile than the others. Ours got crowded out by Iris. It's also possible that it didn't like the raised bed situation. It was pretty close to the edge. They are nice, but I haven't been too interested in expanding my astilbe collection. If I ever decide to rip out my white one or pink one, I might put this one in instead.

Athyrium nipponicum 'Metallicum' -- Japanese Painted Fern [Dryopteridaceae] 1995 Small, shade loving plant. Sturdy and easy to grow. Late to emerge in spring. It looks oddly brown and artificial in May, reaching its normal coloration and height by the beginning of June. The multicolored leaves make it the closest thing to a coleus in the fern family. Excellent idea for subtle color and texture in a shady spot where you can cultivate such a small plant. It's about 6-8" tall. Highly recommended, this is my favorite fern. Period. After six years, ours grew to a size where it was ready to be divided. I did that in late Spring, and watered it regularly. No problem. Eleven years later I have divided and moved them about 4 or 5 times and never had the slightest problem. The only thing to keep in mind is that they are slow to get settled in.

Athyrium X 'Ghost' (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum x Athyrium filix-femina) -- Ghost Fern [Dryopteridaceae] 2003 I forget where I got this one. It's very pretty, and easy to grow. Refer to the entry on the Japanese Painted Fern above because the only significant difference seems to be the color of the foliage--which is an unusual pale green, almost white, with pinkish veins and stems. It's located in a pretty shady location in the boreal garden. One thing I've noticed is that it seems to attract an inordinate amount of attention from passersby. I tend to keep the original plastic spike with the label on it near my plants until I get them memorized, and they have enough gravitas to make their location obvious in Spring. This particular plant's spike is almost always pulled out of the ground and lying next to the plant, indicating that somebody went to significant trouble to stand on a boulder and lean across to pull it out and read it.

Betula glandulosa (unknown if var. hallii) (Bog birch, resin birch, arctic dwarf birch) Linder's Fall 2002 in rock garden. This birch gives you all the beauty of young birch branches (that reddish brown, textured surface) on a very shapeable, tree-like shrub that runs about six foot high. It's not supposed to get white, but from the looks of my plant (which may be a garden cultivar--it was poorly labeled) it could transform with age as birches do. Old specimens can reach ten feet, but pruning should make it easy to prevent this. It is hardy to zone one, which means that it's perfectly happy in Alaskan Yukon tundra. Although it's home is in land considerably colder than metropolitan Minnesota, it should be hardy here. (Four years later it looks excellent) It sits atop a small man-made hill--a little berm that I put in to create a slope for drainage. I have watered it, but not to excess. It looks to be very happy. The bog birch catkins are a food source for chickadees and other birds. Internet searches revealed that it likes well-drained acidic soil (which it has). The forest service has excellent information. It's on the north side of the house, but it's a sunny location in summer, and fairly sunny in winter. Being that it's at the top of the 20" berm, I thought that it would be a very good idea to build a volcano crater around it, building a water-retaining lip. It apparently does not transplant easily. But, at this point, there are no diseases, no bugs, nice leaves. In 2005 I noticed that it's getting kind of shaggy--the branches get long and they are very flexible, so the whole bush gets blown about pretty dramatically by the wind. As of 2006, I see the same thing beginning to happen. In July I shortened them so that the whole thing is about 5-6 feet tall. That should make for a stouter infrastructure. After four years and one pretty vigorous pruning last summer, I very much like this tree. If you keep the suckers and side shoots off from the lower portion, it makes a beautiful mini-tree. At first I was wishing that I had gotten something a bit showier, or a full sized birch. The leaves are really cute. Spring 2006 it still does not show any whiteness in the bark, but it has that attractive deep red tone that young birch branches have. I recommend it highly.

Calamagrostis arumdinacea 'Karl Foerster'--Feathered Reed Grass [Poaceae/Gramineae (grass family)]. Leitner's 1996. It is a clumping grass that grows to about 4 feet high. After five years, the single one gallon plant spread to a mass two feet across. I divided it, and replanted another one-gallon sized clump inside a 3 gallon pot to restrain the outward growth. At first I thought that it didn't reseed, but in 2003 I started to notice lots of small clumps of seedlings in a radius of 4 feet from the plant. Interestingly, almost all of them were to the north of the plant. They are fairly easy to spot because they start with very fine spidery clumps with short blades in spring. They can be pulled easily when young. There are more colorful and exotic grasses, but this one is very natural looking, yet charming. Highly recommended.

Calluna vulgaris spp. -- Scotch Heather [Heaths and Heathers, Ericaceae or Empetraceae] Note: Heathers are not really hardy in zone 4b where we live. They require some extra attention, like showy roses. In climates of zone 6 (possibly 5?) they are very good on slopes with moist, sandy and acidic soil. They will only reseed if they are burned by fire. I tried toasting some seeds on the bbq, but they didn't seem to germinate in the open garden. Maybe they would in pots. I have layered several plants now. (That means I buried a couple of branches so the tips stuck out, held it down with a rock, and then I will cut and dig the clump up.) This technique seems to be working well, but I haven't yet severed the connection to the mother plant.

If it's flowers you seek, then go for the Erica species. The Callunas are beautiful enough in their foliage. I have all three planted fairly close together, and I'm going to have to move them apart this fall. They are starting to grow into each other.

There are some simple rules to follow to keep Heathers and Heaths in zone 4b (slight urban heat zone factor?).

Cover it in leaves or snow for the winter. Anything that is actually exposed to air at zero degrees or below will die back or at least permanently loose leaves. I uncover it around the first part of April, but I re-cover it with leaves if I hear that an ice storm or extra cold weather is coming. Spring snow fall won't hurt it at all. Dry, super cold air will desiccate the leaves. They also seem to dislike freezing rain. You might want to cover the mulched plant with a burlap bag anchored to the ground to keep the leaves in place. I always scoop snow onto them when I shovel in the winter.
Avoid watering it with tap water. I capture rain water or use peat moss to condition water. I regularly use vinegar (2 cups per 5 gallon bucket of water). Heathers are acid lovers. I give garden sulphur, occasional coffee grounds, and some iron sulfate. I also have my soaker hose system set up so it misses the heathers. I hand water them.
They hate nitrogen. Do not give them things like blood meal, fish emulsion or other high nitrogen foods. I have given them low doses of balanced chemical fertilizers recommended by a local gardener who cultivated many heathers I have.

The Callunas aren't terribly difficult, but not recommended for lazy gardeners. Don't let anyone tell you that they can't be grown in Minnesota. Click here to visit the Heather Society web page in the UK. They have a very nice Handy Guide to Heathers and Heaths. Heaths and Heathers--a great commercial site in Washington. This looks like a great place to order heathers by mail. There is an excellent article on growing heather in Canada. My experience reflects his quite well, though I have not yet run into a species that isn't able to survive the winter with the treatment I give to them. I currently have 5 cultivars and an erica, so this next few years will tell me a lot. This article discusses the different species and their hardiness in cold climates.

Calluna vulgaris 'Drum Ra'--Scotch Heather. Rice Creek Gardens in Fall 2002. Has white flowers on vigorous deep green foliage.
Calluna vulgaris 'Green Cardinal'--Scotch Heather. Garden City 1996. 15"h x 18". Bright green foliage that turns reddish purple in late season. It will be dark when you uncover it in spring, and then it greens up. Trim off any dead ends of branches that were singed by cold. It's more stiff and upright than the sprawling, curly 'Sir John Carrington' or Erica. This one is the more vigorous of the two Callunas we have. It is also more sensitive to Winter cold air--losing more leaves if it gets too cold. Bury it completely in leaves as soon as the temperatures start dipping below 10 degrees F. The flowers are lilac pink, and are quite nice. This appears to be the easiest one for cold climates. You have to keep it (and all the others) from being exposed to the elements during winter, but given that kind of care, you'll have little or no trouble keeping it in zone 4b (or at least in urban zone 4b).
Calluna vulgaris 'Kinlochruel'--Scotch Heather. Rice Creek Gardens in Fall 2002. Double flowered white--amazing pendulous flowers that look like a Thalictrum 'Hewitt's Double' flower crossed with a lilly of the valley. Medium green foliage, and compact form. As of Spring 2006 I'm going to declare this one too fragile for Minnesota.
Calluna vulgaris 'Little Orchid'--Scotch Heather. This one looks really good four years later, but not as vigorous in the rate of growth as the Green Cardinal.
Calluna vulgaris 'Robert Chapman'. This one is doing extremely well, but not as vigorous in the rate of growth as the Green Cardinal. Very pretty pale green. Has survived three winters, and looks great.
Calluna vulgaris 'Sir John Carrington'. Garden City 1996. 12" h x 18". Chartreuse to yellow foliage changes to red in fall. Dark maroon-purple flowers from Aug-Sept. This one is tough, but it doesn't grow as fast as the others. This one has colorful foliage and deep lilac pink flowers. Click for image.
Calluna vulgaris 'Tiny Trails'--Scotch Heather. Rice Creek Gardens in Fall 2002. Interesting two-tone color with a mute chartreuse and deep green color, and pink flowers. It has a trailing structure, and the plant we got is wonderfully shaped. However, by 2006, there aren't any surviving.

Campanula spp. Harebell, Bellflower, Bluebells [Campanulaceae] This is a very popular and attractive genus with a two basic forms--one is a long raceme of bell-like flowers, the other is a short ground cover with bell-shaped flowers. They are generally pretty easy to grow. Campanulaceae include the Lobelia cardinalis.

Campanula americana Tall Bellflower. Native to this area, it was an indigenous weed in our yard, prevalent in the shady area between my house and the neighbor to the East. It's a pretty plant, but it is a weed. You have to control it through digging and deadheading. Reaching 3 to 6 feet in height, the racemes can spread the numerous seeds a good distance. Deadhead it rigorously or you'll have it all over. A mature clump has brittle, fleshy roots extending down to a single taproot-like structure, similar to a common violet. You probably already have some of this in your yard, but you mow it over. It's extremely common here.
Campanula carpatica 'White Clips' -- Carpathian Harebell Leitner's 1994 Full sun to light shade. Average to rich, well-drained soil. Propagate by tip cuttings. May self-sow, so deadheading is recommended. After 3 seasons, it does not appear to have increased significantly in size, nor has it shrunk. Healthy and well-behaved clump plant. 1999 it needs replacing--it increased every year until this year. This is clearly a nice rock garden plant.
Campanula poscharskyana -- Serbian Bellflower soil, full sun. Root prune and deadhead to prevent invasion. Ours got too much water and almost faded away in a sweltering August. Spring 1996, it is there but very much smaller. I moved it back to the alley area and put a heather where it was. It was destroyed by a careless child. I think it was bad luck. The plant should be quite vigorous, and the intense electric blue flowers are very attractive.

Candy Lily (genus hybrid X paracanda or something like that). 1994 Seems very similar to the species Belamcanda (Blackberry Lily) of the Iridaceae family. I think they must have crossed it with a lily. Full sun to light shade. In heat, shade prolongs bloom. Plants self-sow easily. Seems prone to yellowing leaves and such, but blooms well. I call it "autumn lily" because it blooms starting in late August, and continues into September. Easy to grow, and highly recommended.

Celastrus scandens (American Bittersweet Vine, aka Zombie Vine) [Celastraceae] Summer 1999 It is a native to the Upper Midwest, and was once common in the woods. Its reputation as an aggressive vine inspired us to plant it on the West side of our garage. I made a trellis out of birch branches that I wove together in an 8 foot high design like a snow shoe. It's a very pretty trellis. Later we learned that it grows rapidly to 20' and will smother anything it its path, including full grown trees. We saw a LARGE arbor draped with old bittersweet vines at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, and we realized that we might have made a mistake. It's clear that this is a large and powerful vine like Virginia Creeper. In the Spring of 2001 it appeared to be dead. In July when I was doing some weeding, I discovered that there were runners shooting out 3 feet from the original plant, sending up new shoots, though nothing was happening anywhere near the trellis. I immediately began surgery to remove the thick runners before it destroyed my whole garden. Worse still, the uninteresting flowers were eaten off by insects so that no berries formed the one year of 2000 that it grew normally. Two years after attempting to rip this sinister bastard out of my garden, two more large rhizomes and shoots were found 3 feet away from the original planting spot. I hope that I have it all out now. I definitely do not recommend this thug. I renamed the plant Zombie Vine in reference to its ability to die and resurrect from its roots back to the dead main stem. Spring 2006 no signs of the evil plant. I think it's okay to put up the "Mission Accomplished" banner now.

Chrysanthemum coccineum 'Doubles Mixed' -- Painted Daisy [Compositae] Bachman's 1995. For all mums, average to rich, moist, well-drained soil in full sun. Neutral to alkaline soil. Waterlogging is bad especially in winter. Pinching and disbudding is effective for increasing flower size, etc. Divide to remove and replace dying centers of dense clumps. Aphids and spider mites may plague them. I'm not impressed with this one. It's not very attractive. By 2002 it faded away and died. I'm trying to feel bad about it, but in general, I'm frustrated with mums. They aren't very long-lived here and just don't seem to thrive in our garden. I prefer asters.

Chrysantemum leucanthemum 'May Queen'--Oxeye Daisy. 1-3' Leitner's 1996. Easy to grow white daisy. No problems observed. Ho-hum.

Chrysanthemum X superbum --Shasta Daisy. 1-3' high. Short-lived species. Leitner's 1996 I've decided that I don't care much for the hardy daisies.

Cimicifuga spp.--[Ranunculaceae] This attractive genus is easy to grow in bright shade with rich soil and good moisture. They reseed themselves, and can be propagated by seed sown directly where you want them (the seeds must be stratified to germinate.) Division is quite easy. I have literally pulled a stem out of the ground with a root eyelet, stuck it in a new spot, and presto. Given moisture and the right balance of light, they are very tough. They do not like hot sun, but they must have some light to thrive. Increased sunlight requires more water. This species is rumored to keep away bugs (hence its name) but the bees just love it. The roots can be used to induce abortion, but it is a bit risky at that dosage. It is a common ingredient in herbal menopause treatments. Click to see an image. Click here for an essay on the medicinal usage of the plant.

Cimicifuga racemosa -- Black Cohosh, Bugbane or Fairy Candles. Leitner's 1994 Partial shade, common garden soil but need leaf mould. Emerge along with the Dicentra spectabilis. Flowers bloom in midsummer. They spread slowly under ground from eyelets kind of like bleeding hearts, but the snaky rhizomes creep around, giving the impression that they are moving about in your garden. I have tried them in numerous locations in the yard, but the place they seem to be happiest is on the north side of our garage, where a layer of snow and ice remains until the Equinox. Cold and constantly wet soil might seem inhospitable, but I can only tell you that these plants receive a lot of neglect, and they are thriving. The flowers are beautiful and the foliage is healthy. This is one of my favorite plants based on its foliage, architectural effect, ease of cultivation and appeal to pollinators. The flowers aren't outstanding, but they are interesting. During and after blooming they may require staking, or cutting back. Seeds will form and surely weigh down the stalks. If you let them drape over your yard, they will easily reseed in your lawn. Uncontrolled, this plant could easily take over my back yard, at least in the shady areas. New seedlings will take about 3 years to bloom, and transplants may require a year to recover before blooming. They will grow anywhere from 3 feet to 8 feet tall depending on age and conditions. The foliage is only about 2-3 feet high, and the remaining 1-5 feet is a long stalk with a 10-15" raceme of white flowers.
Cimicifuga racemosa 'Atropurpurea' Linder's 1995. Same growing conditions as above. Will not grow as tall as the species above--more like 3 feet. Much prettier flowers bloom in August-September. This is a beautiful plant, though not really suited to the Minnesota growing season. It's a bit slow in growth.
Cimicifuga ramosa Leitner's in 1994. Native to Minnesota. It has short flower racemes, making it look almost like Actea. Three feet high total. It's a very attractive companion for ferns and hostas in a shade garden.

Clematis spp. [Ranunculaceae] The clematis genus has some of the most beautiful and desirable vines for the home garden. There is a wide variety of forms, colors and bloom times. There are wide variations in cultivation instructions, but the majority of them need very rich soil. They also like to have cool, sheltered roots, but the upper vine needs bright sun. Most species will grow back from last year's wood. They will also send up shoots from the ground. Pruning in early Spring is important to avoid having a messy mass of dead vine twigs on your trellis.

Clematis jackmanii--Clematis . Rice Creek late 1995. A beautiful vine that needs human help to attach to smooth walls. It blooms twice in the season, and leaves attractive seed heads like a pasque flower. Fertilize it heavily, shield the base of the plant with rocks (hot, sunny vine, cool, wet roots) Plant it in a deeply dug hole with lots of organic matter, bone meal, etc. Prefers lime over acid. It grows back on old vines, but it is advisable to prune it back in February so that there are only about two to three feet of old vine stems standing up. It's aggressive. We have it climbing over climbing roses, which makes a spectacular display in June. Since I am trying to get it to produce more stems and flowers on the opposite side of this wall, I let a large portion of the old stems remain so as to get more shoots there. In Spring 2002 (after the warmest winter in my 42 year life) she has growing shoots popping out of dry stems from last year as far out as six feet from the base. It's going to be a good year for Clematis, I think. ;) Spring 2005 it nearly vanished, and barely performed. In Spring 2006 it seems to be recovering. I gave it a thorough feeding. I think it was hungry.
Clematis tangutica--[Ranunculaceae] Rice Creek late 2000. A rare, yellow clematis. It has wonderful yellow, pendulous flowers that hang without opening wide, so they look like oriental paper lanterns. The plant is a really vigorous grower, suitable for climbing trees. Trim back in the Fall or early Spring to about 15" to 36", leaving the straw like stems to winter. New growth will appear from the nodes of the remaining stems in the spring, so don't rip up the dead straw. Its growth starts a bit late, so you will think it's dead, then suddenly it explodes, almost flying up it trellis. After four years, the straw developed into a more woody structure, and the new shoots started as far as ten feet above the ground. Therefore, it is extremely important to cut and remove last year's growth down to a controllable height. I take mine down to 3 feet. Awesome vine. We planted this one beside our Honeysuckle, and the two twine together. The location is not super sunny, so it does bloom kind of late--in 2002, it bloomed at the end of August, and in mid-September it's completely covered with flowers. By 2006, I have noted that it does reseed, but surprisingly little. I transplanted one, and the results were very good. Click to see an image.
Clematis "Nelly Moser"--[Ranunculaceae] Rice Creek late 2001. Planted where the Bittersweet vine used to be. It has had a slow start, but four years later, it's beginning to look substantial.

Commelina communis -- Mouseflower, Asiatic Dayflower [Commelinaceae] "native" to our yard when we bought the house. It was apparently imported as an ornamental annual flower around the turn of the century. I decided to cultivate it and see how it does. On the East Coast it is an invasive species. The little blue flowers are really cute. The downside is that once you cultivate it, and let it go to seed, it is a vigorous reseeder, and you'll have thousands the next year (as I do now.) They are really easy to pull in mulched soil, so I'm not especially concerned. Further, it doesn't do well without a lot of water, so it won't likely get far from my yard. I'm not sure that ours is identical to this species. Ours has two deep blue petals, and one small petal. The one I found on the net is lavender with three petals. It sprawls across the ground, making a decent groundcover, but they are so weedy that you might not want to try it. However, they are annuals, and the roots are shallow, so you can surely mix them with taller, deeper rooted plants. [pictures]

Coreopsis lanceolata -- Lanceleaved Coreopsis [Asteraceae-Compositae] Leitner's 1995 Evergreen like a Digitalis. It takes it some time to revive in spring. It did not appear to spread unpleasantly. I suspect a cage would be beneficial for them, because the whole plant has a tendency to collapse and flop about. Benefits from deadheading, which also prevents reseeding. They produce hundreds of flowers over an extended period, so they do make up for the demands of deadheading. Great flower if you are dedicated to deadheading.

Coreopsis verticallata 'Moonbeam' --Threadleaf Coreopsis. Leitner's 1995

Coreopsis verticallata 'Zagreb' -- "" Leitner's 1995. Most books recommend poor to average soil, sandy soil to avoid overgrowth and flopping. Both benefit from deadheading. I prefer 'Moonbeam', but the two mixed together are fabulous. They seem to form clumps of vertical stems connected by a rhizome. After six years, it seems to have stabilized its population in one patch beside the Echinacea and Rudbeckia meadow. Easy to grow and control.

Cornus canadensis - Bunchberry [Cornaceae (dogwoods)] Spring 2004 Nothing could possibly be bad about getting this plant to spread throughout your yard and garden. It's probably the most characteristic plant of Northern Minnesota acidic soil vegetation. This cute little shrublet spreads by rhizomes and is only 3-7" tall. The berries are edible, used for jellies. It can tolerate acidic conditions ranging from pH 3-7.9, but can't tolerate soil temperatures warmer than 65 degrees in Summer. This may be difficult to provide, but I gave it some bright shade under the spruce. We'll keep our fingers crossed that it survives in the acidic garden. In mid-May 2005 it appears to be alive, but very slow in sending up new shoots. On May 24th, the shoots are plainly visible, but the plant is slow yet to unfurl. But, it means that it did survive a Twin Cities summer. The following season, it was strikingly diminished. It clung tenuously to life during the summer and gave up the ghost by autumn. My "autopsy" suggests that the area was too dry and sunny during summer. I would put it in a different spot if I find another one (which I have not). [more info and image, better image ].

Corydalis sempervirens, Rock Harlequin (Superior Nat. Forest by seed) annual or biennial-- Rock Harlequin. Date uncertain, but probably about 1992 or 1993. They are very unpredictable in their reseeding. One year you might have many, the next year, you won't see any, then the following there are a couple, and the next year you'll have dozens. Easy to grow. Keep in mind that a full-grown flowering plant will die off. Plant the seeds by sprinkling them in desirable locations. They are very prodigal, attractive little surprise plants. I would describe them as a combination of bleeding heart (to which they are related) and the columbine, with leaves that look a lot like herb rue. The color of the foliage is almost blue and the pink with yellow tipped flowers are really cheery. The small size of the flowers and the blue foliage keep them from being too garish. Spring 2005 we have the biggest crop of them I have seen. There are about 30 plants scattered around the yard. Spring 2006 there is only one visible, and a few young seedlings in my lawn that dropped from last year's seeds.

Cypripedium acaule - Pink Lady Slipper orchid - [Orchidaceae] Spring 2004 [click for image ] I tried one of these in Spring 2003, placing it in a fairly shady and wet spot in newly acidified soil. I incorporated a pine bark/manure compost combo that might have been too nitrogen rich. This time I tried it with a newly prepared, but more established section of spruce impacted soil. I added no compost, but instead added a lot o