Heliotrope is a Hot-Spot Workhorse the Keeps Coming Back

-
Heliotrope is supposed to be hardy in zones 10 and 11 but this gem has returned for its third year in a hot, zone 7, sidewalk bed.

It is not the Heliotrope that has the vanilla scented flowers. This one trails wonderfully and serves as a ground cover, preventing most weeds from spring through fall.

It originally came to me from Proven Winners but it is no longe on their website - I think its reputation for spreading by underground rhizomes and by seed may have taken them by surprise. For me it is delightful! I am moving it to hot dry spots all over my beds!

Any ideas about specific identification?


Comments

Unknown said…
I live in zone 6, so I used to buy Heliotrope as an annual. However, in the past few years, I had stopped buying annuals because they are so much work. I prefer the perinnials instead.

How lucky are you that you can grow Heliotrope as a tender perinnial!
July 6, 2008 at 5:59 AM
Molly Day said…
It surprises me every year it comes back, Bobbi. I suspect that the fact that I leave the bed littered with last summer's flower stems may contribute enough mulch to protect them in mild winters.

We treat our canna lilies the same way -leave the fallen stems as mulch over the winter. It all looks pretty untidy but no one spends much time garden peeping here when everything is brown.
July 6, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Moldy Tulip Bulbs

-
Image
Moldy tulip bulbs are a big disappointment when you are hoping to fill a bed or some pots. It is not that unusual for their skins to have a bit of penicillin mold but these are beyond that tad bit stage. Mold penetrating tulip bulb  Mold on emerging tulip bulb growth  So, what to do? The plant references say to throw them out and buy new ones but I already spent $22 for 50 of these white tulip beauties. First, they got a soak in 1% bleach solution in the kitchen sink in the hope that the bleach would stop the mold from continuing to grow without killing the life force in the bulb itself. After a good slosh around, I wiped them off to see how much damage was beneath the blue and black.  This tulip bulb is soft to the touch and there is little chance it will thrive in the soil. This basal root on these have been ruined by mold. The final step I took to try to salvage part of them  was to spray them thoroughly with fungicide.  They are all planted in the
Read more

Propagate Begonia Stem Cuttings in water - Cane-like Angel Wing Begonia

-
Image
Propagating by stem cuttings is just about the easiest way to make more begonias for next summer's garden. During the fall, I regularly trim off 3-node long cuttings and put them into the growing pots where they take root. Now that cold weather has arrived, I root the stem cuttings in a vase of water. It's a great way to produce more pots of Begonias for next summer's garden. Water the plant well the day before. Take a cutting about 4-inches long, with 3 nodes, from a healthy stem. Use a perfectly clean container. Rinse the container with a drop of bleach if you are uncertain about its spotlessness. Remove all but the top leaf or two. There should be no leaves in the water. The cutting should  have a healthy leaf node at the bottom. Don't leave a stub below the node. Place the cutting into the water, and place the container out of the sun. In a couple of weeks, you will see new roots beginning to form. Check the water periodically to make sure it is still f
Read more

Create Nesting Areas for Birds and Wildlife

-
Image
From the website, Choose Natives , this lovely and instructive article helped remind me to continue to increase the amount of habitat and nesting that we provide in our garden. Many, though not all, are native or considered to be native in Oklahoma. So, I did a little research on each recommended plant and provided a link to more information. You'll see the plant name in italics - those are my links for your edification. Here's the post Derek Stoner, Project Coordinator for the Delaware Nature Society, helped restore the 860-acre Middle Run Natural Area by “intensive habitat management”, including planting 12,000 trees and shrubs.  His lecture, ‘ Native Plants for Nesting Birds: Connecting Flora and Fauna’,  given to a group of enthusiasts at the Millersville Native Plant Conference   in Pennsylvania, focused on his observations. Here are Derek’s landscaping recommendations for attracting birds: Plant shrubs in clusters (“habitat circles”) that will create the dense
Read more