Native Gardening

[addy1]

I know mine make seeds, they have self sprouted a lot of places.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I know mine make seeds, they have self sprouted a lot of places.

I have not seen mine sprout anywhere. They just spread slowly by rhizome. Do you grow the Jacob Cline hybrid or something else?

 

[CountryEscape]

I had seen the red bee balm before but never in the wild like in the Smokey Mountains. In fact, I didn’t see them at the base of the mountain, but the higher we got they more we saw them to a certain point! So figured they would be very hardy and always res but the seeds don’t appear to be viable.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I had seen the red bee balm before but never in the wild like in the Smokey Mountains. In fact, I didn’t see them at the base of the mountain, but the higher we got they more we saw them to a certain point! So figured they would be very hardy and always res but the seeds don’t appear to be viable.

The true native Monarda didyma does produce seeds, but as far as I understand my hybrid doesn't. When I wanted to add M. didyma to my garden, I struggled to find it anywhere. Even Prairie Moon Nursery doesn't carry it, and they carry just about every showy native plant! I bought a seed packet locally and they came up pink, so I disappointingly ripped them out. Best I could find was the Jacob Cline hybrid at a local garden center. I like it but the flowers get so big on the hybrid that they eventually tip over when it rains.

I remember watching a documentary a few years ago and they had a shot of Monarda didyma in the wild and a hummingbird flying up to it. It was such a cool scene! It actually might've been about the Smoky Mountains, to be honest.

 

[CountryEscape]

These are the pictures I took of the scarlet bee balm in the Smoky Mountains. I was in love! It was almost always blooming side by side with the yellow flower. The yellow looked like maybe a coneflower variety, clasping maybe?

 

[JBtheExplorer]

These are the pictures I took of the scarlet bee balm in the Smoky Mountains. I was in love! It was almost always blooming side by side with the yellow flower. The yellow looked like maybe a coneflower variety, clasping maybe?

That's awesome! I believe the yellow is Rudbeckia laciniata. That's a specie I've wanted for a few years because of its ability to grow in shade.

 

[addy1]

I have not seen mine sprout anywhere. They just spread slowly by rhizome. Do you grow the Jacob Cline hybrid or something else?

All I remember is I put it in 9ish years ago, and they have spread to other parts of the yard. I recall I got it from american meadows, in looking at their site it is all potted plants, so maybe it does not have seeds. Been tooooooooo long ago to recall what I did. I do see birds on the dead flower heads eating so I assumed there were seeds.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

That's awesome! I believe the yellow is Rudbeckia laciniata. That's a specie I've wanted for a few years because of its ability to grow in shade.

If you ever want some of that monarda, just take a little field trip down to my house & we'll go out for a hike & collect some. It grows wild all over the place around here (along with all sorts of other wildflowers) I took these pictures a few weeks back on a local hike around a lake up near the Blue Ridge Parkway.

 

[Alice_Bee]

My bee balm did not bloom this year. I got it at the native plant sale I think, and don't know much about it, I had 2 plants, both bloomed 2 years ago, one bloomed last year and none this year. I wonder if crowding from other flowers is contributing. I have some John Fanick Phlox crowding one, and I had Prairie Phlox crowding the other. They are both this color.

My pale pink under the pear tree bloomed up a storm but it gets late afternoon sun

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I checked my monarda seed heads yesterday just to make sure. No seeds to be found.


Here's New England Aster this evening.

 

[addy1]

I finally checked, don't see seeds either, so they must have jumped areas by putting out runners. Or I planted them in two spots years ago! lol

 

[GBBUDD]

I finally checked, don't see seeds either, so they must have jumped areas by putting out runners. Or I planted them in two spots years ago! lol

There's many species that when planted take a year or more to grow. Odd but we plant wild flowers like that all the time on the ROW.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

My mailbox garden. Hairy Beardtongue is blooming. Really happy with this specie in this garden. The garden will fill in over the next month as the Partridge Pea fills in. I also have prairie smoke, butterflyweed, blazing star, blue-eyed grass, royal catchfly, and blue grama planted here.

Blue Flag Iris and Meadow Anemone in one of my birdhouse gardens.

Here's some photos I took in my grandma's garden the other day.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Watched leafcutter bees at work this morning. Really fun!