Viewing comments posted by critterologist

I picked this plant up in spring and just love it... compact and hasn't stopped flowering. I've deadheaded a little (more than is usual for me LOL as it's in an easy to reach pocket-bed), but I think it would be blooming continually even without that. The blooms are almost carnation-like, but on a short sweet little plant.

Eye-catching big blooms with great "substance," but it (or rather, I) lost the war with weeds in that part of the bed, and it's either lost or lost-tag.

Described as "pink" when I got it, but bloomed very peach or apricot two years running (so not just a "first bloom" sort of thing)... not my cuppa tea... traded it! :-)

Reblooms most years for me (zone 6/7)... The purple around the edges of the falls almost looks embroidered, very pretty!

The blooms are more of a straight pale pink when the buds first open, but a striking darker pink "star" soon develops. Much more interesting (IMO) than the ubiquitous 'Pink Pearl'. Ordered just a few to try, and after seeing the blooms ordered 50 more last fall. :-)

Not as ever-blooming as 'Happy Returns', but still reblooms frequently through the summer for me. I love the light ruffling (I'm actually not a fan of the new "chicken fat" heavy ruffles).

Colors on the cup remind me of the rosy blush and peach of ripe apricots. The fragrance is sweet and pleasant, but not particularly rose-like, despite some catalog hype I've seen. (I suppose there could be a rose that smells like this daffodil, but this daff doesn't remind my nose particularly of roses.)

THUG ALERT! Even cutting it completely to the ground in early spring didn't stop it from taking over a trellis to either side in addition to its own space. When I put it in, I also didn't realize it was invasive -- and there's just no way to deadhead every bloom. I dug mine up, threw it out, and I'm still pulling seedlings out here and there 3 years later.

2021 update. still pulling out one or two seedlings each year!

This non-vining, small-flowered clematis will form a low arching mound a good 3 feet across. Mine sort of flops forward, probably toward the best light... if I want a more circular effect, I have to spread the branches around, maybe peg a couple that want to grow in the opposite direction of what I'd like. Dies back to the ground in winter.

Easy to grow from seed by winter sowing. The flowers really do have a sweet scent that reminds me exactly of a freshly-opened chocolate easter egg!

What a weird looking "bulb" -- like a bark nugget. I seem to end up planting them in fairly wet soil, so I don't bother soaking them first. Their bloom time overlaps with oriental hyacinths and mini daff 'Rip van WInkle'

Easy to winter sow, will also self-sow but isn't a thug in my garden (scattered seedlings are easy to ID and readily removed if they're in the wrong spot). Blooms second year from seed... low growing leaves pop up these breezy thin stalks topped with hot pink blooms.

I couldn't resist a "new! pink!!" crocus and ordered a few in 2009. The color is a beautiful pink-lilac shade, and the bloom has a declicacy to it that i really like -- not tiny, but dainty looking with its more slender petals (compared to other tommies in my lawn). It's increased really well for me, too, at the edge of my front bed. That bed is irrigated in summer, but their location probably doesn't get any additional water from the soaker hose... like most fall planted bulbs, I think they do best in a dry summer location.

Definitely different from the common "grape hyacinths" (M. armeniacum). These are taller, with larger strap-like leaves (not grassy looking). In my garden, they don't increase well. In fact, they tend to decline in number over time.

This is one of those quintessential yellow daffodil-looking daffodils. It has increased really well for me and should be an excellent choice for naturalizing. St. Keverne is said to be one of the best daff choices in the south, where less winter chill makes blooming of many daffs uncertain.

This variety caught our attention from across the daffodil pavilion at the Keukenhoff in 2009. Large blooms have good substance and are long lasting in the vase. I love including this one in bouquets, as the bright orange centers just show off really well against the usual daffodil white and yellow tones.

Increases/naturalizes well for me... bicolor blooms face outward for a nice display

I love the very open, airy structure of this shrub! Mine was started from a tall, rooted shoot from a friend. For several years, it just continued as a couple of gangly branches, then suddenly it became this arching shrub, dripping with blooms like golden pompoms. I noticed that a couple of its shoots had sprung up a foot or so away from the main plant, so I dug down with a sharp little shovel and separated the shoot -- basically a single stem with a few roots at its base. I potted up the rooted shoots so they could get decent rootballs before being passed along, and they seem to be doing well. I also potted up several cuttings without roots, taken just as the plant was starting to leaf out, and I think some of them may "take" also.

This was listed as 'Rosada' with an "a" rather than 'Rosado' at the 2012 Philly Flower Show (and it won a red ribbon). However, when I google I mostly find mentions of it with the 'Rosado' spelling, so maybe the expert judges at the show just missed a typo. The flower at the show looks like other images of 'Rosado' to me.

I love the burgundy and green colors and the delicate, exotic shape of this cybister! I've read that H. cybister varieties should just be grown continuously, not given a dormant stage, but I've never had any trouble with 'Lima' whether I let it stay green all year or let it get dry & dormant for several months in fall. If you want to "time" the bloom (6-8 weeks after potting up the bulb), then let it go dormant; otherwise just bring it inside when the weather gets cold and treat it like a houseplant all winter... it'll surprise you with a bloom before spring!