Viewing comments posted by critterologist

I cut a bloom from 'Sarah B' to bring into the house this afternoon. The scent is intoxicating, sweet but not musky, a lovely floral perfume. My little row of peonies is getting too much shade this year (something I can correct with a little pruning of the willows on either side of the bed), but 'Sarah B' bloomed anyway! My neighbor has a peony growing very happily by her south-facing foundation... pretty sure it's also 'Sarah B', and it's huge this year, at least 4 feet across and covered with blooms!

I love this peony! The foliage is distinctive, and the bloom is a lovely deep red. It gets bigger and blooms more every year (like any peony, I suppose). I appreciate that it shoots up earlier than other herbaceous peonies, so it's less likely to be stepped on by small feet when the kids are picking daffodils.

I was successful with this plant on the 2nd try... potted it with half perlite and half Pro Mix BX (a peat based potting mix), put it in bright indirect light, and tried to keep it evenly moist.

Fruit can be left on the branch to dry and will have the same "sweet-inducing" effect. The "miraculin" acts like a key in a lock on your "sweet" receptors, but the key only turns in the presence of an acid. Your "sour" receptors still taste the acid, so you don't lose the intensity or tang of a sour fruit. Rather, it tastes like it's been rolled in sugar. Far out!!

We almost have enough fruits saved up for another "flavor tripping" party!

I'm thinking this one might need a few years to settle in. Its first spring, I didn't see any blooms in the corner where I planted a dozen bulbs, and I assumed the voles ate them. This spring, I spotted this one bloom stem, and there were a number of tufts of similar leaves. I'm hoping for a better show next year!

I didn't love this variety in catalogs, but when I saw it blooming this spring in Aspenhill's garden, I was hooked! The bicolor effect is really yummy, shading from dusky purple blooms near the base to blue-lavender as the blooms open at the top,

It does seem to need extra TLC until it fills in... this spring, it seems dense enough that I won't need to keep picking little weeds out of it. It took several years to establish in 2 areas of my garden (around "special" shrubs), but the result was worth the extra effort, as it's a beautiful low groundcover.

Small, sweet-scented yellow blooms nearly always come in pairs. This heirloom definitely has a "grandma's garden" feel. Plant it with its sister, 'Cheerfulness', or with other bunch-flowering daffodils for a delicate display.

Great substance, strongly colored and heavily ruffled deep coral-pink cup

I have this as a groundcover in an "island" bed with daffodils, daylilies, and maples. I started with a big clump from a friend. It's easy to propagate by taking starts from within the clump, as "holes" fill in quickly. I pot up pieces in 4 inch pots and plant them out the same year (in fall) or the following spring.

One of "The Girls" hybridized by the US National Arboretum , 'Ann' (NA 28344; PI 326570) is a cross between Magnolia liliflora 'Nigra' x M. stellata 'Rosea'.

I purchased a 2 gallon plant with a couple of 3-4 ft. trunks ago, at the Leesburg Garden Fair. It's taken 8 years to really come into its own in terms of size and bloom... it's about 6 ft. tall with a similar width and a delicate structure... one of those lovely garden accents that doesn't block your view.

For lovers of "true" pink, this is one of the best I've seen... it's a pale pastel color, but it's definitely not coral or salmon pink, more "baby girl pink." I don't remember where I got it and can't find it online now, but I would say it is a large cup daffodil and not a trumpet daff (I believe it was listed under both divisions in the database... I just submitted a proposal to merge the listings)

The kids notice its pink-coral color from across the garden and always want some in their bouquets, especially as it seems to be in bloom for Mother's Day. It's got a great fragrance and seems to be the best performer in both garden and vase of the "pink" daffs I've tried so far, although the great substance of 'Precocious' is giving it a run for its money (plant them together, and put pink-rimmed 'Audubon' nearby as well).

Most "pink" daffodils have a pink cup and white petals... this one is unusual in being coral and yellow. The elegant form seems closer to a trumpet daffodil than a large cupped daff to me, although admittedly I haven't measured, that's just the impression it gives. The blooms do nod at the top of the stems, so I planted it at the top of a small rise. I'd say it's more a collector's item than a must-have daff.

Stunning huge fragrant double blooms tend to get weighted down with rain. Worth growing, but put this one toward the back and cut the flowers to enjoy inside.

'Las Vegas' has great impact in the garden, with sturdy tall stems and big blooms. The substance of the blooms (thick petals) give it tremendous staying power... In a vase, it lasts twice as long as most other daffs. Definitely a must-have!

I pruned it back hard last fall, cutting out older and lower branches entirely and cutting back most other branches by half... it's coming in nicely this spring, flowering like mad and growing out new tips to resume its lovely arching shape. I love the variegated foliage for a much longer season of interest after the blooms are done.

Bloom season is short, but I love the fine texture and bright green of the foliage. In my garden, it has nearly disappeared some years and self-sowed rampantly in other years. Shallow-rooted plants are easy to pull, and they transplant well for sharing also. If you're digging or pulling extra plants, even the ones that snap off at the base with little or no root will generally survive if you tuck them into a little pot of moist mix for a couple of weeks before planting out.

I've been growing amaryllises since we moved to Frederick, and of the dozens of varieties I've had, 'Blossom Peacock' is still my hands-down favorite. The color and shape of the bloom are just exquisite. I think my neighbor pinned it down for me when she commented, "It's like a beautiful water lily!" It has all the "extras" -- double petal count, picotee edges, white "star" formed by central stripes on the pink-streaked petals. Some even say it's fragrant, although any fragrance seems very faint to me. Relatively small bulbs will put up multiple bloom stalks. Like most doubles, it doesn't set seed readily, and it's been at best a modest increaser for me.

This was my first year growing 'Tinkerbell,' and I'm in love with her! Blooms are slightly trumpet-shaped, with a ruffled picoteed edge. Color is more pink than peach, to my relief, as I'm not a fan of peachy tones. Miniature, so stems and blooms are smaller than some varieties. No staking needed, even with 6 to 8 blooms per stem! I put 3 bulbs in a pot and got blooms for weeks. Highly recommended. I got mine from ADR Bulbs.

Great plant for a soggy spot, pond edge, or bog garden. I have it growing in a "pocket pond," a 22" diameter no-hole container, with no more than 4 inches of water over the crown. It survives zone 6 winters in the container with no problem. It's vigorous enough that you'd probably want to contain it around the edges of smaller ponds, or I think it would be a thug. (It out-competes anything else I try to put in the same container.)