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Post by Wheelgarden on May 4, 2019 21:08:25 GMT -5
It grows wild everywhere here, usually at a wooded edge of a pasture or along a stream bank. Got permission from a neighbor, dug a couple of clumps, and put them in good spots. They've taken up good residence. I swear they grow six inches a day --- they're already over five feet tall and in need of support. When the big pink blooms start in the summer, they're gorgeous. I've got to get me some of its cousin ironweed, with its deep purple blooms, to go with it.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jun 15, 2019 20:14:01 GMT -5
They're now eleven feet tall, I've got two levels of stake and string to keep them from lodging when they bloom, and I may have to add another before it's over with. Worth it, though...they are spectacular in their place with the big pink blooms coming out soon. A bee, butterfly and hummingbird magnet.
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Post by desertwoman on Jun 15, 2019 20:21:49 GMT -5
Wow- they grew 6 feet in 5 or 6 weeks! They sound spectacular. I like their height and that they are late season blooms. Had to look them up- they don't grow around here. Says they're in the sunflower family.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jun 15, 2019 20:38:48 GMT -5
My plan is to surround them with the shorter purple native ironweed and other late bloomers like chrysanthemums and such (open to suggestions from more experienced flower-growers). I often spend a lot of time on the vegetable garden at the expense of flowers and other landscaping. I'm trying to make amends, and it's working. Joe Pye root is also an effective medicinal.
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Post by Mumsey on Jun 16, 2019 4:32:38 GMT -5
Wheelgarden, Do you have a pic of Joe Bye? Sounds beautiful!
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Jun 16, 2019 17:24:47 GMT -5
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jun 16, 2019 19:04:09 GMT -5
A photo of one of the Joe Pye groups taken from several feet away. Not blooming yet, but fixing to...for scale, the azalea to the left is five feet tall. If you look close, there is a three foot tall spent Red-hot Poker on the right, and if you look closer at the foot of the Joe Pye on the right, you might see a bit of my endangered native Woodland white milkweed, that is spreading at last: ...and one of the resident box turtles nearby:
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jun 16, 2019 19:22:57 GMT -5
SpringRain🕊️ , they are perennial, and do grow from seed. They also divide and spread from the base which will hopefully lead to a nice background feature to other flowering plants. I'm told that the blooms do well in dry arrangements. If left on their own in a given area they may become invasive, but they're easily controlled with mowing or weedeating. ...and goldenrod would be a nice visual companion with them. Goldenrod has an undeserved reputation for pollen problems, but it has far less than many others, and it is beautiful in a landscape. Now that I think about it some more, they'd all be nice with sunflowers and tall zinnias, too. My mind wanders, where it will go...
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jul 22, 2019 13:43:10 GMT -5
Joe Pye, 13 ft. tall, and flower tufts ready to get big and "pinken", with crepe myrtles in the background. Joe Pye in the sky with myrtles!
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Post by tom 🕊 on Jul 22, 2019 15:00:19 GMT -5
Lovely. Mine got about 6 ft. tall.
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Post by lisaann on Jul 27, 2019 15:33:52 GMT -5
Sad to say, I haven't seen a box turtle around here in at least 24 years.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jul 27, 2019 18:02:16 GMT -5
lisaann , Long ago --- before we knew better --- my Dad, my Brother, and I encountered a box turtle at the edge of the wood and painted our first names and the date, 1965, in small yellow letters on its shell. Lo and behold, that same turtle appeared again in 1994, older but none the worse for wear and still with the markings, while we three were out in the same area. It was a bit of a profound moment.
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Post by lisaann on Jul 27, 2019 18:16:13 GMT -5
It was a bit of a profound moment. I bet it was! We used to come across them all the time. Most of the time they were crossing the back roads around here. No back roads anymore around here.
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 27, 2019 18:31:25 GMT -5
That's an amazing story Wheelgarden,. I'm still digesting it!
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Jul 27, 2019 22:44:56 GMT -5
lisaann, your post caused an immediate flashback to childhood, when we rode our bikes for miles on the back roads. We passed small swamps and ponds, often seeing a turtle sunning itself on a log. I miss those carefree days, but, of course, we were children and didn't have the obligations and responsibilities we now have.
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