Opinion, What Would You Do?
Help! I need your opinion….I am currently in the process of cleaning out what’s overgrown in my perennial bed and replacing the flowers with new blooms and I need to know would you pull the “False Sunflowers” now or wait until the blooms have died back? I do plan to move them over in front of the ugly propane tanks so I won’t technically be killing them I will just end the blooms for this season and move them to a new home where they won’t be such a nuisance.
I think they’re beautiful, the way they spill over onto the deck but they’re so weighed down with flowers that they’re drooping (and they’re way to big to try and stake up and make them look decent). You can see above the gigantic load of Lilly’s I have already dug up. They’re no longer blooming so I didn’t feel bad about taking a shovel to them. I’m not planning on replanting them, they get overgrown to fast and don’t really produce many blooms so they’re not a plant for me. I loaded them up and heaved them into the tall grass along our field. I do this with all my overgrown perennials and after a few years I notice them popping up in the field. It’s actually a pretty sight and I don’t have to worry about how far they spread.
So would you move them now or wait until they are done blooming? I’m ready to get the new perennials in the ground I’m not sure how long they can live in those pots and I get tired of watering them twice a day, but also hate to disturb these beauties. Oh! the dilemma.
you need to wait or you would have to water them more then what you are now because moving them will stress them out and they might not grow back next year. for the new perennials do you have a spot to plant them in the ground and then dig them up and plant them where you want them when you can plant the false sunflower. be very careful around the propane tanks.
hostas are the only plant that i know of that can take being move any time. it takes a lot to kill a hosta. good luck
i forgot to say about the plant that you do not want you sould see if there is someone who would love them. the lady that plant flower in the park were i live love to get flowers that people do not want. it makes me sad to see good plant thrown away.
Angela, they will reroot in my field and do just fine. They were so overgrown, and a mess.
Angela, I am thinking I could plant everything I have except the hydrangeas, and as soon as the false sunflowers are done I could remove them and replace with the hydrangeas. It’s getting quite cool here we may see frost next month even. Thanks for the advice.
if you are planting hydrangeas then you need to move them now. cut the sunflowers down to the ground and water everyday if it is above 75 or every other day if you are below and water in the morning is best anytime of the year. enjoy the sunflower inside.
Thanks Angela I will follow your instructions. We are way below 75 here.
Great advice from Angela! These pretty yellow false sunflowers look gorgeous spilling onto your porch! If you plant them in the ground they will probably be very happy and spread!
Yvonne, they take over everything so I think letting them go over by the propane tank is the best spot for them, they can do whatever they want.
I love the yellow flowers – never have heard of false sunflowers – and will have to find some for my garden.
I love the idea of pops of color popping up in your fields.
Carol, I’m not sure if that is the correct name for them but that is all I have ever heard them called.
If you are in the mood to move them now, I would do it. I’ve just moved some coreopsis that had to be relocated because of some garden work. I cut them back to about 6 inches tall. It was sad to lose the blooms now but I know they will grow back more vigorously next year. I like to do the moving now as it gives the roots a good chance to get established. I never know when those colder nights will set in once September gets here.
Linda, We may have frost in September they are calling for a bad winter again and saying it may move in next month. These flowers are hardy I don’t think I can kill them.
I kinda love how they spill over into the space – but maybe that’s just your great photography making it look better than it really does, heh! I believe they are a type of coreopsis like Linda successfully moved. Around here, fall is the best time for transplanting but I’ve been know to dig something up and temporarily pot it so I can baby it for awhile before fall. You can also move them, shade them somehow (with a cardboard tent or something), keep them watered until they re-establish. My two-cents 🙂
Barbara, Thank you for the advice. It has been so overcast here I don’t think the sun will be an issue.
There are rules for when to transplant or divide but I have rarely followed them. I do it when I have time. Sometimes that means I sacrifice some blooms or have to water a little more through summer heat. Still, my life is too full to try to fit my garden (my hobby) on a schedule. I enjoy it more this way.
If I decide to move a plant that’s in full bloom, I cut off all of the blooms & fill my house with flower arrangements. :o)
Hope this helps!
Jen, You sound like me. I normally just do it when the mood strikes me. I may take a chance and move them now.
I’m pretty much with moving them now. Cut them back and water them in well. Keep them watered and they should do well. I just moved some things from one garden to another and they perked up and are showing no stress. If it was terribly hot and humid…I might think a little about it.
Balisha, It’s cold and rainy here so I may just do it while the temps are low. Thanks for the advice.
I am such an amateur at gardening Dawn..but I love my flowers!
Nancy, I don’t think you can go wrong with perennials. Just plant them and let them do their thing.
My vote is for moving them now. You never know when winter will hit early (we have had a foot of snow fall the first of October), and moving them now will give them a chance to settle down some roots. It sounds like you are having cool enough weather and like others, I have to do these tasks when I am in the mood and have time. You will feel better for having it done and know your new perennials will get the chance to settle in before the cold strikes. Brrr…just the thought of winter approaching has me shuddering. I am a Summer lovin’ gal to my bones!
Pamela, I think I will get them moved this week if I can fit it into my schedule. Blogging sure eats up the time.
I just wanted to say your German Shepherd is beautiful!
Beth, Thank you, she is quite the pistol at times.
” I loaded them up and heaved them into the tall grass along our field. I do this with all my overgrown perennials.” So sad, you should offer them to others before tossing. I still love the iris that my uncle was throwing away. They have died along time ago but their flowers live on in my yard. Every year I know which ones are theirs. My uncle cleaned the garden and threw away on the side of the woods and I happened to come over the next day. I took all the ones that hadn’t dried up yet. Move them now.
Carole, These were only get a bloom or two, Im not sure if they quit blooming when they get old, but that’s what these were doing. So I don’t think anyone else would want them either. I think I had one yellow and 2 orange blooms this year out of that whole pile.
Yes, old age can slow things down. I don’t get much done myself anymore. It’s nice that they’ll live again in a better location. Some flowers aren’t meant to be in beds. I have some leggy yellow ones that take over everything. I moved them to my lot line. There’s an empty lot next door so no one will mind. Look forward to your new ones next spring.
Carole, That’s exactly what Im doing with these yellow ones. Moving them where they can do their own thing. I may dig some more today.