They can be stored yes. I overwinter mine in slightly damp peat moss. I think if they are stored dry, a small portion of the tubers can die. I don't mean whole tubers, just like the edges of some tubers. My basement was too warm so they kept growing new stalks. I had to put them in the garage and run a space heater when it got below freezing. They didn't keep growing when I stored them dry in the basement. The tubers will increase in size over time. Many years ago I grew a striped leaved Canna cultivar and the tubers on it didn't increase as much in size as the more common Canna x generalis. They are a breeze to grow. No pest problems. When the final flower on a spike finishes, I'll remove the stem by cutting it off near a leaf so it's not noticable. Most other garden plants look great growing with Canna.

Helianthus divaricatus.

I would prefer this species in my shade garden instead of Jerusalem Artichoke. I could put Woodland Sunflower, Sawtooth Sunflower and Cutleaf Coneflower in there, with the tuberosus and see who wins?

The native species is quite aggressive in my neck of the woods. I did buy a couple of "Fireworks" a few years ago but as far as I can tell they werent able to compete with the exisiting straight species.

Lots of sedum blooming my way…to end the season. Boy was it a dry brutal summer!

Noid

Autumn joy

New shaded resting area. This summer made me do it….🥵

Those are so pretty @Markay MD-Zone 7B...actually gorgeous.

Given that they are in bloom from April implies the plants overwintered (rather than from self seeding)?

Those are gorgeous, Markay!

Three BerryBux blueberry bushes.

Last night I planted Clematis durandii behind the Peony Sorbet I has put in the day before.

In the previous day in another redo bed I also planted a Clematis Multi Blue that I moved from too much shade. Then added a Peony Catherine Fontaine along with 3 each of Pycnanthemum virginianum, Stachys o. Rosea, Achillea p. The Pearl, Penstemon hirsutus & Linum perenne. So happy to have this done.

A whole bunch of native perennial plugs plus 6 native small-ish shrubs (2 Kalmia latifolia, 2 Ceanothus americanus and 2 Itea virginica). It is all for the front yard. Can't wait for spring even though the drought has been hard on some of the shrubs despite watering.

I would like to report Heirloom Roses has already sent me a confirmation for the replacement of all 5 roses. I am glad they did. I have been a loyal customer ordering roses every single year for 10 years and I feel like they did the right thing when I needed them. I will not be purchasing any other roses with this new method. I normally reuse my plastic pots anyway.

Good choices, Jim.

My True Passion is a champ. Not a spot of the dreaded black spot, flowers whose intense tomato red color almost hurts my eyes to look at, blooms, although a little small, 3", come in abundance, no dead heading needed........are all its strong points. True Passion can get tall.....perhaps 6+' at maturity.

Being a third year now, it would be much taller at this time near the season's end, but I over pruned it at spring pruning because it had gotten to about 4' last year, in its second year. True Passion didn't like my decision and decided to send out many canes that widened the bush. Now it's about 3' tall, shorter than this time last year. I predict it will be 5' easily next year. It bloomed its head off this year.

You will really like True Passion, but site it carefully because it can get tall.

Moses, thanks for the advice much appreciated!

Thank you Judi!

Markay,

Your rose culture skills are nonpariel. You hold a high standard for me to attain.

Moses.

All the Allium I've grown were heavy self seeders. I usually deadhead them now. I haven't been able to germinate ramps and rampions. Maybe I should allow some seedlings to grow out and maybe some will have a deeper purple color?

False Dragonheads and Pink Turtleheads. Physostegia virginiana, Chelone obliqua

I've never seen a real Pluchea odorata in bloom. It's taking an eternity. Saltmarsh Fleabane, Camphorweed.

I have some sun flowers which reseed that started as giant sunflowers like 6 years ago and now they look like the natural ones pictured. Guess they revert over time

L Clark, I had wondered who was responsible for selectively breeding the Helianthus anuus to have enormous flowerheads, and it was the native peoples who did it to increase food production. They did the same thing with corn. The sunflowers seem to attract many moth pollinators at night.

Zinnias respond favorably to getting cut back, but honestly, succession sowing is the easiest approach to keeping them fresh-looking throughout the season. They do well direct sown at 2 or 3 week intervals.

I have read that asclepsia should be cut back right after it blooms, not because it will rebloom, but because monarch cats prefer the fresh tender new growth.

I do get rebloom on phlox with deadheading.

For Echinacea, I agree with Jay. Variety helps. It is also very easy to start a bit from seed each year (I lose some plants ti various fungal yuck every year so new plants refresh the stock and they bloom late the first year. You can often get this same effect through dividing plants in spring.

Another strategy to consider for next year is the Chelsea chop where you cut some plants back by half in May before they bloom. This creates shorter, bushier plants abd pushes the bloom time out a but later. If you have a good sized clump of phlox, you can chop back a portion of it in May and the shorter bushier part will help support the taller stems and bloom later.

Just know that you are not alone. Late summer garden melt down is a common issue and heat, drought, and damaging storms take there toll.

Jay your echinacea are beautiful. I also tried pallida and paradoxa from seed years ago but they never flourished for me and I lost them. Perhaps I will try again. I really love the bloom form of them.

christie I have the same problem, especially this year with the rain. I have a lot of leaners too lol. Most of my yard is shade so some things do lean toward the sun, and then with all this rain, lots of things - especially my daylilies earlier in the season - literally were laying flat on the ground blooming!

:)

Dee

I don't cut back to encourage re-bloom, per se, but rather I deadhead to tidy up, especially annuals -- zinnia, geranium, heliotrope, salvia, marigold are the annuals that pop into mind. A lot of perennials, too, if I have the time and feel like putzing around. I did notice this year that balloon flower will reward you with light re-bloom if you deadhead.

What I cut back hard is catmint and perennial geranium -- after the bloom flush in late May-early June they get cut to the ground to encourage fresh foliage. Otherwise, they tend to look messy. They fill in again very fast and look fresh the rest of the season. No rebloom on the perennial geranium, I can't say as though I've noticed with the catmint -- it's tucked away out of view so I haven't paid attention.

I leave the spent blooms on my Joe Pye and "Herbstonne" rudbeckia. The birds relish the seeds, and because the plants are so tall I can enjoy the feeding show at viewing height out the window. I might have to cut back this year, though -- even though they are hoop-staked with very tall hoops, the storms a couple nights ago did a number on them and other things, I'll have to wait to see if they bounce back upright after drying out or if the stems are broken. Same with the PeeGee hydrangeas. Actually, I am going to cut off the blooms on those because the branches will stay bent out of shape from the weight of the huge flower trusses if left too long. The birds don't care about those, though I do. :0)

Yes, important point, Markay. First year black spot issues are not a reason to grab the shovel. Two or even three years of trialing a rose is recommended. Most organizations like ADR trial for three years.

Moses.