Perennials and crown vetch

By George McVey, Ph.D.
Contributing Writer
Union County Post

Q. I’m looking for a reliable late season flowering perennial that can tolerate some shade. Can you suggest one?
A. Look into the hybrid Japanese anemones, Anemone x hybrida, which bloom into early fall in most seasons, adding wonderful color to the late season garden. The plants are a round mound of dark green foliage, two to three feet in height, with branched wands of graceful flowers that rise above the foliage.
Plants grow best with morning sun and some afternoon shade, and prefer fertile, moist soil. Though they reportedly perform poorly in summer drought, they seemed to do fine in the summer heat and drought of 2002 and bloomed prolifically in late summer. There are numerous cultivars varying in plant size, flower color, and single or double flowers. Flower colors include white, salmon-pink, dark pink, rose-pink, and silvery pink.
Q. Is crown vetch long-lived, is it drought-tolerant, and how does the foliage look after the plant blooms? Is it too invasive for the home landscape?
A. Crown vetch is a great ground cover for large spaces – it's not for the small landscape. A single plant can cover at least six square feet, and plants may spread by self-sowing. Crown vetch has a lot going for it, including attractive pink and white blooms from May to September, nice foliage all season, good growth in either full sun or partial shade, and no serious pest problems. Bees are attracted to the plant when it's in bloom. It is a perennial plant, so returns year after year. It's a great ground cover along highways because it is also salt tolerant. Some gardeners avoid crown vetch because of its invasive nature and its tendency to naturalize, overrunning native plants. You'll have to decide if this is the best plant for that space, or if another ground cover might work better.
The Master Gardener offers horticulture advice and tips, focusing on current issues, by volunteers who are with The Ohio State University Extension, Union County Master Gardener Program. For answers to gardening questions, call 937.644.8117 or e-mail mcvey.22@cfaes.
osu.edu. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Source: The Ohio State University Plants Facts Web site.