New Echinacea Raised Bed - A little help, please :)

10 years ago

I have been working on a new raised bed that will hold (primarily) a mass-planting of echinaceas. This drawing will help to visualize the area. disregard the lower, stepped down area off to the bottom right, that is for something else. The right side of this bed runs in front of the front left corner of my house. There will be dinnerplate dahlias at the very back (the 8-foot span) of the bed. The tallest echinaceas will be very close to their height (36-40") and then it will, of course, get shorter and shorter varieties of echs as they come to the front of the bed. My problem is that, in my brillance, I was originally planning to put rudbeckias at the back, not dahlias. At some point, that changed and I bought some dahlias to go there, reds, yellows and orange ones. Then, later, it having slipped my mind that I was doing it, I bought 6 goldsturm ruds to go in this bed. As we are prepping for this bed to be built this week, it has just dawned on me what I did. I was actually thinking the goldsturm would go at the back, but they aren't nearly as tall as they need to be to go at the back of this bed, but they are the height of about the middle of the echs. Half of the echs are shorter and half are taller. I don't think it it will look right to just throw a row or two of goldsturms in the middle of the echs. What do you think? Also, are these guys going to push out my echs? I was planning on using annuals ruds, not perennial ones, but I just completely lost my mind (I'm claiming temporary amnesia) on this purchase. Maybe I should just find a different place for the ruds. Any advice would be great on how to resolve this. I'm not sure if all this was clear or not, but that's my best stab at explaining the problem. Thanks for sticking with the crazy, if you got this far!

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Comments (6)

karin_mt
10 years ago
Can you return the Goldsturms?
If not, then I think they'd be fine with the echinacea. They seem like compatible bedfellows to me. I have not had Goldsturm push out any other plant, but I can't speak to your zone. Up here echinacea outperform the Goldsturms so it's the rudbeckia that get smothered by echinacea, which is fine by me.

I no longer use Golstum but I've had much better luck with Indian Summer, Double Gold and Irish Eyes. They are so-called annuals here but they come back most years.

Good luck with the new bed - looks like an impressive project!
miclino
10 years ago
Goldsturm in the right bed is not overly aggressive but will spread and for me does encroach on other plants. The only Echinacea I have in that bed seems to hold its own but its the standard Magnus. On the other hand, its not hard of me to keep in check by just pulling up parts of it.
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funnthsun z7A - Southern VA
Original Author
10 years ago
No, can't return them. I am thinking more of the color scheme when I say it would be wierd for them to be plunked in the middle. All the varieties of color of echs and then this loose row of ruds right in the middle. Doesn't seem like that would look good. It would have looked great as a backdrop for the echs. Man, this is annoying, I don't know what I was thinking! What if I planted the ruds along the right side of the bed? That could still be seen as "behind" them, since that is against the house? Maybe that's a solution.
gardenweed_z6a
10 years ago
Why worry about "rows" of anything? I'm not suggesting a mish-mash or cottage garden look but why think linear when a less structured approach might solve your dilemma? Can you group things in swaths of 3 or 5 plants? I decided early on that I wouldn't plant anything using a linear approach and after nearly 8 years am completely happy with my randomly arranged plantings.

Did I design my various beds on paper prior to planting? You betcha. Did they all turn out the way I'd originally planned them? Not a one did. Am I loving the look I finally achieved? Ditto that you betcha.

It's only a guess but I believe I may have taken a leaf from what I saw when I visited the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, MA a number of years ago. I first began drawing my flowerbeds on paper around that same time. Annuals, perennials, vines, trees & shrubs randomly adorn both sides of the path that crosses the span. If there's any pattern to the beds, it's more a design that incorporates a vast variety of color & form.

Good luck with your project. Might be cool if you posted photos once you settle on a solution to the problem.
funnthsun z7A - Southern VA
Original Author
10 years ago
I typically plant in a diagonal pattern, staggered rows, if you will, so it doesn't really look like actual rows, but it is easier to plant than random, I think. I'm no formal gardening girl, but I don't want to put a plant at the back that you can't see because it's too short! That is what I'm trying to avoid, more than anything and I don't want a color issue. I plant more by color and texture than anything else and obviously by height.

I lay all of my beds out on paper, too, before I plant them. With my last one, I'm at about 80% success rate with 20% moving/replacing thus far and this is it's first season, so I understand what you mean. I still think it helps to start from paper, I am much more creative that way than just standing out there, randomly planting. I have no preconception that everything will stay that way, though. Best chance for success starts with forethought, though, I think.

Thanks for the good luck! I am excited about this bed, echs are my favorite flower, so I am really happy that I can have a whole bed of them. :)
funnthsun z7A - Southern VA
Original Author
10 years ago
I think I have solved the problem, at least I hope. I think if I put the ruds along the 3-foot and 7-foot side of the bed, that will still basically be against the house and will serve as a backdrop for the echs. I think that will work. If not, then I can change it up next year.

Next question on this bed for ech lovers:

If you were starting a raised bed for echs, what blend would you use for the soil in this bed? In other words, what's the best mix of soil for an ech? The bed is about 16" deep, fyi. I have my own ideas, but, as always, some of you may have a better one. Percentages would be helpful! Thanks so much!