Thanks Dee!

And yep BillMN-z4a I included JB Diervilla in the shot...lol...

Fantastic photos everyone! Enjoyed!

In no particular order :

A geranium that I enjoy the color of, purchased from gerinacea.com (sp ?)

I think it's barely hanging on in a way but I look for it each year

Beebalm, I always get a few that I would wish would 'mass up' but in this area it's a lot of competition , I'm no longer weeding this 'meadow' area

Some yarrow, can't argue with that color ... and I wish my heliopsis would bloom sooner (the deep red leaves - at least it has buds... I grew the heliopsis from seed, it's in its 4th year

Lots of astillbe

I've really been enjoying this veronica !

I think it must have self-seeded, the one I have is in a different location and always flops badly but I'm so happy to have this one !

My garden is a jungle/jumble

I really like this primrose, back in my day I grew it from seed... also back then I tried to create a weed-free lawn area (and clearly failed , haha)

The native species is quite aggressive in my neck of the woods. I did buy a couple of "Fireworks" a few years ago but as far as I can tell they werent able to compete with the exisiting straight species.

I’m in a very different climate from yours, but for me these do not go all season because they dislike the heat and shut down by July, but by fall there is a fresh crop of seedlings that will overwinter and start blooming as soon as it gets even a bit warm. I’ve had them bloom during warm spells in January and February.

My calendula from back in April.

Those are gorgeous, Markay!

I've liked them when I've grown them, but they peter out for me, too -- definitely cool-season plants. Would make a very nice alternative to mums for fall displays.

I would like to report Heirloom Roses has already sent me a confirmation for the replacement of all 5 roses. I am glad they did. I have been a loyal customer ordering roses every single year for 10 years and I feel like they did the right thing when I needed them. I will not be purchasing any other roses with this new method. I normally reuse my plastic pots anyway.

Thanks Moses!🌷 I will order some next year.

Good choices, Jim.

My True Passion is a champ. Not a spot of the dreaded black spot, flowers whose intense tomato red color almost hurts my eyes to look at, blooms, although a little small, 3", come in abundance, no dead heading needed........are all its strong points. True Passion can get tall.....perhaps 6+' at maturity.

Being a third year now, it would be much taller at this time near the season's end, but I over pruned it at spring pruning because it had gotten to about 4' last year, in its second year. True Passion didn't like my decision and decided to send out many canes that widened the bush. Now it's about 3' tall, shorter than this time last year. I predict it will be 5' easily next year. It bloomed its head off this year.

You will really like True Passion, but site it carefully because it can get tall.

Moses, thanks for the advice much appreciated!

Thank you Judi!

Markay,

Your rose culture skills are nonpariel. You hold a high standard for me to attain.

Moses.

All the Allium I've grown were heavy self seeders. I usually deadhead them now. I haven't been able to germinate ramps and rampions. Maybe I should allow some seedlings to grow out and maybe some will have a deeper purple color?

False Dragonheads and Pink Turtleheads. Physostegia virginiana, Chelone obliqua

I've never seen a real Pluchea odorata in bloom. It's taking an eternity. Saltmarsh Fleabane, Camphorweed.

I have some sun flowers which reseed that started as giant sunflowers like 6 years ago and now they look like the natural ones pictured. Guess they revert over time

L Clark, I had wondered who was responsible for selectively breeding the Helianthus anuus to have enormous flowerheads, and it was the native peoples who did it to increase food production. They did the same thing with corn. The sunflowers seem to attract many moth pollinators at night.

Zinnias respond favorably to getting cut back, but honestly, succession sowing is the easiest approach to keeping them fresh-looking throughout the season. They do well direct sown at 2 or 3 week intervals.

I have read that asclepsia should be cut back right after it blooms, not because it will rebloom, but because monarch cats prefer the fresh tender new growth.

I do get rebloom on phlox with deadheading.

For Echinacea, I agree with Jay. Variety helps. It is also very easy to start a bit from seed each year (I lose some plants ti various fungal yuck every year so new plants refresh the stock and they bloom late the first year. You can often get this same effect through dividing plants in spring.

Another strategy to consider for next year is the Chelsea chop where you cut some plants back by half in May before they bloom. This creates shorter, bushier plants abd pushes the bloom time out a but later. If you have a good sized clump of phlox, you can chop back a portion of it in May and the shorter bushier part will help support the taller stems and bloom later.

Just know that you are not alone. Late summer garden melt down is a common issue and heat, drought, and damaging storms take there toll.

Jay your echinacea are beautiful. I also tried pallida and paradoxa from seed years ago but they never flourished for me and I lost them. Perhaps I will try again. I really love the bloom form of them.

christie I have the same problem, especially this year with the rain. I have a lot of leaners too lol. Most of my yard is shade so some things do lean toward the sun, and then with all this rain, lots of things - especially my daylilies earlier in the season - literally were laying flat on the ground blooming!

:)

Dee

I don't cut back to encourage re-bloom, per se, but rather I deadhead to tidy up, especially annuals -- zinnia, geranium, heliotrope, salvia, marigold are the annuals that pop into mind. A lot of perennials, too, if I have the time and feel like putzing around. I did notice this year that balloon flower will reward you with light re-bloom if you deadhead.

What I cut back hard is catmint and perennial geranium -- after the bloom flush in late May-early June they get cut to the ground to encourage fresh foliage. Otherwise, they tend to look messy. They fill in again very fast and look fresh the rest of the season. No rebloom on the perennial geranium, I can't say as though I've noticed with the catmint -- it's tucked away out of view so I haven't paid attention.

I leave the spent blooms on my Joe Pye and "Herbstonne" rudbeckia. The birds relish the seeds, and because the plants are so tall I can enjoy the feeding show at viewing height out the window. I might have to cut back this year, though -- even though they are hoop-staked with very tall hoops, the storms a couple nights ago did a number on them and other things, I'll have to wait to see if they bounce back upright after drying out or if the stems are broken. Same with the PeeGee hydrangeas. Actually, I am going to cut off the blooms on those because the branches will stay bent out of shape from the weight of the huge flower trusses if left too long. The birds don't care about those, though I do. :0)

Yes, important point, Markay. First year black spot issues are not a reason to grab the shovel. Two or even three years of trialing a rose is recommended. Most organizations like ADR trial for three years.

Moses.

Well, Jim, we each deal with the hand we're dealt. And there are pluses I've mentioned before to a hot, dry growing season. I don't know if this is a plus, but my Orange Dude is now about as large as Ascot. OD is at least 6 feet and about 4 feet wide. He's covered with buds and new growth and looks very healthy like his great aunt Julia Child. Haha. Tom Carruth knows how to breed vigorous roses, I guess. I grow a lot of them. Still, I'd really welcome some rain. And this Friday our highs drop from 98F to 80F! I'll be colder than Carol in Calgary. Not really, but a drop that big in temperature will take a wind storm. Ugh. Nanadoll

Thanks Carol...This time of year is usually when the uglys start...Sun position changes, cooler days & nights etc etc causes rose/plant leaves to do crazy things...

I suppose its cooling off where you live by now Carol?

8/31/26

it a horrible weed.. dig it out.. run it over with the car.. wrap it in 4 grocery bags and send it to the landfill ... i dont really care what the proper name is... that fact does not add to my hatred of the plant. ....

wait and see if you want to prove me wrong.. but make sure you do not let it go to seed...

the seed probably came in the dirt you bought to fill your raised beds gardens..

ken

TJ-I didn’t save the tag to the pink dahlia I have, but it looks awfully similar to Lavender perfection 🤔

"I’m hoping the salvia will be winter hardy for me."

Pot it up and take it inside as an insurance policy. Or take cuttings in fall -- they are easy to root from cuttings in the fall.