Thursday, August 12, 2010

One More Taaall Plant

On last week's extensive tall perennial plant list I forgot to add the big daddy of them all: Vernonia altissima 'Jonesboro Giant,' a lovely 10-12 foot ironweed. (And here's my tall plant list.)

I bought mine from Plant Delights last fall, after being on a wait list. It was found in Arkansas, and as per the description: "The giant clumps sway a bit in the breeze, but so does the Sears Tower. Warning lights may be required in some jurisdictions...please check local flight path maps."

Below is mine, aleady at 10' (the fence is 6' for comparison). Unfortunately, an early wind storm pushed it toward the clump river birch, so they are fighting for sunlight, but the stalk is quite sturdy and thick now in late summer.



















If you want this herbaceous perennial beauty, go here. Why wouldn't you?

4 comments:

thyme2garden said...

That's a *tall* plant! (I say that in the voice of the Staples commercial, "That's a Low Price!") You have a very interesting garden over there with lots of great native plants. I can see why it'll be part of the Audubon Society's Backyard Habitat Garden Tour. I'm sure it's something much more enjoyed and appreciated in person rather than just through pictures, but hey, I'll take what I can get.

Benjamin Vogt said...

It's a biggen! I'm sure you saw my Juen video of my garden? Slightly better than pics.... I have a July vid but I'm lazy getting it up.... http://deepmiddle.blogspot.com/2010/06/video-of-my-garden.html

thyme2garden said...

I hadn't seen it as of my last comment, and now I have! Very nice. It was really cool to hear the birds and the water, but somehow I kept anticipating that you would chime in and start describing/naming some of the plants. Thanks for sharing the video of your garden!

Linda said...

You've made me think that I've never read a tongue in cheek plant description in the UK. Perhaps it's the influence of the very grand Royal Horticultural Society.