Agastache-Hyssop, Hummingbird Mint

Agastache is grown in clumps which must be divided every three to four years so propagating means the parent plant must be dug up and the roots divided which is best accomplished in early spring or fall. As the common name indicates this plant attracts not only hummingbirds but butterflies and honeybees as well, but if you have good soil conditions the plant is a good self-seeder and the plant is deciduous. Agastache blooms June through fall and the colors vary from blue, orange, pink, lavender and is a plant that thrives in sun and well drained gravely soils, but needs deep but infrequent watering after their second growing season and are a good choice for patio containers and flower height can vary amongst varieties with some attaining 5'.

Houttuynia-Chameleon Plant

The chameleon plant is easily propagated by digging up the rhizomes that spread off the parent plant, but be aware it is very invasive and will show up in the most unexpected places. Planted in full sun the leaves are yellow, green, pale green, grey, cream and scarlet, but in shade they become green and cream and they have insignificant white flowers in July-August. They like a moist soil and do well in clay. In the Carolinas it is evergreen but deciduous in colder zones. Just be careful where you plant it because I know firsthand it will take over a garden bed in a flash and it grows up to 12" in height and has an off odor close up so I doubt the deer will come close.

Plant Nutrition-N-P-K & pH

Some things that students learned in Agronomy/Soil Sciences, while others learned by trial and error. Soil pH and nutrients. Soil pH ranges from 0-14 with a pH of 7 being neutral, anything lower the soil is acidic, anything higher the soil is alkaline. Plants thrive best in their pH, i.e., Azaleas, Kalmia, Rhododendrons, Blueberries, and Conifers prefer acidic soils, so for those who want to use urine in the garden, those are the plants to feed, approximately a pH of 5.0 while garden vegetables prefer a pH of 6.0. Generally clay soils are more acidic compared to sandy soils. The fall is the best time to apply lime, so it is absorbed by the soil for the coming season and pulverized works the fastest at raising the pH. Wood ashes can also be used to raise the pH because it contains potassium, phosphate and boron. Many woody plants, including Blueberry develop iron chlorosis when grown in alkaline soil and that is often confused with nitrogen deficiency(yellowing of the leaves), but the deficiency can be corrected by lowering the pH with either aluminum sulfate or sulpher which takes longer to reduce the pH because of the interaction of soil bacteria but don’t get either material on leaves and if you do hose the plants down. If you are raising acidic loving perennials and your garden bed in general is near a pH of 7.0 throw in a handful of aluminum sulfate, along with bone meal, when planting. Because of coal fired power plants most of the rain that falls in the USA is acidic. Now for the N-P-K, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium. If a bag of fertilizer says 10-10-10 then that is the percentage by weight of the nutrients in the bag, the rest is filler and phosphate will triple this year in price so stock up on fertilizer and own fertilizer stocks. Nitrogen primarily “greens up” the plants and affects vegetative growth. Nitrogen deficiency in plants occurs when the leaves turn yellow or the plant stops growing and excessive nitrogen is noticed by fast spindly growth with weak shoots. Phosphorus, bone meal, is important for healthy roots and the lack of phosphorus exhibits lack of blooms with lush green foliage. Potassium or potash is the key in the formation of cholorphyll and it is known to help with disease resistance and a potash deficiency occurs when fruits are small and sickly blooms. Remember nutrients work in the soil for plants when they are planted in the proper pH and any lack can affect the plants viability. Here are soil amendments: http://www.planetnatural.com/site/soil-amendments.html

Aruncus-Goatsbeard

Aruncus can be propagated by division in either the spring or fall by digging up the plant and its white or yellow blooms are similar to Astible however they are much taller, 5', and fuller because the plant itself reaches a height of 24". It prefers a well drained rocky moist soil and prefers either partial or full shade since its habitat is the deciduous forests of North Carolina and blooms from May until June. It is deer resistant and butterflies enjoys the flower’s nectar. It is deciduous and prune back the stalks in late winter.

Lysimachia(ly-si-MAK-ee-uh)nummularia “Aurea”-Creeping jenny, Moneywort

Creeping jenny is easily propagated because it spreads by rhizomes and can become invasive if allowed to spread unchecked and reaches a height of 2" and can be propagated either in the spring or autumn. This plant is also used in aquariums so it should not be planted near ponds, if not intended, and does not like dry soils. It thrives in sun or shade, but just make certain if planted in full sun that the soil is in a fertile well drained and moist. It flowers in late spring to mid summer with yellow blooms and this cultivar has bright yellow leaves so it could stand out in a shade garden, is a member of the primula family, and is deciduous.

Armeria-Sea Thrift, Sea Pinks

Armeria growth habit forms hammocks/clumps so it is propagated by root division which means digging up the plant in the spring and transplanting the numerous tap roots. This is an evergreen in Southern gardens, semi-evergreen in Northern climates and its habitat is along coastlines so it needs a well drained loamy infertile soil and is drought tolerant. Armeria blooms from late spring to fall and the floral varieties include white, pink, red, and lilac and deadheading will give a second burst of blooms and Armeria grows to a height of 6"-12" in full sun or part shade. Butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted to its blooms.

Update on "Crimson Sky"

Moving virus lab not just risky — costly, too
Report: Foot-and-mouth outbreak could top $4 billion at potential locations
The Associated Press
updated 3:58 p.m. ET, Fri., June. 20, 2008
WASHINGTON - An outbreak of one of the most contagious animal diseases from any of five locations the White House is considering for a new high-security research laboratory would be more devastating to the U.S. economy than from the isolated island laboratory where such research is now conducted, says a new report published Friday.

The 1,005-page Homeland Security Department report said chances of such an outbreak — with estimated loses of more than $4.2 billion — would be “extremely low” if the research lab were designed, constructed and operated according to government safety standards.

Still, it calculated that economic losses in an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease could surpass $4 billion if the lab were built near livestock herds in Kansas or Texas, two options the Bush administration is considering. That would be nearly $1 billion higher than the government’s estimate of losses blamed on a hypothetical outbreak from its existing laboratory on Plum Island, N.Y.

The administration is studying the safest place to move its research on such dangerous pathogens from Plum Island to the U.S. mainland near herds of livestock, raising concerns about a catastrophic outbreak. A final choice is expected by late fall. The foot-and-mouth virus does not infect humans but could devastate herds of cattle, swine, lambs and sheep.

5 potential locations
The five locations the U.S. is considering are Athens, Ga.; Manhattan, Kan.; Butner, N.C.; San Antonio; and Flora, Miss. A sixth alternative, considered unlikely, would be construction of a new research lab on Plum Island.

Economic losses in an outbreak would exceed $3.3 billion if the new lab were built in Georgia, North Carolina or Mississippi, the report said.

The Homeland Security official in charge of the study, Jamie Johnson of the Office of National Laboratories, said it sought to identify specific risks to each candidate location.

"What the EIS (environmental impact statement) concludes is that the likelihood of release of foot-and-mouth disease is extremely low," she said. "However, in the event that foot-and-mouth does get out, what does that mean to these sites?"

The new study concludes that risk would be low to nonexistent that an accident or terrorist attack would result in the outbreak of a dangerous pathogen at any of the sites except in case of a fire and explosion. Such a fire and explosion would pose a moderate risk that virus or disease could spread to nearby livestock or wild animals.

The threat from fire and explosion would be diminished for the government’s isolated laboratory on Plum Island “due to the low likelihood of any disease getting off of the island,” the report said.

The new National Bio-and Agro-Defense Facility would replace the existing 840-acre research complex on Plum Island, which is about 100 miles northeast of New York City in the Long Island Sound and accessible only by ferry or helicopter. Besides foot-and-mouth disease, researchers also would study African swine fever, Japanese encephalitis, Rift Valley fever and the Hendra and Nipah viruses. Construction would begin in 2010 and take four years.

The new study expresses the government’s confidence it could avoid any outbreak. But it also cautioned that, “should a large release occur there is considerable opportunity for the virus to cause infections and become established in the environment beyond the facility boundary.”


A simulated outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease — part of an earlier U.S. government exercise called “Crimson Sky” — ended with fictional riots in the streets after the simulation’s National Guardsmen were ordered to kill tens of millions of farm animals, so many that troops ran out of bullets. In the exercise, the government said it would have been forced to dig a ditch in Kansas 25 miles long to bury carcasses.

The new study said U.S. economic losses from an outbreak could ultimately be higher than the $5 billion suffered by Britain in 2001, when an epidemic forced the government to slaughter 6 million sheep, cows and pigs.

Liatris-Gay Feather, Blazing Star

Liatris varieties can either be a fleshy corm, like Bearded Iris, but slower growers or a rhizome so either way it is an easy plant to propagate by transplanting the rooted rhizome or by dividing the corm in the spring. Butterflies and honeybees are attracted to the blooms throughout the summer, they can reach 5', and in the first year they prefer a moist soil to establish a strong root system but there after are almost drought resistant, fertilize in the spring, but they do not like a very rich moist soil or the blooms will have a tendency to be weak and topple and they come in white, blue, pink, or purple, planted preferably in full sun and are deciduous. What is unique about Liatris is that the flowers bloom from the top down so they are great for cut flowers or for drying, cut when the blooms are half open and hang upside down for three weeks or use silica-gel. They grow naturally in the tall grass prairies from North Dakota to Florida to Texas so when you are driving the Interstates in late summer to early autumn and wonder what that bluish/purplish flower is off in the distance it’s a good chance it is Liatris especially in Missouri. Generally Liatris is deer resistant.

Cuphea micropetala-Tall Cigar Plant, Candy Corn Plant

Cuphea micropetala can be propagated either by root division or by transplanting the rooted rhizomes. Cuphea is an unusual plant, as is a relative which is aptly named either Tiny Mice or Bat Faced, and they are only hardy in frost free zones, it grows freely in Mexico along stream beds, but it is one plant hummingbirds soak up, it is actually a magnet for them. They grow to a height of 3-4' and will bloom with as little a 5 hours of sun a day, but protected from the mid day sun and is evergreen in Zones 9 & 10, but dies down to the ground in Zone 8. Until the plant becomes established it needs a moist well drained soil, but later it will withstand some drought conditions. It blooms in late spring to autumn, depending on the zone and you can see by the picture it blooms in candy corn colors, its relative Cuphea lluvea is violet, purple and red, and both need monthly fertilizer applications. If you enjoy hummingbirds this is your plant. Aphids and white flies love this plant as well, but it is worthwhile starting from seed every year.

Aubrieta deltoidea-Aubrieta, False rockcress

Aubrieta or False rockcress can be propagated either after flowering and if it is too hot wait until the fall and its done by lifting the plant out of the ground and dividing the roots. Aubrieta grows between 2"-6" and will bloom late spring or early summer in light shade or full sun, but needs light draining soil and in hotter zones it is more biennial then perennial. Aubrieta is especially useful in rock gardens or for draping over walls and the various colors range from white, dark blue, purple, violet and pink, sometimes planted in place of creeping phlox, and it takes an average pH but will winterkill in heavy soil, however deer dislike the plant and is evergreen.

The making of a perennial garden

The first thing anyone should do when attempting to make a perennial garden bed is to determine how much sun the bed gets and at what time of day and that will determine what plants you can use. The best approach to accomplish this is on a weekend. Obtain some stakes and a blank piece of paper say attached to a clip board. Draw out the garden bed on paper. If the bed is in full sun or deep shade no need to do this, its only for those folks who have shade trees that will alter the sun’s rays. Remember if it is a sunny location and the bed backs up against the house it will get real hot so chose those plants wisely because moisture evaporates whether you see it or not. Also prepare the whole bed area in the beginning using a pitch fork to turn over the sod and break it down or if you prefer lasagna layering. Add as much compost or manure as possible and keep some wood chip mulch handy. It does not matter whether the garden bed is against a fence, building or out in the open, the height of the plants in the garden bed will depend on your viewing angle. If it surrounds a patio the taller plants will be in the back, but maybe the patio is surrounded by a retaining wall then the taller plants might butt up against the wall. Remember many perennials are deciduous so you might want to intersperse the garden bed with evergreen plants so it doesn’t look blah in the winter, like azalea, rhododendron, mountain laurel, andromeda, juniper, boxwood, yew, acuba, gardenia, dwarf spruces or pines or whatever evergreens are hardy in your zone. Actually some deciduous plants have great forms in the winter, especially the weeping/cascading types. Each perennial has a different growth habit, some spread by rhizomes and others are upright. Generally to obtain an effective show of color in the landscape the more upright type plants, that don’t spread, like astible or foxglove, you might want to plant in three’s to have their color pop out and the use of mainly green plants, like Artemsia, Russian Sage, Greek Oregano or Catmint, interspersed between groupings to break the color scheme. Hostas can get huge so one of those planted should be sufficient, but they could also hide the bare spot that Bleeding Hearts or Oriental Poppies leave. Propagating plants is just one part of having a successful blooming garden bed throughout the summer, another part is learning the habits and when plants bloom to have the continuity of bloom. Make certain the colors bounce off or compliment each other because you do not want to plant a red next to a pink or it will just wash, put a blue in between. Once the bed is planted spread some wood chip mulch so it brings all the plants together and don’t forget the bone meal. The garden bed may look scrawny the first year but you will be looking forward to the following spring all winter long. If you would like to add rocks make certain they are buried halfway in the soil. You can add hardscapes and a blog shows you how to make things: http://hypertufagardening.blogspot.com/

Anemone-Windflower, Pasque Flower

Anemone depending on the variety can be propagated in 4 different ways, root division in spring or fall, by transplanting rhizomes, dividing tubers or woody cuttings and grow to a height of 18". Its blooms vary in color from white, pink, blue, lilac, red and the plant dies back to the ground after blooming which is after the foliage emerges from the ground in the spring and into the summer. Anemones thrive in a moist sandy loam soil or any garden soil that is well drained in full sun to partial shade and is deer resistant because the plant is also toxic to animals and humans.

Sagina subulata-Irish Moss, Pearlwort

Irish moss is easily propagated by digging up a clump out of an established patch in the spring, then planting it in a bare section of moist soil and the spores will fill in the hole by the end of the season and remain evergreen all winter, however do not plant it close to grass because it is almost impossible to try to remove the grass from the moss. Its white blooms are profuse in late spring to early summer and the plant will tolerate light foot traffic and will survive in a pH range of 5.6-7.5 and takes full sun to partial shade, but dislikes dry soil and even though it might brown in summer it will green up with fall rains and reaches a height of 6".

Lamium-Deadnettle, Snowflake

Lamium can be propagated, depending on soil conditions, either by crown division because the plant forms mounds, or by trailing stems, rhizomes, that may have rooted as they crawl outward along the soil. It got its nickname because the plant’s leaves look similar to Stinging nettle( Urica dioica), but they do not sting, hence deadnettle. Bees are attracted to its flowers, so it sometimes is called Bee Nettle, and some people use the leaves in salads and more power to them. Flower varieties are either purple, pink, white and the plant reaches a height of 12" and is classified as a semi-evergreen goundcover which blooms from May to October and some varieties have variegated leaves which makes them an attractive addition to any garden bed. Lamium prefers partial to full shade and needs a moist and well drained composted soil, neutral ph, and is finicky so it will not tolerate any other conditions or it goes on strike.

Salvia officinalis-garden sage, common sage

Propagating salvia or garden sage should be done in the spring before new growth appears, and the new plants will have to be babied to survive by keeping the transplants moderately moist. As many know it is one of the most important culinary herbs and is used for many medicinal remedies and why many people use the plant in containers on balconies and patios besides in the garden bed. Salvia reaches a height of 24" and has many cultivars with blooms ranging from white to purple to pink besides variegated cultivars and needs to be pruned frequently to encourage more foliage, if used for culinary purposes, which keeps it from going to flower and Salvia needs to be replaced after 3-4 years because plants become woody and less productive. Salvia can also be propagated by layering, lay branch on the soil and not mulch, take a section of wire hanger and bend in half and insert above the branch pushing it against the soil, in the spring or fall and prefers full sun in an well drained humus alkaline soil, but it is not drought tolerant and flowers in mid summer and is evergreen.

Oxalis-Wood sorrel, Shamrock

Oxalis, depending on the cultivar can be propagated either by transplanting the rhizomes that root in the soil, in the spring or fall or by separating the bulbils from the parent plant in the spring, the most common procedure. Rhizomous plants are the easiest perennials to propagate and can be the most invasive perennials given the right conditions. Oxalis flowers from June until October and is deciduous and blooms range from pink, lavender, white, and yellow and it reaches a height of 6"-12". It is rumored to be the preferred habit of garden gnomes. It prefers part shade and will accept both dry or moist soil, preferring sandy or loamy conditions, alkaline soil that is well drained and is deciduous.

Artemisia -Artemisia, Wormwood, Mugwort

Artemsia cam be propagated either by dividing the roots or by transplanting the rhizomes that have rooted. Artemsia is not known for its bloom but rather for its contrasting and aromatic foliage which can grow up to 5' in height, but this is one herb that will take abuse, dry soil, but rich in nitrogen, and will take some shade, hence a plant that is hard to kill except by overwatering, but not invasive and deciduous, planted in a neutral pH. An cousin to the Sagebrush found out west.

Anthemis tinctoria-Golden Marguerite or Dyer’s Chamomile

Golden Marguerite should be propagated by division every two years, that will revitalize and keep it blooming at its peak, because it is a plant that needs at least 6 hours of sun, otherwise it becomes leggy and will flop over especially in very rich soil. It is drought tolerant and deer resistant and aggressively re-seeds itself if not deadheaded which will prolong the blooms throughout the summer starting in June. Its blooms are similar to a daisy and comes in white or yellow and grows 2-3 feet tall in a well drained but not overly rich soil. It is noted for its fine silvery/green fragrant foliage texture and when rubbed onto the skin it will relieve the sting from insect bites. Since its clumps are profuse rhizomes propagating by division can be done either in the spring or fall.

Adenophora-Ladybells

Propagating Ladybells by division is difficult because the plant has long fleshy roots so it is suggested to increase the plants in ones garden bed it’s best to plant from seed, or take basal cuttings in late spring, but if trying division it should be attempted in the fall digging a hole deep enough so that roots can be laid out and not crammed in. They are in the same family as the bellflower, campanula, and are preferred over them in Southern gardens and grow up to 24" and flower mid to late summer, in full sun to partial shade, however they need a well drained moist soil amended with compost or manure. They are self seeding and sometimes can be construed as invasive so to prevent re-seeding deadheading will extend the bluish blooms in mid summer but after blooming a second time it is recommended to cut the plant back to the base and they make a wonderful fragrant fresh flower bouquet.

Papaver orientale-Oriental poppy

Propagating Oriental poppy should be done in the fall when it starts to grow again after dying back in the spring after blooming by digging up the plant and dividing the roots and pips, however the plant takes two years after dividing/transplanting to re-bloom. This plant is deer resistant and has a tendency to flop over from the weight of its blooms, if planted in above average fertile soils, so it should be placed amongst other plants in the garden bed to keep it propped up and also to hide its early yellowing leaves even though the plant only reaches 18" in height in full sun. Oriental poppy is not tolerant of humidity and does well in average well drained soil conditions. It blooms in the spring, depending on the zone, with colors ranging from orange, red, white, pink to purple.

Perovskia atriolicifolia-Russian sage

Propagating Russian sage because it is more of a deciduous woody plant so it can be a long and slow process but a perennial as well and propagating by division is possible, better to attempt in the fall, so the alternative is to attempt cuttings of 3-4" long in late spring. It grows to a height of 3-5 feet on somewhat weak stems so it is best to plant it amongst studier taller perennials like Rubeckia to prevent ii from leaning and it stands out because its leaves are silvery-grey in contrast to the green of most perennials and blooms all summer which the honey bees enjoy with lavender-blue flowers which deer dislike. In tolerates full sun, alkaline, and dry but well draining soil and should be cut back in the spring.

Rudbeckia-Black-eyed Susan, Gloriosa Daisy

Depending on the variety generally Black-eyed Susan’s can be propagated either in the spring or fall by dividing the rhizomous clumps and can grow as tall a 3' so they belong in the back of the garden bed. In some instances the varieties can be either double, annual, biennial, or perennial and attract butterflies. The basic Rubeckia is yellow but there are orange, bronze, red, russet and mahogany blooming varieties as well. They prefer full sun in an average well draining composted soil and bloom through late summer and are relatively low maintenance and grow naturally in fields throughout the country except in the Southwest. An easy plant for the novice gardener.