Perennial/Flowering Shrub Gardening
Starting a new thread devoted to perennials and flowering shrubs. With so many choices in our growing zone 6, it’s fun to see who is growing what and who has success with deer resistant plants.
Please post a pic with as much information as you can include (botanical and common name, sun vs. shade, watering needs, fertilizer needs, special considerations, etc).
I’ll post a few to get started.
3wbdwnj 
Brunnera “Jack of Diamonds”
This is the second year for this plant. It was purchased at Lowe’s. It gets a few hours of morning sun then is in shade in the afternoon. The current size of this plant is about 18 inches high and 2 feet wide. When I planted it last spring, I wasn’t sure what I needed to do with it at the end of the season, so I just let it go into the winter. I did not trim back any foliage. But it came back beautifully on its own. Very low maintenance and has pretty blue flowers. The deer don’t bother it at all.
Heuchera/Coral Bells
This is the third year for this plant. Also purchased at Lowe’s. I’m not sure of the variety, but this is a sturdy little plant. It was dug up once last year by a contractor by mistake and I replanted it and it did great. This plant gets a few hours of morning sun then is in shade in the afternoon like the plant above. It doesn’t like to dry out so if we haven’t had rain, I do water it a little, otherwise very low maintenance and deer resistant.
I have other varieties of coral bells that I just planted this year and I’m curious to see how they will do. Pics on those to follow.
Heuchera/Coral Bells “Caramel”
I believe the flowers on this one will be white. I especially like the color of the foliage on this plant. Pink underneath and yellow on top.
3wbdwnj
How were you able to post 5 times in a row, when they normally won't allow more than 2 in a row? Is it because you started the thread, or???
By the way, I like all the plants you posted. I'm partial to Azaleas myself, even more than Rhododendrons, but planting is somewhat verboten here since I can't put anything in the way of landscapers, unless I do containers on my relatively small patio. If not, there'd be mucho roses and smaller species maples and dogwoods!
Phil D. Not sure Phil D.
My friend is trying blueberry plants in containers on her patio. There are small varieties that do well in containers (if you can handle containers on the larger size). Many of the plants are self fertilizing so if you can only manage one, you should get fruit.
Does anyone know if roses can be grown in containers or do they need to be planted in the ground?
BC It looks like they can, BC!
https://www.rose.org/single-post/2019/12/04/growing-roses-in-pots-winterizing-your-roses
Let us know how yours do!
Lenten rose. Hellebore. Shade partial shade. Early bloomer. Long flowering. Nice foliage until frost.
Golden rule 3wbdwnj
I didn't know they had self-pollinating blueberry varieties, as it was usually recommended to get two or three of the same variety. From what I had found out at the time, not even all varieties will pollinate other varieties, so you had to be careful to get varieties that were either the same, or were one of the associated ones that would pollinate with each other. I dug mine up, and gave them to a neighbor who's also a friend and co-worker, before I moved here. Same with a grape vine or two.
I love the Mr. Maple, Jackson and Perkins, and Baker Heirloom Seeds websites.
It'll be probably a month for many of my perennials, only a few things out at the moment.
I'm very greateful to iris for giving me this white bleeding heart, dicentra spectabilis, variety Alba. They bloom early, give you a bunch of foliage after the flowers go. Then slowly fade into yellow by mid summer or so.
GC 
For a shrub in the early spring, has to be lilacs, Syringa vulgaris. Reminds me of growing up when we had a huge bush that seemed to grow forever. I have one white and one purple, just like we did then. It's the smell of spring.
Colette gave me Solomon Seal, Polygonatum odoratum. Variegated leaves and has rhizomes like an iris. Spreads easily. Like an over grown lily of the valley.
Don't generally pay much attention to zones, water, fertilizing, etc. other than a few want some acid fertilizer, and some like this want some shade. Otherwise they're just either gonna or grow or not. That's my basic philosophy.
I can probably get a pic of last year's Virginia Blue Bells. That's already come and gone. Some other people's irises are already out, mine are getting close. With the rain I can see one single poppy starting to open. I'll have a pic of that when it happens.
GC, I love both of those too. And you are absolutely correct about lilacs! They are the smell of spring. There are three bushes between my property and my neighbor’s. I can smell them when I step outside!
Virginia Bluebells, mertensia virginica, from prior year.
These are perfect for over planting. After blooming, the foliage completely detaches and you wouldn't know it was ever there.
Genericguy
I planted roses in containers/pots on the patio a few years ago and they didn’t survive the winter so I’m guessing they need to be planted in the ground if you want them to come back. That’s been my experience with any perennial or long lived plant.
Roses in a pot need good, consistent watering as well a pot large enough to spread its roots. Just like you would cover them in frost outside, you'd probably want to take them inside over winter.
Poppies came out and for once the rain hasn't washed them all away. On the other hand I worry now about enough water for everything.
I picked a bad time to plant grass seed over bare ground. The watering has been tough to keep up with!
The grass was planted where we had two trees removed and stumps ground - a year ago. Under one of the old trees were a few burgundy heuchera/coral bells. They were ground up with the stumps last year.
Fast forward to today, I think I see a tiny coral bell on the edge of the lawn 40 feet away! So I dug it up and relocated it to a better spot. I am surprised to even see one so far away from their original location. Goes to show you these little plants are tougher than they seem.
The poppies and iris are beautiful GC! I wish poppies were easier to grow. They seem to be challenging to grow?
3wbdwnj - Thanks, I have joyful to thank for the poppies. They seem to be very difficult to transplant, not to grow. Once they're in, they do great and spread easily. But they have a long delicate taproot. I've been able to transplant at the beginning of the spring when they're small enough to get the whole plant.
I have more columbines than I know what to do with. I can give them away every year and they still seem to show up some how.
GC you are right! My mom had those and loved them.
Now, can anyone explain what the yellow flowers are at the tips of the racemes on my baptisia? There are multiple examples of this on my plant which is at least 10 years old.
The rainy day we had on Saturday was such a relief to all the plants. They were so thirsty and I could really see a difference in growth between then and now.
3wbdwnj - I think you answered your own question: "they were so thirsty". My own baptisia grew almost a foot right after that rain. It's up to 4 1/2 ft and still going to grow another foot. I haven't taken a picture yet but will post soon. I also have a baptisia minor in addition to the Purple Smoke that's so large.
This Jack In The Pulpit was a stowaway plant that arrived together with the sweet spire I got years ago at a PA garden club event.
I have a perennial geranium (Crane's Bill, not the annual type) that seems to have changed color this year. It was blue for several prior years but has now gone pink.
I need to divide my baptisia. It is enormous and if I didn’t put a hoop support in, it would be on the ground
3wbdwnj - judging by the stalks the flowers are on and the leaves, it looks a lot like a day lily although what variety I wouldn't guess. The only other thing that might look something like that are a couple of tulip varieties with flowers like that, but are one flower on a different kind of stalk.
At least the salvia hasn't skipped a beat - dry, hot, and all.
That unidentified plant does look more like a tulip, but tulips are long gone at this point. It’s about 12”x12” so much smaller than a lily. Its something that was always there and I could never figure out what it was. Lol
3wbdwnj - If it's a tulip it would be a woodland variety that does bloom later than traditional ones.
Regarding the mystery plant, it looks like allium moly. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/allium-moly/
Nice thread!
CF Would you like to exchange a Jack's Diamond for an asilble or catmint or fern? I have a tribe of deer that passes through my yard, so I can't grow what I really want to, only what is pratical so I have a lot of astible and catmint and ferns.
Eliz 
Updated blooms. I found a rose campion (lower right) that decided to grow in a shaded, unlandscaped part of my yard. I transplanted it to a sunnier location so hopefully it will take root.
Also, most of my daylilies and black eyed susans have been sampled by deer. Let’s see if the deer repellent works.
I’ve been following her on YouTube and Facebook https://www.youcandoitgardening.com/
Lots of good advice
My red hot poker is so stunted this year that there isn't even a sign of a stalk. It's still a healthy plant, but not remotely flowering. Glad to see yours is out.
My campion is a blush. This year it seems that it's pretty well all white and not even s little streak of pink in it.
Of all things, my bee balm has been bitten by the deer. They just nibble the buds before they're ready. But still it's only some of them. For whatever reason there seems to be more than usual of the double deckers.
Wow GC love your stuff!
The red hot poker was just planted this year (last week! Lol) so not sure how it will do in the future. I’ve always wanted one or two and finally found dwarf varieties at Lowes so I grabbed them.
About campion: I have never planted it so not sure how it got there, birds probably? When I moved it, I found some of the flower heads had seeds in them so I spread the seed around too. Fingers crossed. And I’ve always seen it in the fuchsia color, never white or light pink! So beautiful!
3wbdwnj - The white is called "blush campion" and came from Well Sweep. It's a special variety that is supposed to be white but have streaks in it. Seems like this year without much rain, it's just all white.
At least my clematis has grown normally, lack of water or not.
My hydrangea is normally beautiful and usually in full bloom by now, unfortunately it only has 2 blooms on it this year. Anyone else having this issue?
JrzyGirl88 
3wbdwnj - talk about burn out, that's fried to a crisp with drought
JrzyGirl88 - I have everything from fox glove to yellow archangel to liatris that are all alive but thoroughly stunted. Way smaller than usual and hardly flowering. Hydrangea like that does not surprise me in the slightest. They really want a ton of watering. They don't call it hydrangea for nothing...
One of the few things that hasn't skipped a beat in the dry conditions is this lavender. It seems like it has a spot that is just perfect with a ton of sun, and doesn't want much water. It came from the many many varieties Well Sweep specializes in and is the very popular French lavender called Provence.
Both of the kinds of heliopsis I have are doing well in dry weather. The daisy mixed in though is a Shasta variety but more like a Montauk. Will probably be back to normal next year. But now they're smaller than usual.
Thanks GC. I'm so happy my Clematis finally bloomed for the first time since I planted it 4 years ago, so at least I have that!
Yeah my hydrangea didn’t bloom at all last year and this year it is just starting to bloom now. It needs water just about daily.
I have two hydrandeas and they have never bloomed ever. I moved them one time which set them back for a while.
In any case, I'm hoping for some butterflies later in the year. The butterfly weed is already out nicely, and of all things doing better than normal, I have a white butterfly bush about the tallest its been in years.
Did someone say clematis? It's "deer proof" above the chicken wire I have wrapped around it. Without the chicken wire it would not survive the deer!
Towny 
That's great. I'm very lucky my clematis is nestled around holly that the deer will not touch. The other clematis I have around my mailbox doesn't bloom until near fall but the deer nibble at it and this year it's going to be tiny.
This years garden addition is a hyssop (agastache) variety called Morello. I'm hoping an out of the way location will both protect it from deer, and help it winter over. I lost hyssop to October snows a couple of times already.
I've seen other people's balloon flower out, but mine is not there yet. It seems to be one thing that's doing exceptionally well and the deer really haven't gotten to it. Some buds starting, should be this week to open.
Well this seems to have kind of stopped over most of the summer, so here we are getting towards fall.
This is a rose that has opened up on a new bush I got a few months ago. Wouldn't you know it had a couple of really nice flowers when I got it home. Only to have those flowers completely eaten by deer the very next night I planted it. Luckily this is being left alone long enough to get a picture.
Grrr. The deer have managed to eat things of mine they aren’t supposed to. Wiegela and yellow twig dogwood - both new plants. Deer spray helps.
I have spent so much time making sure the new landscape is watered this summer. Picked a bad year to redo it.
The deer often ate the balloon flower in years past, but this time the dry conditions delayed their bloom and have actually kept them from getting munched. Strange consequences in both directions.
One way or the other, these Japanese anemone never did much in years past. This time the deer seemed to be away, and they didn't get any fungus or other pests. Waited 4 years for these to get to this point of flowering really well.
coreopsis is blooming for the first time all summer - other things - are doing very little- newly planted balloon flowers died quickly - lilac planted last year survived only because we have it wrapped in netting - dang deer
4catmom 
All summer is exactly what coreopsis is supposed to do - I've found both types are generally very drought tolerant and long lasting.
Good news about balloon flower is they are almost bulb like. Even if the top of the plant dies off, the rest will survive and do well for next year. Don't lose faith in those yet.
Lilac a bit surprised about that - it's always been too tough for deer that I've seen. Kind of like phlox that are too woody to eat the stalks, but they try to nibble the soft flowers. But under the conditions I guess they're getting desperate. Not a good sign for what they may try over the winter.
Another flush of blooms is happening here from both my day lilies and dwarf red hot pokers. —->
Unfortunately my lilac and black eyed susans must have blight. All look burned to a crisp. :(
A coworker showed me a photo of her beautiful Mexican Petunias. Has anyone seen them for sale in our area? They are an annual in our growing zone but perennials (and potentially invasive in zones 8-11)
As an annual, you probably aren't going to see it now. But even earlier in the year I've never seen Mexican Petunia (ruellia) in this area.
My red hot poker never even put up stalks. Just too hot and dry. I don't think the lilac is blight, it's just been the combination of so much heat and drought. But the real test will be next spring.
My black eyed susans are just smaller than usual. Otherwise they look normal and bloomed right about on time.
Caryopteris here is also just normal and nothing seems to have affected them at all.
Very happy to have found a nice verbena that is long blooming and a nice color that pops right out.
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