Sedum, also known as stonecrop, is a popular, well-known perennial garden plant. The succulent leaves, sturdy stems and massive flower heads have earned the plant a spot on many landscapers’ “must have” lists. Besides their physical attributes, sedums are drought tolerant and can withstand many adverse growing conditions, which also makes them ideal landscape perennials. Sedum ‘Black Jack’ is sure to match the tough and easy-to-grow reputation of most sedum cultivars and offers characteristics unparalleled by other sedums.

Characteristics of Sedum : Black Jack

- The Sedum ‘Black Jack’, ‘Sedum ‘Black Jack’ PPAF, is a recent discovery at Walters Garden in Michigan.
- The stems and foliage are darker than most sedum in its family. It has 2′ tall clumps of purple stems with black to purple foliage.
- With a plant height and width of 24″, its 8″ pink flower heads bloom in September, making a wonderful contrast with its foliage.
- It makes a wonderful border plant.
- Many are attractive even in winter when their foliage dies and is left standing.
- They’re favorites of butterflies and useful bees.
- The tall types are outstanding for cutting and drying.
- The characteristic dark purple foliage will take on a lighter coloration when plants are produced at lower light levels.
- During midsummer, large, broccoli-like flower heads form, containing numerous flower buds.
- By late summer, the flower buds swell and begin to show a pink coloration. As the buds open, the color intensifies, revealing an impressive color display of bright pink, 8-inch flower clusters.

Planting Conditions for Sedum : Black jack

- Plant in full sun to part sun with other Sedum or Salvia.
- Prune in spring when new growth appears; divide plants every three or four years.
- Sweet or Sour Soil ?:
Acidic Soil (pH < 7.0)
Neutral Soil (pH = 7.0)
Alkaline Soil (pH > 7.0)
- This good-natured, easy-to-grow plant is very drought-tolerant and deer-resistant.
- For the best performance, plant ‘Black Jack’ in a well-drained media, preferably a nursery-type (bark-based) mix rather than traditional greenhouse (peat-vermiculite) media.
- Black Jack is a light to moderate feeder.
- Black Jack requires a below-average amount of irrigation.

- Sunset Hyssop is an open herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth.
- The leaves are fine-textured with a gray-green color. In the summertime, sunset hyssop is covered in trumpet shaped flowers, each with shades of orange, pink and purple.
- Sunset hyssop is a surefire way to attract hummingbirds to your garden. The vibrant pink, purple and orange blossoms definitely catch your eye, adding pizazz to any yard. It is able to grow in many zones and soil conditions.
- It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.
- This perennial will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season.

Growing Tips For Sunset Hyssop

- Plant in a sunny location. It can tolerate part shade if needed.
- In the first season, they should be watered regularly to establish the root system. The soil should be well drained as sunset hyssop does not tolerate soil that is constantly wet. After it is established, it is very drought tolerant.
- During spring, you can divide established plants.
- Sow seeds directly in the garden once temperatures are above 55 degrees. Space transplants 12-18″ apart.

Maintenance/Pruning For Sunset Hyssop

- Cut sunset hyssop almost to the ground at the beginning of spring. This will promote stronger and more vigorous growth. Deadhead spent flowers to extend blooming season.
- In colder regions, mulch with pea gravel during the winter. Do not use wood mulches; these tend to keep the soil below very moist, which this plant cannot tolerate.

Soil Conditions needed for Sunset Hyssop

Sunset hyssop prefers a hot, sunny spot in well-drained, mineral-rich, humus-poor soil. Cut the fine-textured, somewhat brittle stems down close to the ground at the beginning of the growing season, even if much of the wood remains live, as it does in warmer zones. This radical pruning promotes sturdier, more vigorous growth.
Sunset hyssop is short-lived in damp, cool climates and resents moist winter soil. Otherwise it appears to adapt to most garden situations as long as it has full sun. Its warm colors and full, bushy texture combine well with late-season grasses such as Mexican feather grass and the taller big sacaton, two other lovely Southwest natives. Late- blooming, similarly drought- tolerant plants such as blue mist spirea, Russian sage, and Maximilian sunflower also make good companions. This recently discovered treasure offers lively color and delicious fragrance, while bringing wildlife into our late-season gardens.

There are some problems that are associated with Sunset Hyssop like : Mildew, rust, and downy mildew.

The dianthus family was known as early as 300BC; Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia. Common names include carnation (D. caryophyllus), pink (D. plumarius) and sweet william (D. barbatus).

Origin of name: from the Greek ‘dios’ which means divine and ‘anthos’ meaning a flower.

The species are mostly perennial herbs, a few are annual or biennial, and some are low subshrubs with woody basal stems. Most Dianthus produce richly fragrant flowers in the spring or summer, sometimes extending right up until the first frost, and most varieties will grow 18″ to 24″. The flowers have five petals, typically with a frilled or pinked margin, and are (in almost all species) pale to dark pink.

Growing Conditions: Can be grown from seed or from cuttings. If using seed, you can either use them directly, or grow them indoors and transplant later. Given that they prefer warm weather, if planting outdoors, start in spring once the weather turns a bit warm. Dianthus seeds can be started indoors around 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost is expected in case you want same year blooming. Once the seeds are sown, they should be covered lightly with soil, and planted around 10- 11 inches apart. But, you can even plant them with a bit of crowding since they look good in clumps. Do not mulch them.
Should be planted such that they receive 4-5 hours of sun a day. There should not be water-logging, so avoid too much water; so the soil should be fast-draining, fertile, and mildly alkaline (pH of approx between 6.7 – 6.8). Water them during dry periods, once or twice per week. Fertilizer should be added monthly. Once flowers have bloomed and then dried, the spent flowers should be removed, and the plant pruned to stem level.

Carnations (one of the varieties): The plants have grayish-green foliage and fragrant, semi-double rosy, purple or white flowers. There are many hybrid varieties in a variety of colours and sizes with no fragrance. They are great plants to grow in gardens and can be used as cut-flowers.
Cuttings can be taken off any carnation, but the best shoot come from cuttings off a year-old plant after it has bloomed (what helps is that this is the part of the plant where there is enough length of the stalk to form a cutting).

Question: When is the best time to divide and transplant peonies?

Answer: Peony plants can be divided to start new beds in late summer or fall However, you’ll want to be as gentle as possible with the peony plants; they are sensitive and may take a couple of years to bloom after dividing. Unlike many perennials, peonies can go for many years without needing dividing.

To divide peonies, separate a portion of the peony clump by inserting a spade shovel and making a vertical cut into the root ball. Dig up this portion, and replan tin a carefully prepared bed. (Fill in the hole left next to the parent plant with rich soil.) Or you can dig up the entire peony plant and prune off a section of the root ball. Then replant both sections in prepared beds, taking care to plant the crowns no deeper than one and a half to two inches below the soil surface.