pic#1 is a Quick Fire hydrangea..pic#2 & 3 each have a Summer Snowflake viburnum..the viburnums do resemble paniculata hydrangeas..I don't have a pic of my Judd viburnum..it has wonderful fragrant white tinged with pink blooms..I love blue macrophylla blooms..haven't tried any products to acidify my soil..I have more shade than sun..from the pics I've seen it looks as if you do too..how big is your lot?..ours is half an acre..

Post some photos with close-ups of the blooms. I'd like to see the Summer Snowflake. I know they resemble hydrangeas but they bloom in early spring here.

We are slightly larger than 1/2 an acre with pretty crappy soil (red clay). We had oodles of trees and still have many. We have had a tree service in 3 times so far and probably need one more visit in a year or two. We probably spent around 10k so far on getting trees down.

Berries on a viburnum at the ABG (Atlanta Botanical Garden)

V. carlesii bloom detaildouble file V. (Shasta?)close up of double file
A carlesii branch intruding on my flowering quince (thornless)It did bloom much better last year or I didn't notice it this year (this was the first day of spring)
My favorite is the old fashioned snowball bush (V. opulus 'Sterile') This is a rooted cutting I gave my parents 20 years ago or so and it needs an annual haircut.
mine is crappy because it is too shaded with my redbud and my neighbor's weed pines coming up like thicket. So I started 3 one gallon containers of cuttings this summer so I can have them in a sunnier location.
close-up at my parents
Finally the limelight I bought my dad is magnificent.

the heads are too big for the good sized branches to support

your property is similar to ours isn't it?..a lot of work isn't it? lol..I need to work on my photography..need to slow down and take close ups..Summer Snowflake is a doublefile viburnum (plicatum tomentosum?) - the blooms look like yours to me..my shrub is new and small..hasn't taken on the spreading horizontal branching yet..and the blooms on my fragrant viburnum look like yours too..different names yet the plants are so similar..I have old fashioned snowballs but again not many blooms..you get so many blooms on everything!!..since moving here (March 05) I've planted so many shrubs along the boundary..I left room to walk behind them (no fence)..a mixed hedge with a natural unpruned look..has given us more privacy and beauty..just like you we've spent thousands (same range 12k or so) on tree work..I made a list..we've removed 28 trees..some small ones we removed ourselves..we had dead, leaning, ugly (butchered) and some in bad spots..looks so much better..I don't miss any of them..if it was free we have a few more that need work and or removed..in spite of all of our clean up I still don't have much sun lol..some pictures of my Japanese maples..we've planted 12 of them..

Sounds like a familiar story. We moved here in 2004 and I cleaned up small trees and lots of vines (honeysuckle, poison ivy, Virginia creeper, wild grapes, and some I probably forgot about). I cut one poplar myself that is more than I like to do but once it came down I had to measure the length of it - 50 feet. We had one huge pine that the tree service said was $1000 job in itself but it was cheap in comparison to what the tree services have offered to my parents and their neighbors in rural TN.

I think we have a dozen or so JMs and I refuse to buy the big ones that cost $$$ so all the ones I have started out as gallon sized and range from 15 to 22 dollars.

We visited Gibbs Garden a couple of weeks ago (supposed to be the largest private garden of JMs and daffodils).

Here are a few shots from G.G. a couple of weeks ago.

This pond was the murkiest one but I liked the bare trunks' reflections in the water.


And a few of my own but from years past as I didn't see anything spectacular this year in my own garden.

My grandson in front of my mother's JM May, 2016

one of my JMs in summer (I swear GW must be spell checking as I cannot seem to get the space bar or backspace to work at times)
Guess I didn't take any fall shots last year, so spring will have to do

Shame we can only do 10 at a time but it beats the old way.

I had to go back to 2015 to get some fall colors (Oct 31)
Back in 2014 - still spring colors though




Previous home we put in a small pond and had different trees over it at times. This weeping JM did well.
Another view of it

I've heard of Gibbs Garden!..love to see it..I never spent much for my maples either..if I saw one with a nice trunk and a decent price I bought it..I have the tags(not in front of me) but from what I remember I have a coral bark Sango Kaku?, an Emperor?, one dissected leaf(?) and quite a few Bloodgoods..no special ones like yours..but I probably have the most JMs in the neighborhood..maybe the most of everything haha..

all of yours are fuller than mine..we probably get more die back..some of mine have a funny little shape..I cut only what's necessary..dead or broken..is that what you do?..on my list of removed trees we're even as far as professionally removed and ourselves - 14 each..didn't measure the length of any but we took one long one out and I pulled the rope as my husband cut it..have to admit I was a little afraid..but we did it and didn't hurt a thing - including ourselves..a pic of my side yard..going for a tropical look..3 bananas (now cut and covered with garbage bags full of leaves) and some elephant ears on the top left (now dug up)..your greenhouse is cute..below - my neighbor's bananas..one of mine was a gift from her..bought 2 more from Lowe's this summer for $2.50 each!..

At our last house my dad (expert at a chainsaw in a way) cut our pines using our next door neighbor's backyard. I had asked for his permission the day before but the day we did it, his dad was doing some yard work and was upset when we felled 3 good sized pines (maybe 70 to 80 foot tall). Within an hour we had it all cut up and put back to our yard and raked the lawn as well. And most everyone including the pros use ropes to get the tree going in the direction they want. My dad even used his pickup truck to get extra pull on some trees he cut. My wife killed the engine (manual trans) and I was yelling get it going and get some traction going (my dad was probably 80 then and couldn't move too fast). I think that may have been his last tree cutting job as it was getting a bit scary.

I bought a couple of bananas years ago - one was Rojo from WM of all places but lost it when I thought it would survive our winters. Then I bought an Abyssinian banana which can become very large and a pot would be hard to keep it happy. A few years ago, a member of our club brought me some plants (his only visit to my place and I never saw him visit any of our meetings either) and one of the plants was a red splotched banana kind of like Rojo but less intense. The lesson I learned from my previous experience told me to dig it up at the end of the season. I don't know how many years it has been but I get many new plants each year. Just dug them up yesterday and cut the tops off. They and elephant ears and dahlias are on the basement floor drying out before being boxed for winter. The last two years I just plop the banana bulbs on top of the ground, give them a drink, and by end of the growing season they are six feet tall. If I put them in the ground, fertilize, and water them on a regular basis, they will be 15 feet tall (the biggest at least). Digging them up then becomes a much harder job.

My old house had a lot of plants on the driveway

GRRR - this typing is driving me crazy.

I will try typing below the photo and see if that helps - so far, so good. Anyway that is Rojo above.

so I planted it in the garden here and lost it over winter.

Got a new one from a friend of the club including the dark leaf Alocasia or Colocasia in 2009. It isn't as splashy as Rojo but you can't beat the price.

how they looked August, 2016 just by plopping them on top of the ground.

When I planted it in a hole in 2015. I had six separate banana trees all from one starter.

This variegated one was at the Okinawa Botanical Garden and Aquarium (July 2012) when we visited our daughter and her family there.

This is how I stored them last year. Much easier but still heavy.

Finally the big red Abyssinian banana as a youngster in an 18 inch pot.

Five months later

I LOVE all of your tropicals..the musa basjoos that my neighbor and I have are planted outside and we overwinter in the ground..we cut them down and protect for the winter..she has a couple with reddish leaves (maybe Abyssinian-not Rojo) growing in pots and they go in for winter (not too big maybe 3-4 ft)..she built a sunroom onto her house and moves a lot of plants in and out..I think the black elephant ears look great with Rojo..the variegated banana in Okinawa is beautiful..living in Indiana I'm happy to have ANY banana..even a plain green one..your dad sounds like my grandfather..he did a lot of physical work until the day he died (was 85)..my parents are 87-dad and 84-mom..independent in their own home but frail..I'm 62(not for long) and my husband is 67..we're the youngest people on the cul de sac..our neighborhood is not technically a "retirement community" but all the homeowners are seniors..most of them hire someone for all of their outside work..except for some tree work we do it ALL..I couldn't stand for anyone else to touch my plants!..lol..forgot to ask did you protect Rojo over the winter?..I use garbage bags full of oak leaves and cover them after I cut them down...keeps the ground drier..doesn't flatten out like loose mulch..it's worked for the past 2 winters..

I should try seeing how hardy the banana is - next year. After I lost the first two (the Rojo and the Abyssinian), I just dig them up and move them inside. I just put them in a cardboard box yesterday and put them on a top shelf. I have so many that leaving a few in the ground might be worth trying out. I have seen huge banana trees around our area but they are different types. One of our neighbors planted two palm trees in their yard and I thought this is foolish but it's probably been five years and the things are 12 to 15 foot tall now. I think it is one of the Chinese palms so must be much hardier than the ones you see in Florida, California, etc.

My dad passed two years ago at 85 and my mother is that age now. I am 65 and we do all the yardwork but my wife hired a yard service to do the fertilizer, pest control, etc. We also have a contract with them for termites as well. She thought we could replace the deck since we did the one at our last house. I told her we are 20 years older and this deck is 12 feet off the ground. Sure we could lay the deck boards but putting the posts and joists up will be very hard to do. So, we did hire a company to do it. A mix of good and bad - the old deck came down and framework went up in a day (with temporary posts in place). Then the posts went in and the deck boards were laid. We paid 90% with this work done but the railings and the stairs took much longer to complete and looks pretty sloppy. We paid them off just to get rid of them at this point. I gave them a B for the job - slightly above average. We also had a flagstone patio laid years ago and a dry stream bed put in. That is one thing we wished we could do over and just have concrete poured - dyed and stamped. The one thing we love is the steel fence we had put in. A lot more money than a wooden fence but we see a lot of neighbors' fences looking pretty bad. The nice thing about it is it keeps our dogs in, other dogs out, and kids from taking shortcuts. The deer seem deterred as well but I know they can easily hop five feet. And it makes a good prop for vines such as this cross vine and clematis.

I never go to any lengths to insulate plants outdoors - we used to do that with azaleas - a freeze warning in spring and we'd put sheets, quilts, blankets over the plants to protect the blooms. We stopped that after a few years of covering in the evening and uncovering in the morning. We just let nature take its course so some years we have an ugly spring while most times it is pretty good.

Azaleas last year, they didn't do that good this year.

Formosa and Red Formosa

George Tabor

Mildred

Pink Ruffles

Odd bloom on this George Tabor

What our neighbor sees.

Voodoo lily blooming bare bulb in a box (I dug these up the previous November from my mother's house as she didn't want them any more - I gave her a bulb or two years before) This is early April where it is still chilly at night but we couldn't take the smell of it in the garage.

The bloom stalk was close to 3 feet tall! The foliage comes on later.

It is a shame the Yoshino cherries bloom at a different time than the azaleas.

I'm just guessing that you could overwinter the fancy bananas..since the musa basjoos survive here it SEEMED that in a warmer climate a more delicate variety could survive..but maybe not..I can relate to your experience with contractors..we had a sloppy job on our deck too..and the railing was the worst part..after 2 years my husband took the railing off and rebuilt it..not a bad job..only 2 sides and not elevated much..you can see it in some of the pics above..the railings will be stained to match the house..we changed the style..we still have the 1x1's that were used for spindles..haven't figured out yet what I could do with them..a plant stand?..a little fence to edge some plants?..a trellis?..should use the winter to find pics of projects that I like..I think it's rare to find a person that takes pride in their work and does a wonderful job..we haven't found any..even before you mentioned it I noticed your fence..it's so attractive..the vines growing on it are charming..I wish I had a barricade that made my property inaccessible..once some landscapers were blowing my neighbor's leaves into MY woods..I ran out to stop them..one of them said "oh I didn't think anyone cared about this land"..I said "excuse me?..this is MY land and I DO care about it..who do you think planted these plants and picked up the debris?"..what idiots..so rude..be glad that you have a fence..your azalea hedge is so colorful!..I think of azaleas, camelias and crape myrtles as Southern plants..someday I hope to move to a warmer climate and grow some of these beauties..this is not a good pic but I took it to show you the service alley behind my hedge..this past summer we mowed down the weeds and laid some logs along the line..then I started dumping leaves there..now we feel free to walk along there..even though it's our property - before we made this path it felt like it belonged to the neighbors..when we moved in there were just the native trees with a high canopy and NO privacy..my hedge changed the look and feel of the backyard..

our lot is #17..the hedge pic is just part of the 128ft side..the 83ft side has shrubs too-not as much space to walk behind them but there is a little..forgot to say that I've heard that those lillies smell like rotten meat..what a shame they smell bad..can you grow gardenias?..lol

We are pleased overall with the deck but the railings are not what the owner promised (Cadillac double stack - except the carpentry is not professional at all). I think if we ever get it replaced we'd go with metal as it won't warp, expand or contract with the weather.

A fence does eliminate the need to protect what is yours and what is not. When we moved in and I started clearing our backyard I went a little overboard by clearing my neighbor's weed trees (sweet gums/pines/poplars) by at least 5 to 6 feet - OOPS! Since the fence was put up two years later, her side has lots of new saplings approaching 20 feet. I thought about asking her if it would be okay to cut those down again and maybe plant a row of rose of Sharon bushes and hydrangea P.G. but I have so many other things to do instead. My other neighbor had a tractor come in and scrape his lot of all weeds and small saplings but since then hasn't done a thing so here comes the poison ivy, wild grapes, and honeysuckles creeping over to my side under the fence or over it. GRRR!

A hedge makes a very good delineation for borders too. Especially if they have thorns! Some of our side yard shrubs have grown over the property line and if either neighbor got busy with their own yards, then I would not have a problem scaling back some of the shrubs we have.

Contractors/worker bees don't care whose property they are on or abuse - it is not their property. A year or so after we moved in and I was on the phone with a friend or family (maybe work as I was a telecommuter), I heard a noisy engine like a mower that sounded like it was in our backyard. Yep, it was two guys with a ditch witch in the backyard! I told the party on the other line I would call back and got the attention of the two guys about what is going on. They told me that my next door neighbor just signed up with Bellsouth and they were going to take my phone line and run it to his house and that they were going to take the phone connection from the other side of the house and run it to where our phone lines came into the house. I asked them who gave them the right to do this in my yard and they said the builder. I told them that the builder doesn't own this house and they are on private property. That had them perplexed and I told them to go ahead and finish up but that they should get permission from the "Home Owner" before starting any work. After they were done I noticed two divots on both sides of the driveway so I surmised they thought about tunneling under our driveway which is a shorter run than going completely around the house and up the far side. GRRR! Well after 12 years here we finally pulled the plug on AT&T (DSL and phone service) from their crappy service and went back to cable (AT&T owned the cable company at our last house and the service was very crappy so we went with DSL). Bellsouth sold out to AT&T a few years after we moved in the house including cell service so we are still on their service plan.

You don't notice the smell as much outdoors of the voodoo lilies (Amorphophallus 'Konjac') but in a garage, it was pretty bad. Yes, we can grow gardenias but that is one flower my wife finds offensive due to its powerful scent so I don't want to plant something that she doesn't like.

Some deck pictures.

we added a gazebo to give us some shade but in the middle of the day it is too hot to even be under it.

there was some shade on the stairs before we had the big beech taken down
A volunteer willow outside the stairs grew very quick. I cut it back to 3 feet tall so the deck crew could put this up. They started work in late Feb and this picture was July 6 so you can see how fast a willow can grow.

Voodoo lilies in the ground grew to around 5 feet tall this year.

June 7 - just coming up
June 26

July 17, the biggest ones are behind these

I'm so mad..just lost my comment..here's a shorter less well written version lol..I like your deck..reminds me of the neighbors that grow bananas..we have AT&T too..I feel ripped off but we use technology so...a few days ago in Camby IN some Comcast Cable workers hit a gas line and blew up a house..thankfully nobody was killed..you might be able to see the story online..idiot contractors..this is a pic of a volunteer Painter's Palette?..found 2 clumps..gets tiny red blooms..pretty when you get a decent sized clump..pic2 is of some lycoris (called ressurection lillies, surprise lillies or naked ladies)..have 2 fragrant white lillies that I got for free one night at a 6 week gardening class..they're marginally hardy here but I put them in my east side yard next to the garage and they survived..I've started taking out my daylillies..too much work to keep them neat..it seems that my gardening is a constant never-ending cycle of rearranging and moving plants..but I love it..

a pic of Painter's Palette Persicaria (remembered the name) with blooms..

I'm not the thread police, but boy has this thread gotten way off track.

dbarron..yes it has lol..hc and I are sharing pics of everything..what's funny is I have only ONE tuberous begonia and can't contribute to this forum!..should we kill this thread?..

Well, I keep reading it (on my watch list) and expecting to see begonias :)

that's a reasonable expectation haha..wish I had more begonias to post about..I do think that hc and I have lots of good looking plants but you're right..they're not begonias..edited to say that hc DOES have a fantastic begonia collection and his pics have begonias..it's me that doesn't belong here lol..

You could say it's my fault..because I posted some comment on it quite some time ago, and now it's following me ;)

I don't remember it??..I really do live in my own little world lol..add some begonia pics!!..did we talk about caladiums once?..will look thru my comments..I recognize your name..have seen it many times..just realized what you meant..you're getting a steady stream of notifications..

I feel your pain on losing a post. It just happened to me. Glitch in the software?

P.P. is a weed but too pretty to get rid of completely.

I try to cut it before it sets too many seeds. This was in May this year before cutting later in June or July.

All grown back in September

All the seeds are going to be a nightmare the next year if we don't keep after them.

a few begonias at the nursery in Florida back in June.

so you have P.P.!!..is there anything that you don't grow?..lol..the colors on those begonias are outstanding..so pretty..your best guess - how many different varieties have you had?..

Ok joining the convo again, I think we should plan a raid on Florida, there's gold to be had.

I do need begonias..having just one is pathetic..

Nicholsworth, I have no idea on how many different begonias I grow today - too many, yet not enough? HA! And yes, you do need more than one begonia - try several to get a nice contrast of size, shape, and color! Tell everyone - yes, these are all begonias!

dbarron, come to the convention in New Orleans this April. They should have many to choose from and you get to see some awesome show plants and go on tours (I haven't seen what is on tour but they should be good)

Try Persicaria 'Red Dragon'. Very pretty but no where as weedy as Painter's Palette. I think I've seen one new Red Dragon pop up from the ground in five years.

Another one I like and so far - no seedlings after 3 or 4 years is variegated Fallopia. I am keeping this in a container in hopes of keeping it from running.

You can see another PP popping up in the cracks between the flagstones and begonias here.

This ludwigii was grown from seed by one or our youngest members. Looked great in July but is down to one leaf today. UGH!

This was seed grown as well by another member long ago. I think it is acetosella. It is rather strange - rhizomes develop over years, the stems are like canes/shrubs and will eventually die back to the ground until ready to grow again. Very tiny flowers.

This is a bad habit - making more plants.

This is diadema - one of the parents of Little Brother Montgomery, Connee Boswell, and several others.

hc..not surprising that you don't know how many begonias you've had..just too many to say right?..Red Dragon and Fallopia would be nice additions here..we have lots of green..lots of shade..some color perks things up..was excited to find the P.P...the white stands out (why I noticed it)..I see more P.P. in pic#5 above..can see some tiny seedlings..I have space and would be happy to see it spread..so do you grow all of your begonias in pots and then overwinter in your greenhouse?..I've seen catalogue entries say zone 10-11 for lots of them..years ago I saw a hardy begonia grandis on a gardening show - not sure it would survive here..have you tried it? (bet you have lol)..so my wish list..a red one..a bold fancy leaf like Escargot..tuberous with pink blooms..tuberous with orange blooms..some annual wax begonias - green and bronze leaves..wish it was spring..ready to shop now..edited to say believe it or not I like the plain acetosella..the asymmetrical leaves are attractive..my favorite hostas aren't the variegated ones..but with begonias the "gaudy" leaves are appealing..

Yep, I have B. grandis (though I knew it as evansiana).

adding begonia grandis to my wish list..did a begonia grandis search and people in zones similar to mine are growing it..have a protected spot next to my bananas that should work..

That is one begonia I've never had luck with. What's your secrets? Others can grow it here, even in Florida it can be grown. I think I have too many leaves covering the bulbils to come up in the spring.

Here are great swaths of it at the ABG last year or two.

One of the nurseries I visit has it like a weed.

ABG

Paths on both sides lined with them but did I take photos of them? NO!

Here is the best I did take though.

I have grown it before but it never comes back

The blooms are semi-lovely too.

It tried a couple of times but never made much of anything the following year.

Nichols, I just saw a few of your questions. Yes, I keep them all in pots so I don't have to put them in the ground in spring and dig them up in fall. Pots are easier to move about. I don't have a GH at this house so it all goes in the basement running around 90 shop lights. I just did a quick calculation this morning on the way to get a new phone that I can only run 28 T8 shop lights on a 15 Amp circuit breaker without tripping the breaker. The big utility room, storage room, pantry room with freezer, bathroom, stair lights, and small utility room are all on one circuit so I have to run X lights during the day and the rest of them at night. The other two big rooms have no tripping issues and I haven't counted the lights in those rooms since they seem to be okay unless I wanted to run the shop - vac at which time I run an extension from one room where I turn out the lights to vacuum the room with lights on. Crazy? Yes, but worth it.

hc..you are out of control!!! lol..the ease of growing begonia grandis outside is appealing..from my reading this morning some (having trouble with grandis) said they thought their heat and humidity was a drawback..I have not quite as much heat and humidity as southern gardeners so maybe they would work for me..I saw an old comment of yours about taking in several hundred pots to the basement..I saw a greenhouse in one of your pics and just assumed it was full of begonias..I don't have a basement to overwinter plants :-( there was quite an increase in what I hauled in this fall compared to last fall..one addition was my tuberous begonia..my begonia "enterprise" will be small potatoes compared to yours but I want more!..some are irresistible..to be clear..the tuberous die back..wax are grown as annuals..the rex (painted leaves) overwinter as house plants..dragon wings have plain wings..angel wings have spots..can overwinter dragon and angel wings as houseplants..trying to learn the types and names..saw a pic of your basement in a post from 2014 (winter feeding of rex begonias)..so light and bright that it doesn't seem like a basement..

Nichols, that GH was at our last house and was the size of a one car garage - 14 x 18 and it was packed from the floor to the ceiling in a short 3 years. The advice I read and after experiencing it myself is to buy as big as you can afford. If I ever get another one, I'd like one 30x48 or 30x60 and still would probably fill it in no time. One of our club members says his GH is 16x48 and I told him we need a field trip to see his collection of cool plants (orchids is his main gig)

B. grandis does grow like a weed here in GA but not at my house. I even saw it grown very well in Orlando but the photo I have of it was in full sun - UGH! What an ugly photo that was.

I just moved the last of my plants in yesterday afternoon (the big pots) so now I need to tidy up and find them a winter spot.

When we were looking to move, I had two things in my mind that we needed - a full basement (not so much for plants at that time) and a bigger yard (the last one was 1/4 of an acre). The thing I don't like is we have no access to the backyard for working trucks as we put the fence in (although we could take a section down which is 8 feet wide between posts) but that I planted the side yards heavily with shrubs and perennials. It would be nice to have a subdivision with an access road on the back line but we didn't think of that neat feature and neither did the builder.

Here is the grandis in Orlando area (May 2014)

You can see the sun is full on the plants in the morning (9:20 for this photo) and it is getting hot in May but nothing like June through August.

From there we go to the nursery for my annual shopping trip for the big sale back home.

I can see that you would run out of space in a typical greenhouse..say 10x12 or so..some of the burgundy hairy leaved begonias remind me of heucheras..if I knew then (3 weeks ago) what I know now I would've brought 2 dragon wings inside..they were green leaved with red blooms and very full..and years ago I had a tuberous with yellow blooms that I didn't save..live and learn..

Ah, at least Dragon Wings are so mainstream that you can pick them up in spring at almost all garden centers.

Dan Heims (of Terra Nova Nurseries in Portland, OR) is world famous for his Heuchera and Tiarella hybrids. I picked him up at the Atlanta airport the year we moved to this house and brought him out to see my pitiful display in 2004 (just a sidebar). He got involved in begonias and has come out with some interesting hybrids as well. He is wholesale only but hopefully we will see some of his hybrids making the rounds to our nurseries one day. He said he found the colors of rexes and heucheras were much alike. I usually lose half the heucheras I buy so just cooling my jets on them the last couple of years.

Can the blooms of DW be beaten? And they take the heat and humidity like champs. Full sun? Not a problem as long as you keep the watered.

I want this variegated leaf one to show up at the garden centers one day

They still bloom in shady areas but not as well.
A hanging basket one year with Caladiums

Hayrack one summer on hot deck, full sun all day long - no problem, just never let it dry out completely

My favorite year when I planted six in a bed - again full sun all day long.

I've had many dragon wings over the years..but didn't realize they could keep going if I brought them in..if I'd held onto them I could have too many by now! - for me not you lol..I read a post about how the fancy heucheras didn't last..one comment said they used them in summer pots and just considered them as annuals..my dragon wings weren't in full sun but had enough blooms to make me happy..but good to know that they hold up..

A lot of gardening is figuring out what works for you with regards to a particular plant. I believe I have cracked the heuchera code, the secret for me, is an almost full shade location (north facing) along my foundation (somewhat raised and calcium rich). It tends to need no watering, as any rain floods the area, but since they're a bit raised, it works..much like the native habitat where heuchera grows on rocks in moist humid locations.

Before this year, my yard was where heucheras came to die. This year they actually thrived and grew well. The same area works wonderfully for ferns and tiarellas.

I killed Creme Brulee and Key Lime Pie..still have quite a few Palace Purple (I get volunteers) and some green variegated ones with names that I don't remember (have the tags though)..mine are also growing in the shade on the north side of my house with hostas and ferns..

Ah good to know you have cracked the Davinci code of Heuchera there dbarron! HA! I still dabble with them and have a few survivors. I know they thrive in TN on rock walls where there is a steady drip, drip, drip and high humidity. The thing is I don't have any rock faces to plant them in. GRRR!

I did put two I bought this year in a pot where they got strong western sun and still alive and kicking! I just won't go gung-ho on them going forward.

Cummins Falls 2014 (where they had the flash flood earlier this year) showing some of the rock ledges where wild hydrangeas and coral bells live.

Some coral bells in bloom
These two are living on the edge between full sun and some shade.
My two from this spring plus wall flowers.

If they were $5 a pot I would be more tempted to buy several but at $15?

Here is a big brown one I bought my dad a few years back. I think it died after 3 years.

I think this is a Heucherella (Stop Light?) I picked up for him too. Trying to get him to add a bit more interest than green and white hostas.

I tried them in pots since they weren't doing that good among tree roots but even then this was not good.

I think my Purple Palace finally quit in a pot too. Guess I should've watered it more.

They look good for a couple of years then GONE

just took these pics..#1..volunteer in a crack..left it..looks pretty when there's no fallen leaves and I clip the ratty off..see a baby at the bottom of the pic?..#2..in the path..there's more than one..plan to move..#3..a variegated and more Palace Purples..#4..hellebore volunteers..started with 4 on the OTHER side of the sidewalk..wish begonias would grow like this..

Ah, hellebores are weeds - pretty weeds though. HAHA!

I just don't get out that much in winter to inspect what is blooming though! This was Feb 2 this year.

and this was April 21 with some still blooming. Go figure? These were the only two photos of hellebores I took this year. Again if prices were cut in half I would be buying more colors and doubles.

I wished heucheras would grow like weeds. This one paired well with a begonia from Lowe's or Walmart. Still have the begonia but I think the heuchera is long gone.

they look so nice when freshly planted

If only they grew...

I bought 3 the year before and I have one healthy one left and one that is between death and life. The other one is gone for good.

Then I bought these 4 and a hydrangea at a very good price and one did not make it through the past winter.

everyone I know has lost heucheras..they seem to be fragile..hellebores were a good solution to that shady area in front..they spread, they're evergreen, little maintenance, not too tall..bought just 4 and now who knows..200?..

Oh those hellebores seed everywhere. Mine usually have dozens (hundreds?) of seedlings but most never make it to adulthood and I don't know why but it doesn't bother me. Too many other things to try out.

There is a farm that specializes in hellebores here and they grow some mean hostas as well. We did the garden tour about 20 years ago and pulled into this place as our last visit of the day. They were just closing their gates when we arrived. BOO! The farm is Piccadilly Farms east of Atlanta.

Maybe this spring we should try it again.

http://www.piccadillyfarm.com/

your second pic in the comment above could have been taken at my house..I have seedlings out by the street..in my path..by my garage..everywhere..200 is a conservative number..planted 3 or 4 in the back too and have seedlings in back..could have twice that many..it's a good thing that I like them..so much nicer than the weeds that were here when I moved in..I would've enjoyed Hellebore days..

thanks hc..I enjoyed your pics and comments..will start a new post if I have something to share..here's hoping winter flies by..

Oh winter has it's moments, I still have a coral honeysuckle blooming, rudbeckia triloba, some fall flowering crocus. I will soon have cyclamen coum, then winter aconite, and spring flowering crocus. Hellebores too..

Winter isn't so bad unless you're far north.

I'm enough north of you to have drab, cold, not much fun winters :-( when will you see spring crocus and daffodils?..just checked the memo on my phone..last year on Valentines day daffodil foliage was 4"..so surfaced early Feb..didn't note when they bloomed..must be sometime in March..so 4 months away :-( will have hellebore blooms earlier..should keep track of that this year..

Oh botanical crocus usually bloom in February here. I've had hellebores (when I lived in Oklahoma...same zone, 100 miles away) blooming shortly after Christmas. Looking back on photos, winter aconite is january or feb here. Narcissus are Feb or March. And from then on, it's spring/summer.

yeah..you have a longer growing season..don't they call hellebores Christmas roses?..have you heard this joke about southern seasons (deep south) ..the four seasons are almost summer, summer, still summer and Christmas..lol

Well, I pretty much say the same thing, we have pseudo-winter (occassionally winter), a week of spring, some few weeks of fall, and ever-lasting summer.

I have lived in climates where when it snows, it won't melt till real spring...so...I prefer snow that lasts days (or not overnight even).

When I was a kid here, we had weeks (sometimes 2 or 3 at at time) with school called by snow. Last year, our first killing frost was Dec 12th, when it fell during one day from 82 to 20F. Crazy weather! I don't believe any snow lasted more than 24 hours last year (what few we got).

we drove thru Arkansas in December on a trip to CA years ago..and it seems like the weather was cold..we went way south and Las Cruces was nice..our seasons are sort of even time wise but because I HATE winter it seems 6 months long..50's today and we chipped our debris..our compost bin looks great..we don't get much snow some years..used the snow blower once last year..could've gotten by without it but we own it and we're retired so we used it..62 degrees - that is a crazy drop in temperature!..we had 2 nights in the 20's on Nov 9, 10(?) this year..running about a month ahead of you..