Viewing comments posted by Skiekitty

One of my favorite miniature roses. Love the lavender/russet color combination. No scent, unfortunately (at least none that I've smelled), but a very dependable rose that grows in partial shade for me.

I think everyone who's grown roses has grown Dr. Huey. Most store-bought roses (especially "body bag" roses) are grafted onto Dr. Huey rootstock. It's a single bloomer and sends out incredibly long canes like a rambler. The canes are easy to distinguish from the "desired" rose, as usually they're darker (almost reddish) and have smaller thorns. Dr. Huey is an incredibly hardy rose that is not easily killed. It will send out suckers everywhere! Too many of my desirable roses reverted back to Dr. Huey the 2nd or 3rd year.

A very unusually colored rose, it stands out in my garden. Survives zone 5 winter with mulch protection. Got about 3' tall and bloomed generously 2nd year in the ground.

This does not seem to be a strong miniature rose. I have tried to grow it 4 different times and they never seem to survive the summer, let alone zone 5 winter.

Needs more water than I was willing to give it (not xeric). Beautiful red flowers, but smaller plant (less than 1foot tall).

Not a strong tree. Have tried to grow this tree 3 different times in 3 different places and each time it died. Beautiful red flowers, but never seems to survive zone 5 winters here.

Mine started out Harlequin but reverted to a solid green leaf with red flowers. Odd.

My plant is a volunteer. I bought a red butterfly bush and this grew out of the base! Beautiful silvery-blue flowers, not woody at all like a butterfly bush. Dies to the ground every year in my zone 5 with no protection, comes back every spring. Butterflies love it!

An evergreen "weed," this particular cultivar reverted mostly back to the standard green leaves. Only here & there are the yellow vines apparent. First plant in my yard to bloom in the spring, last to bloom in the fall/winter. Snow or ice doesn't seem to bother it at all. Very strong vines. Leaves are very leathery. Survives zone 5 winters with no protection, in full shade, in full sun, it doesn't care.

Tolerates full sun, zone 5 winter with no protection. Doesn't require a lot. Doesn't get huge like the "Concorde Grape" variety. Stays rather compact (12"x12").

One of the first lilacs to bud out. The white blooms almost glow. Smells wonderful! More of a compact bush than the common purple lilac. Tolerates horrible sandy soil, xeric conditions, and full sun. Does not get sunscald in the winter.

A "Chinese" lilac. The leaves are very different from a French lilac. Not as woody a plant, either. Flowers are much smaller and not as fragrant. Leaves here are elongated and lighter in color, definitely not leathery or heartshaped. Seems to survive zone 5 winters with minimal protection, though.

A very leggy, tall lilac. Blooms are shorter lived than the "common purple." Smells not as strong, either. But beautiful deep wine-red blooms.

Grows like a weed. Tolerates heat & xeric conditions nicely. Grows VERY tall, about 4-4.5 feet tall. Easy to transplant. Provides some winter interest, but birds don't seem interested in the seeds.

Tolerates zone 5 winters with no protection. Gets to be about 2.5'-3' around and tall. Gorgeous yellow leaves in high summer. Starts off bright red in the spring, then yellow, then back to red for fall. Some of mine have sent out runners, though.

Another weed of a salvia. Zone 5 winters are no problem, even with absolutely no protection. Gets huge. Mine's about 5' around and about 18"-24" tall in the middle of summer. Dies back to the ground every winter. Not a deep green, but more of a silvery green foliage.

Tolerates zone 5 winters with no protection. Blooms mid spring, so there's always a chance of blooms even with a late freeze. Fruitless.

Seems to send out a lot of weirdo-shaped blooms. Supposed to be a normal hybrid tea shape, but mine sends out quartered & half blooms. Has metal tag on it, so I know it's not mismarked. Tolerant of zone 5 with protection.

XXX Xeric plant. Sends down a taproot to halfway through the planet it seems. Do not try to dig up a large specimen as the root is VERY, VERY, VERY long and you will NOT get to the end of it. Seems to tolerate transplanting, though. Blooms for a VERY long time (weeks). Tolerates terrible soil. However, gets HUGE. Scent will rub off on your clothes. Kind of messy when the flowers fall off.

An evergreen here in zone 5. Xeric plant that blooms for a VERY long time. Spreading. Mine's gone from a 4" pot to covering a 3' section in 3 years. However, very low-growing, so don't put it behind taller plants or you'll never see it.