May 25: 4 more inches of rain in the last week. I had to stake
the small Tupelo (ms Scarlet). The rain soaked leaves bent it all the way to
the ground.
May 29: The first wildflower, a blanket flower, blooms. Rose bush on the
side of the house has started blooming. Yellow potentilla's have 2 blooms each.
I sprayed the david crab with dishsoap/water mixture to kill the aphids.
Mixture was too strong and damaged some leaves, but the aphids are dead.
June 15: A couple of Black Eyed Susan begin to bloom. Most of the June
wildflowers should be in bloom by now. I guess the 15 inches of rain in May
slowed things down a bit.
June 22: Wildflower patch starting to color up finally. Plains
Coreopsis, Mexican Hat, Black Eyed Susan all blooming or just about to open up.
I found a Missouri Primrose blooming underneath the taller flowers. These came
with the original seed planted last summer. I had assumed that they would not
grow around here.
The Wildflower Story
Here is a list of all the original seeds from Wildseed Farms that we planted in
late June of 95:
Plant Results
----------------------- -----------------------------------------
Purple Coneflower Will bloom this year
Perennial Lupine Some still struggling, soil is to heavy
Indian Blanket Bloomed in 95 and 96
Lemon Mint 3 last year, none seen this year
Tahoka Daisy No show
Mexican Hat Less than 10 in 95, almost invasive this year
Black-Eyed Susan Big show last year and this year
Missouri Primrose One blooming this year, I think we have more
Tickseed 5 or 6 bloomed in May
Purple Prairie Clover Never seen it
Clasping Coneflower ditto
Plains Coreopsis The 6 foot monster both last year and this year
Blanket Flower I think, looks the same as Indian Blanket
In Late October of last year we ordered plants and seeds from Prairie Nursery
in Wisconsin. We had a little more knowledge about what grows native around
here so we could pick better plants. Here is the list of plants we purchased:
Plant Results
--------------------------- -------------------------------------------
4 - Butterflyweed for Clay Spotted 3 of them, still small
4 - Sky Blue Aster Haven't really looked for them yet
6 - New Jersey Tea All doing fairly well, no blooms yet
6 - Western Sunflower No show yet, planted in an area that eroded
pretty bad over the winter.
6 - New York Ironweed I think I have identified 4
and the seed:
Plant Results
--------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Spiderwort I think we have one nearing bloom. If so,
then I have identified about 15 of them.
Bergamot None, but I don't really know what to look for
Nodding Pink Onion We have plenty of wild garlic, but no nodding onions
Purple Coneflower Numerous little first year plants
Great Blue Lobelia Haven't looked yet
I also ordered some Mistflower and American Pennyroyal from Companion Plants.
The Pennyroyal is doing great, and looks to start blooming any day now. I have
not looked for the Mistflower.
The Wal-mart Liatris
In April of this year I was in the Wal-mart garden department and found a
pitiful looking bag of 25 Liatris spicata bulbs on sale for about $10. I picked
them up and planted them all along the fence on the side and of the wildflower
patch. I figured 5 out of 25 would be doing good. I think every bulb came up! I
may have lost one to a 3 inch rain storm, but all the other plants are getting
ready to bloom. Go figure.
July 17: A little late but...the wildflowers are in full bloom. Here is
an updated the table to reflect the current state of all the flowers. I should
really create a page devoted to the wildflowers.
Plant Results
----------------------- -----------------------------------------
Purple Coneflower Blooming like crazy! Still more will bloom next year.
Perennial Lupine Some still struggling, soil is to heavy
Indian Blanket past peak now.
Lemon Mint 4 came up near the back. How did they get there??
Tahoka Daisy No show
Mexican Hat Less than 10 in 95, almost invasive this year
Black-Eyed Susan Big show last year and this year
Missouri Primrose None currently
Tickseed None currently blooming
Purple Prairie Clover Never seen it
Clasping Coneflower ditto
Plains Coreopsis I am removing them as they fall over.
Blanket Flower I think, looks the same as Indian Blanket
4 - Butterflyweed for Clay Spotted 3 of them, still small !!
4 - Sky Blue Aster Haven't really looked for them yet
6 - New Jersey Tea All doing fairly well, no blooms yet
6 - Western Sunflower Looks like 2 survived, nearing bloom.
6 - New York Ironweed I think I have identified 4 - Nearing bloom.
2 - Cardinal Flower Blooming late July and Aug.
Spiderwort At least 10, maybe more. A real surprise.
Bergamot Maybe, no blooms
Nodding Pink Onion No Show, or I don't know what to look for.
Great Blue Lobelia Haven't looked yet
Mistflower ditto
American Pennyroyal Numerous blooming along the fence in back ... I think
I just (late June) ordered some additional seeds, including native grasses to
help improve the 'prairie'.
Plant Results
----------------------- -----------------------------------------
Slender Gerardia Just planted in early July
Annual Sunflower
Spotted Touch-Me-Not
Grooved Yellow Flax
Little Bluestem Germinated in 2 pots, can't see any in the field
Northern Dropseed
Indian Grass
I've planted both Little Bluestem and Northern Dropseed in pots. I would like
to get to a point where I can propagate these plants myself.
Plants in Pots
On our back deck I have my PiP collection. Here is the list:
Plant Remarks
---------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------
Spice Bush 1 of 10 purchased bare root this spring.
Eastern Wahoo Euonymus atropurpureus - The American burning bush.
Sassafras Was shipped 5, 1 lived, currently 7 inches tall.
Black Cherry Transplanted seedling from side of house.
Black Tupelo (4) Grown in tubes from Musser Forests.
Bitternut Hickory Transplanted from the front.
Swamp White Oak From the side yard, just had a new 2 inch growth
flush. Now 3 inches tall.
Silver Maple We thought this was a red maple, but turned out to be
a silver. I put in a large pot and over-fertilized
with Scott's Turfbuilder. Started out 15 inches tall,
currently 8 feet + and still growing rapidly. (Aug).
Cherry Tomato Yum
Inkberries (2) I will replace 2 boxwood growing in the front as soon
as cooler weather arrives.
Sourwood Blooming now!
Button Bush About 2 feet tall and wide.
Swamp White Oak 6 feet tall, still recovering from nursery abuse.
Cardinal Flower Some red leaf cultivar. Looks awful, we will eliminate
after it blooms. Has attracted hummingbirds.
Persimmon (5) Tube grown from Musser, I want to see the fall color
before I decide which ones to keep.
American Hornbeam (2) Both about 3 feet tall.
Little Blue-stem (3) 2 pots about 1 1/2 months along, just planted a 3rd pot
that has 3 small sprouts.