Fallen in love with a plant from a colder zone? Try growing one of these instead.
Why is it that I ’m bind to descend the hardest for a works that ca n’t develop in my zone ? I call this touch “ geographical zone envy . ” When zone envy begin , so get the internal bargaining : “ I ’ve got a spot that ’s 5 degrees cooler than everywhere else with racy , well - drained filth . I ’ll ramp up this industrial plant a removable shade umbrella and check into on it every twenty-four hour period . I ’m special . It will grow for me . ” But when the tally come in that plant really do n’t change , I do n’t desperation . Instead , I allow my desire some blank space to roam , and think looking for a close related species that ’s more tolerant of our clime .
Below I offer representative of three of my previous plant obsessions — all of which thrive in zones with cooler summers or different soil types than my southeast Zone 8 garden — along with the plants that I turned to instead to satisfy the craving .
What sparked my zone envy: Garden delphinium
Garden delphinium ( Delphinum elatumand cvs . , Zones 3–7 ) , or taper larkspur , are in earnest big , gravely romantic , and seriously blue . The tall intercrossed delphinium are the poster children for everything magical that we ca n’t uprise in the South . One solar day someone will breed a giant summer snapdragon ( Angeloniaspp . and cvs . , Zones 9–11 ) , and then I ’ll have fun re - creating an English bungalow garden in the Southeast .
What I grow instead: Dwarf larkspur and rocket larkspur
midget larkspur ( Delphinium tricorn , Zones 4–8 ) and rocket larkspur ( Consolida ajacis , one-year ) are less beefy but equally as magic as garden delphinium . The spurred violet - blue flowers with off-white centers that are characteristic of garden delphinium are present in both , if low . Dwarf larkspur is a spring ephemeral native to the low Midwest . It ’s a partial - nicety fan suited for a particular spot in the garden . Growing 12 to 18 in magniloquent ( most of that tiptop made up of the efflorescence spike ) , dwarf larkspur register up abruptly like a garden sprite , charms the heck out of you , and then disappears by June . About the clip it is beginning to fade , over in the cheery border rocket larkspur is popping into bloom . Capable of making quite a show , this reseeding larkspur blooms on escaped racemes that originate up to 3 groundwork tall , surrounded by airy , ferny foliage . I have intercourse the authoritative blue shades , but there are also pink and white varieties . To add rocket larkspur to your garden , start by choose a cheery , weeded , but unmulched area and unfold cum in August or September , then top with a very lean layer of a fine - textured bark mulch .
What sparked my zone envy: Primroses
Primrose hybrids ( Primulaspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–8 ) are another Hellenic English garden staple . sunny primrose with nifty stem canker of leaves burst into bloom with round flowers in brilliant , readable coloration with contrast eyes . Every springiness the large flower hybrids are sell in southeasterly garden centers despite the fact that they finish blooming in less than a month and do n’t make it through the heat of our summer . And yet they still fly off the shelves . ( Believe me , I get it ! )
What I grow instead: Sibthorp primrose and cowslip
Because so many primroses do n’t grow in our Southern dirt and heat , it take a little poking around to find nurseries pack these two smasher that do . Sibthorp primroses ( Primula vulgarisssp.sibthorpii , Zones 4–8 ) depend a lot like the larger hybrid , just a bit more modest . They grow in the same 5 - inch - high rosettes with Hellenic primrose - shaped blossom in rich shades of flushed , pink , and white — all with some stage of a contrasting yellow eye . Give them a spot in cockcrow sun and good afternoon shade or high shade in productive , well - drained dirt . Do the same for the 8 - inch - tall marsh marigold ( Primula veris , Zones 3–8 ) with its clusters of exonerated , sweet yellow flowers that bloom in natural spring .
What sparked my zone envy: Checkered lilies
I ’ve always wanted to produce chequer lily ( Fritillaria meleagris , Zones 3–7 ) . true statement be tell , I was obsess with the integral genusFritillariaand tried half a dozen species before my hard calculation that they do n’t grow here . There was something about those nod efflorescence with their gripping checkerboard design that I just had to grow to believe . The image of these flowers blooming in hayfield in parts of England did not facilitate me tame my fixation one moment .
What I grow instead: Thunberg fritillary
I eventually had to search away from fritillary . That is , until one March a few years back . While I was walk a friend ’s garden , something overhear my heart and caused my head to lather around . Apparently an compulsion go torpid takes only a twinkle to reignite . There grew a grandiloquent yet delicately beautiful checkered lily ! I barrage my ally with questions until it was clear that the best trend of action mechanism for everyone was to partake a bulb or two . Thunberg fritillary ( Fritillaria thunbergii , Zones 6b–9 ) is now grow happily in partial sunlight and afternoon spook in two fleck in my garden . Its strappy , sage green foliation grows up to 2 human foot tall and bear nod , sick yellow efflorescence with a confidential information of green . They ’ve even got a checkerboard of maroon inside that I happily squat down and look up into to appreciate . And they have singular elegant curling folio tips that act as tendrils . The flora goes dormant by June , but the foliage dries in position , so then I have a vase full of fritillary foliage to look up to year - round .
I ’ve still got geographical zone envy from time to time , but it ’s OK because I know there are pile of plant out there that will call forth my desire AND love me back .
— Paula Gross is the former adjunct director of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Botanical Gardens .
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Rocket larkspur grows well in the Southeast, unlike the more famous garden delphinium.Photo: Paula Gross
This picture of garden delphinium growing on tall, plump stalks was taken in Maine, where it grows much better than in our climate.Photo: Paula Gross
Hybrid primroses are a classic harbinger of spring, although they don’t perennialize well in our region.Photo: Daniela Baloi
Hybrid primroses are a classic harbinger of spring, although they don’t perennialize well in our region.Photo: Daniela Baloi
Checkered lilies come in charming shades of white and maroon with a distinctive checkered pattern.Photo: Richard Hartlage
Checkered lilies come in charming shades of white and maroon with a distinctive checkered pattern.Photo: Richard Hartlage
The small bell-shaped yellow-tan flowers of Thunberg fritillary have the classic fritillary checkered pattern on the inside of their petals.Photo: Paula Gross
