Which variety, JoAnn? Pics? They are such great plants.

The related Lamiastrum galeobdolon is always something to look forward to come Spring.

Is your Cardoon a long-lived perennial? It certainly is striking. Where did you get it?

Here is some info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C... and

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/p...


Hardy zones 7-9, considered to be an invasive weed in some states, such as CA.

Used as a vegetable by many, similar to artichokes.

I have not found it to be invasive, but it seems very tough.
Have had it a couple of years and tried to move it and it just popped back up in the same spot again.
Got it in a 3 inch pot from Whole Foods.

Interesting - but 5' in height kinda rules it out for me, lol.

I started Cardoon from seed last spring. I didn't have a long enough season for it to bloom, but it was still an amazingly cool plant! It lasted through several freezes before finally going flat.

Here it is with my favorite "no care" plant of last year....Melampodium.



Rosa 'Cinco de Mayo' also seems to need no care. I don't even deadhead it, and it continues to bloom non-stop until almost November in zone 5.


...and, year after year.....salvia 'Victoria Blue'. It's supposed to be an annual here, but has been coming back for the last two on its own.

Do you think it's the original plant or is it reseeding, Chelle?

Nice plants, Chelle!

WOW! Look at the spikes on the Cardoon!

Yours is definitely a different variety than mine. No spikes like that on this one.

I read a bit about the Cardoon, and see that the wild variety is spikey, and farmers tried to breed out the spikes to make it easier to handle and grow as a food crop.
Like it planted with the Melampodium. Really pretty combination.

Cinco de Mayo looks like a great rose.

I did vacillate back and forth on that question; however, I now know that it's doing both.

It sends out new rosettes (?) in fall at the woody bases that do overwinter - plus there are a bunch of little seedlings scattered about as well. (I had thought originally that the plant would be sterile, guess not. )


Thanks, Janice!

Those Cardoon seeds were shared.
I've no idea which variety they are.

Interesting! that's great.

I have to add Passiflora Caerulea, as it is still green and grew like a weed this year, it's first!

Even in your zone?

Yup, Tee! I just trained a growing tendril up the tuteur it is on.
I had cut it way back and was surprised at it.
Just ran out and got this pic ....

Jmorth, just looked closely at your photos of the New England Asters. Superb and the array of butterflies is amazing!

Nice. I have Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) here but it didn't stay green nearly that long.

And speaking about this Passi, I think I better move it out of the bed it is in. I can tell from the previous seasons' growth habit, it will be huge and take over.
This particular bed is not large enough to handle it. This was its' first year.

Here he is July 2011.

Oh, that's lovely, Janice. I do love the Passis.

Thank you, Tee!
That plant surprised me in many happy ways!

I can see why. Even though P. incarnata grows wild here, it is tricky to move and sometimes finicky about getting started. I had my vine going really well last year and then the end of the season arrived. So next year I will see if I was really a success with it.

I have this one down to try. I am also zone 7a but most places seem to be recommending zone 8 and above. Where do you have yours located?

Passiflora caerulea is hardy in zones 6-9.

I believe this is where I got it:

http://www.selectseeds.com/cgi...

It is just in a bed in my backyard. No special conditions.

Try one, I bet it'd do well for you, Tee!