Plant ID and do I put in greenhouse?
Renata Boyle
Posts: 74
Hello again, starting to feel guilty about posting yet again but I really do appreciate the helpful responses. It is easy finding out how to grow plants but can never find out the aftercare especially when I have no idea what the plants are (keep losing the cards and they don't often say much).
Please can anyone tell me what the following plants are and if they need anything doing with them over the winter (pruning etc) and should I put them in my new greenhouse?
first picture shows a plant I bought with no card so no idea what it is - whether it will last another year, greenhouse it??
The plant I want to ask about is not the petunia in the front but the white flowered plant at the back, I did know what it was but have now forgotten lol ... Is this an annual or will it grow again, does it need the greenhouse?
Okay, 3rd plant is something I've had for a few years, NO idea what it is, it's started to look straggly (that photo is when it was new) and I'm sure it's because I don't know how to care for it ... can anyone identify it so I can look it up, would it prefer the greenhouse (it has been through a few winters outside).
4th picture below shows some plants I grew from tiny pluglets, I think they may be called 'autumn joy' or something 'joy' but lost the tiny tray they came in, if anyone knows what they are and what I can do with them, I'm sure it's a perennial of some type, I would be very grateful.
Finally - these are some Iris I have in a border but every year round about now the long leaves start to fall over and kill the grass, I've been cutting them right back and I hate doing it when the leaves are green but have no idea what else to do. I've noticed that they flower less and less each year. I watched Monty Don create something to hold plants up by using steel rods so I've done this and it is holding the leaves off the lawn so far but it would be lovely to know whether they do need cutting back in the winter. There are 3 separate clumps.
Many thanks in advance to anyone who responds.
Renata
xxx
Posts
White or pale yellow plant is an Antirrhinum, a biennial or short lived perennial depending on severity of winter. I usually get two flowering a before they keel over. No point putting it in greenhouse.
Third plant is a Cistus, hardy.
Yellow flowered plant is Coreopsis I think.
Iris sibirica think. Divide as required.
Last edited: 15 September 2016 23:32:47
Hi Renata, don't feel guilty about posting query's. Q&A's are a large part of the forum as well as the friendly chatter
I'm not great on the ID's but I can confidently say that the white one in pic 2 is an Antirrhinum (snapdragon). Usually grown as an annual flower but I've left them in the garden previously and they've flowered again the next year. They will also self seed themselves, I currently have one flowering at the end of my driveway approx 25ft away from the front garden where the original plant was
First photo looks like a form of impatiens which is frost tender but can be brought in and treated as a houseplant over the winter.
Agree about antirrhinum, cistus and coreopsis. Cistus is hardy as long as it doesn't get its feet too wet in winter. Coreopsis are short lived perennials that don't much like UK winters so are often grown as annuals. Worth trying to over winter in a frost free greenhouse.
The iris look like iris sibirica. To keep these flowering they need to be lifted and divided every 3 years and replanted in soil improved with garden compost and they appreciate a handful or two of pelleted chicken manure in spring. You can also cut out the spent flowering stems when they go over as this stops the plants wasting energy on seeds.
They also need their foliage - as long as it's green - to keep them fed and healthy so cutting it back will weaken the plants. It can safely be tidied up once it all turns brown and flops. Maybe trim back the lawn a bit to create a new edge?
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Plant no 1 is a busy lizzie or Impatiens. They will not tolerate frost, so usually end up as house plants in winter. You can root bits by standing a length in a jam jar of water.
The rest , I agree with Nut.
Hellooo
Once again, thank you for the invaluable advice - I'm trying to gather as much information as possible on what I've got and then copying & pasting to a folder so I can keep it for future reference.
I think that I have inadvertently been destroying my poor iris by cutting the leaves down as soon as they start drooping over the lawn. I've never split anything before either, but this obviously needs doing with the iris - not sure when the best time to do this is though. I have seen it done on tv and it looks really harsh - shoving a spade right through eeek ..... there are 3 separate iris plants here so would I halve each one and when is the right time?
Many many thanks
Renata
x
Hi Hazel
OMG that is spectacular!! Are you sure it's the same type as mine? Mine doesn't look that good, it's starting to look 'leggy', the leaves are lovely to touch, really soft. I want to try plant it somewhere else but despite having a big garden we are limited because we have an issue with the soil, we have got a lot of very wet areas - am wondering if I can transfer it to a raised bed?
This is a photo of how mine looks now - I have never trimmed it so if you can have a look and let me know if there is anything I need to do to it I would be eternally grateful ....
Renata
x
the first photo is an Impatiens (busy lizzy) and it is the 'new guinea' variety as others have said you can take it in for the winter and is really easy to take cuttings by putting in water or in a sandy compost mix to get lots of new plants
my cistus x laxus hardly produces any flowers at all. it might give out one flower and then i have to wait four weeks for another one to come, i have two of these one in a clay bed and the other in a normal soil bed and they are both as bad as each other
mine are also a bit leggy now, both planted in the ground too, anyone know why?