@Marlorena, I'm rather alarmed re your comment about Rozanne invading? Is that it's growth pattern or it's roots please? I planted 3 or 4 in different places last year. I thought it was a nice tidy geranium!
Here's a perennial not often seen, needs a lot of room. Giant Scabious.
@Lizzie27 I think that the size a plant grows depends very much on growing conditions. I have grown Rozanne for a few years and I would love it to invade! When buying plants the measurements given are only a guide.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
It’s close to the edge of a small border surrounded by paving setts, but it doesn’t actually attach itself to the paving or the cracks between the paving — I can lift up a couple of inches of the edge, like a rug, which I trim with garden shears after flowering to keep a neat edge. The dry brown bits underneath are just old leaves which are easily brushed off.
My roses are in a different spot so not near the thyme. I imagine you could plant it near roses and check every so often it doesn’t get near the main stems (pulling out any bits that are too close, which I do for my nepeta and lavender that are underplanted with creeping thyme), but I think a ground cover/perennial with a bit more height would be better to hide the bare legs of most roses. Plus it could be a thorny affair grubbing around on the ground near rose stems.
@Wrigs21 .. I love your Veronicastrum, the way it twists and wriggles, like a snake.. just fabulous,..
@Lizzie27 ..well, whenever I've had it, after 3 years or so, it has put down a deep taproot, and the spread on the plant above ground can be 6 to 8 feet even.. swamping and climbing everything nearby.. and that's a single plant.. It's good in the early years but then it takes off.. it got on my nerves. It's quite rich soil here where I had it though.. best of luck with yours Lizzie..
I planted Rozanne on a dry hedge bank. Every photo I had seen of it showed a nice clump, full of flowers. But it grows an enormous amount of foliage before flowering, towers up and then falls forward on the hedge bank, so that the whole plant is practically down at ground level, behind other plants by the time flowering gets going. I love the flower but am disappointed with the plant. This hedge bank soil is poor and dry in summer, and not improved, as digging would erode it. I've tried it elsewhere but it always gets straggly and produces foliage at the expense of flowers. I realise that plant sizes can only be a guide, but when a plant described as two feet high climbs or flops to six feet or even more it is disappointing. As was mentioned recently on the Roses thread, this is why the forum is so good, we read about members' experiences with plants, and get honest reviews. I have seen photos on here showing Rozanne growing more compactly, so some situations must suit it, just not mine sadly.
Thank you @Athelas for the explanation, I thought my thyme was diseased due to the brownish mess under it so I put it out, unfortunately. Maybe I will try it again now that I know something more about it.
I am done with Rozanne. I made an attempt to dig it out earlier this year but it was resisting so it's still there, swamping other plants. I should have tried harder.
Eek. I bought a death's door Rozanne from Homebase last year that was obviously mislabelled because it's just bloomed and it's not her. Sounds as though I should be grateful.
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Here's a perennial not often seen, needs a lot of room. Giant Scabious.
I have grown Rozanne for a few years and I would love it to invade! When buying plants the measurements given are only a guide.
My roses are in a different spot so not near the thyme. I imagine you could plant it near roses and check every so often it doesn’t get near the main stems (pulling out any bits that are too close, which I do for my nepeta and lavender that are underplanted with creeping thyme), but I think a ground cover/perennial with a bit more height would be better to hide the bare legs of most roses. Plus it could be a thorny affair grubbing around on the ground near rose stems.
@Marlorena yes it smells amazing!
.. I love your Veronicastrum, the way it twists and wriggles, like a snake.. just fabulous,..
@Lizzie27
..well, whenever I've had it, after 3 years or so, it has put down a deep taproot, and the spread on the plant above ground can be 6 to 8 feet even.. swamping and climbing everything nearby.. and that's a single plant..
It's good in the early years but then it takes off.. it got on my nerves.
It's quite rich soil here where I had it though.. best of luck with yours Lizzie..
But it grows an enormous amount of foliage before flowering, towers up and then falls forward on the hedge bank, so that the whole plant is practically down at ground level, behind other plants by the time flowering gets going.
I love the flower but am disappointed with the plant. This hedge bank soil is poor and dry in summer, and not improved, as digging would erode it.
I've tried it elsewhere but it always gets straggly and produces foliage at the expense of flowers.
I realise that plant sizes can only be a guide, but when a plant described as two feet high climbs or flops to six feet or even more it is disappointing.
As was mentioned recently on the Roses thread, this is why the forum is so good, we read about members' experiences with plants, and get honest reviews.
I have seen photos on here showing Rozanne growing more compactly, so some situations must suit it, just not mine sadly.