Montauk Daisy, Perennial Of The Day

Nipponanthemum nipponicum syn. Chrysanthemum nipponicu

Montauk Daisy, Nippon Daisy

Type Perennial

Hardy range 5A to 9A

Height 24" to 36" / 60cm to 90cm

Spread 24" to 30" / 60cm to 75cm

Growth rate Slow

Form Rounded

Exposure Full sun

Persistence Deciduous

Bloom Color White

Bloom Time Summer and Fall

Leaf Color Green

Environment This plant tolerates drought. This plant will grow in moist soil. Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy or sandy. The pH preference is a neutral soil.

The flowers are fragrant, suitable for cut flowers and suitable for dried flowers.

This plant has attractive foliage and fragrant foliage.

Culture Notes Depending on your area, this plant may need pinching until mid-July to produce good blooms or staking to maintain form, so check with your local nursery for the specific care of your plant. The dormant buds will emerge from the woody cane in the spring, so do not cut this stem in the late fall. Cuttings should be taken in the spring. Montauk Daisy is a shrubby perennial with thick, fairly succulent leaves. Plants serve as butterfly nectar sources.


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Summer Phlox, Perennial Of The Day

Phlox paniculata 'Starfire' syn. Phlox decussata

Summer Phlox, Fall Phlox, Garden Phlox, Perennial Phlox, Tall Phlox

Type Perennial

Hardy range 4A to 9A

Height 36" to 3' / 90cm to 1.00m

Spread 12" to 14" / 30cm to 35cm

Growth rate Average

Form Upright or erect

Exposure Partial shade or partial sun to full sun

Persistence Deciduous

Bloom Color Red

Bloom Time Summer and Fall

The flowers are fragrant and suitable for cut flowers.

Environment This plant will grow in moist soil. Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy. The pH preference is a neutral soil.

Leaf Color Green
Culture Notes

Plants can be lifted and divided in the spring and the fall. Plant in areas with good air circulation. Periodic pruning until mid summer will produce more stems and a later blooming plant.
Spray sulfur weekly to control mildew, and add compost to the base of the plant each spring.

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Summer Phlox, Perennial Of The Day

Phlox paniculata 'Bright Eyes' syn. Phlox decussata

Summer Phlox, Fall Phlox, Garden Phlox, Perennial Phlox, Tall Phlox

Type Perennial

Hardy range 4A to 8A

Height 20" to 24" / 50cm to 60cm

Spread 12" to 14" / 30cm to 35cm

Growth rate Average

Form Upright or erect

Exposure Partial shade or partial sun to full sun

Persistence Deciduous

Bloom Color Pink

Bloom Time Summer and Fall

The flowers are fragrant and suitable for cut flowers.

Environment
This plant will grow in moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy.
The pH preference is a neutral soil.

Leaf Color Green

Leaf Identification
Type: Simple
Arrangement: Opposite
Margins: Ciliate
Shapes: Lanceolate, oblong and ovate
Length: 2in./5cm to 8in./20cm

Native Habitat
Species native to northeastern to north-central United States.

Culture NotesPlants can be lifted and divided in the spring and the fall. Plant in areas with good air circulation. Periodic pruning until mid summer will produce more stems and a later blooming plant. 'Bright Eyes' has huge clusters of light pink flowers with crimson eyes.

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Balloon Flower, Perennial Of The Day

Platycodon grandiflorus syn. Platycodon glaucus 'Shell Pink'

Balloon Flower

Type Perennial

Hardy range 4A to 9A

Height 18" to 24" / 45cm to 60cm

Growth rate Average

Form Upright or erect

Exposure Partial shade or partial sun to full sun

Bloom Color Pink

Bloom Time Summer

The flowers are suitable for cut flowers.


Environment This plant will grow in moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy.
The pH preference is a neutral soil.

Leaf Color Green

Culture NotesThese long blooming plants are easy to grow and are tolerant of neglect. Shell Pink can be propagated by division of roots in spring, although it is not an easy task. Cultivars will not come true from seed, but the seed will germinate readily. It does not like being transplanted and is slow to reestablish itself. Plants may need staking for support.

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'Allegiance' Daylily, Perennial Of The Day

Hemerocallis x 'Allegiance' Daylily

Type Perennial
Hardy range 4A to 10A
Height 18" to 24" / 45cm to 60cm
Spread 18" to 24" / 45cm to 60cm
Growth rate Average
Form Irregular or sprawling
Exposure Partial shade or partial sun
Bloom Color Red
Bloom Time Summer


Environment
This plant tolerates drought. This plant will grow in moist soil. Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy. The pH preference is a neutral soil. 

Leaf Color Green
Fall Color No change in fall color

This plant has attractive foliage.
The flowers are suitable for cut flowers.

Culture Notes
Plants are best placed in a location that receives morning full sun but some shade from the afternoon sun. Many cultivars also tolerate full sun, especially in the northern part of their hardiness range. Heavy shade produces lots of foliage but few flowers.
This plant tolerates a wide range of soil conditions but most enjoy a soil with ample organic matter. Before planting, be sure to loosen the soil in as large an area as possible. They tolerate some drought but perform best with irrigation in dry weather.
Plant about 18 inches apart and do not place too deep. The white part of the foliage should be just at the soil line. Add about 2 inches of mulch to help preserve soil moisture. A slow release fertilizer can be incorporated into the planting holes to help plants regain vigor quickly. Apply about 2 fertilizations yearly during the growing season to maintain vigor. Do not apply too much nitrogen as this can encourage lots of foliage growth with few flowers.
Many daylilies loose vigor and flower poorly 3 to 4 years after planting if they become too crowded. Divide the clumps in early spring or at least one month before frost in the fall. Do not expect flowering to be spectacular the first season after dividing.

Pests, Diseases and Damaging Agents Aphids are the biggest potential problem but are usually not terribly serious.

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Maiden Grass, Perennial Grass Of The Day

Miscanthus sinensis

 Maiden Grass, Eulalia, Silver Feather, Chinese Silver Grass, Eulalia Grass, Japanese Silver Grass

Type Perennial, grass

Hardy range 4A to 9A

Height 6' to 8' / 1.80m to 2.40m

Spread 6' to 10' / 1.80m to 3.00m

Growth rate Fast

Form Upright or erect

Exposure Partial shade or partial sun to full sun

Persistence Deciduous

Bloom Color Pink and red

Bloom Time Summer and Fall

Environment This plant tolerates some drought and occasional wetness. This plant will grow in moist to wet soil. Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy, sandy or clay. The pH preference is an acidic to slightly alkaline (less than 6.8 to 7.7) soil.

Leaf Color Green and variegated
Fall Color Brown, copper and orange 

This plant has attractive foliage and attractive fall colors.
The flowers are showy, suitable for cut flowers and suitable for dried flowers.
Culture Notes Maiden Grass is a gracefully arching, fine-textured grass that forms dense, green clumps. Slender leaves originate in a clump, spreading out and up like a fountain. The 5 to 6-foot-tall clumps bear pink flowers in late summer and fall which can be used for drying or as a dye plant. Their pinkish or silvery 8- to 10-inch-long plumes persist into the winter. Foliage is flexible and blows easily in the wind. This shrub-like grass turns to a rich gold in the fall; the fall color lasts through the winter.
Maiden Grass is frequently used in the landscape as a specimen or screen. It is also employed in group plantings forming a nice mass of fine-textured foliage, especially near a water garden or pond. Use Japanese Silver Grass as an accent or mass planted in a large-scale landscape, such as around a commercial building to add a touch of soft elegance and texture. The slightest breeze moves the foliage allowing the landscape to `come alive'.
Maiden Grass requires a location in the landscape that receives full sun, but it is adaptable to most well-drained soils. This ornamental grass is quite drought tolerant. Miscanthus sinensis is a warm season grass and transplants best in the spring. Provide good drainage at the planting site. Three- and four-year-old plants tend to flop over and might thin in the center of the clump. They can be divided or cut back to encourage more upright growth.
Miscanthus will go dormant to the roots during the winter. The old foliage should be removed from the plants in the spring. This allows the new growth to come through unimpeded.
Cultivars include: `Condensatus', coarser leaf texture than species, mid-summer bloom, 7 to 8 feet tall; `Gracillimus', narrower leaves than species, Fall bloom, upright growth habit from 5 to 8 feet tall; `Purpurascens', reddish foliage in summer, purple-red foliage in fall, silver pink inflorescence, mid-summer bloom, 4 to 5 feet tall; `Silver Feather', silvery white flowers in mid-summer; `Strictus', horizontal yellow bands on foliage, upright growth habit, 6 to 8 feet tall; `Variegatus', white variegation on leaf margin, does relatively well in partial shade, to 7 feet tall; `Yaku Jima', more compact, 3 to 4 feet tall; `Zebrinus', horizontal yellow bands on foliage, wide spreading habit, to 7 feet tall.
Pests, Diseases and Damaging Agents Diseases: Rust occasionally infests the foliage but it often goes away in drier weather.

Strawberry Foxglove, Perennial Of The Day

Digitalis x mertonensis

Strawberry Foxglove Scrophulariaceae (Figwort)

Type Biennial, perennial

Hardy range 5A to 10A

Height 24" to 36" / 60cm to 90cm

Growth rate Average

Form Upright or erect

Exposure Partial shade or partial sun to full sun

Bloom Color Pink

Bloom Time Summer

 The flowers are suitable for cut flowers.

Environment This plant will grow in moist soil. Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy. The pH preference is an acidic to neutral (less than 6.8 to 7.2) soil.

Leaf Color Green

The flowers are suitable for cut flowers.

 Culture Notes
If Digitalis is grown in conditions it likes, it will be a reliable perennial; otherwise it will be short-lived and seem like a biennial.  To help the plant maintain its vigor, divide every other year (once flowering is finished) to preserve a vigorous plant.  Spring cut dead foliage only; deadhead after blooming.