Shady Gardener, at Does Everything Grow Better in My Neighbor's Yard?, recently posted photos of her Tiarellas
here. One of them is a plant I also have, 'Iron Butterfly.'
I apologize for the quality of the next photo (from a year ago), but I wanted to show the plant as it appears in winter, and I can't go out and take a shot right now, as there are a couple of feet of snow on top of it.
As is obvious on comparison, her plant looks much different from mine. The leaves of hers are much narrower and have a more distinct marking at blooming time. So, who has the real deal? I am inclined to think that Shady does, as I have an uncanny knack for collecting mis-named plants, such as the Clematis 'Ramona,' which turned out to be Clematis 'Henryi,' Lobelia x gerardii 'Vedrariensis', which turned out to be Lobelia siphilitica, and my mystery Phlox maculata that was supposed to be 'Rosalinde.' What other misnamed plants are lurking in my garden, I wonder? (Is my Cornus kousa really 'Beni Fuji'?) How can I trust that what I think I'm planting is the real thing? What is a gardener to do?
I apologize for the quality of the next photo (from a year ago), but I wanted to show the plant as it appears in winter, and I can't go out and take a shot right now, as there are a couple of feet of snow on top of it.
As is obvious on comparison, her plant looks much different from mine. The leaves of hers are much narrower and have a more distinct marking at blooming time. So, who has the real deal? I am inclined to think that Shady does, as I have an uncanny knack for collecting mis-named plants, such as the Clematis 'Ramona,' which turned out to be Clematis 'Henryi,' Lobelia x gerardii 'Vedrariensis', which turned out to be Lobelia siphilitica, and my mystery Phlox maculata that was supposed to be 'Rosalinde.' What other misnamed plants are lurking in my garden, I wonder? (Is my Cornus kousa really 'Beni Fuji'?) How can I trust that what I think I'm planting is the real thing? What is a gardener to do?
19 comments:
MMD I think it is a problem of seed raised plants. Some plants get miss labeled but with plants like this I think it is because they are raised from seed instead of division. I have just left a similar comment on www.tulipsinthewoods.com There is something to be said for buying plants in full flower/leaf - it might not be the best time to plant but at least you can 'see' what you are getting.
Best wishes Sylvia (England)
MMD,
It is frustrating...having said that let me add that your Tiarella is still lovely. I have the species and I find their flower and leaf coloring to be different plant to plant! Wow...to the many feet of snow on your garden~~It's snowing here! Our first and probably last one!
Blesses is the word verification
Gail
Hi MMD, while different, yours are lovely too. All those heucheras, tiarellas and heucherellas are hard to identify and as has been mentioned they can differ from plant to plant. I grew the tiarella species in my other TN garden in a huge swath, here it has died with every planting so it has been crossed off the list. One zone difference might be the key. I will admire yours, so keep showing them in flower or not, all gorgeous.
Frances
Whatever type tiarella you have, it is simply lovely. I have tried it here but have had no luck. I am thinking I must try it again! What's the secret??
I saw the updated Spring Fling. Mr. Brownthumb posts it on twitter and so I check it there occasionally. It looks like so much fun! You guys are well on your way to planning a great get together. Do stay warm! And safe!
I am wondering if all these misnamed plants of your are from the same nursery? Perhaps you just have a knack for shopping from the wrong place!
It is more upsetting to me to get a misnamed plant when I was specifically searching for and thought I was purchasing a very particular variety. But if I buy a plant because I like the way it looks and only look at the tag later, that doesn't bother me so much when the tag turns out to be wrong.
Between you and Shady, I'm now convinced I need more tiarellas in my garden!
That tiarella is lovely, no matter which one it is! They won't grow here so I'll enjoy yours any time you wish to share.
Heck MrMcD, just be happy it will grow for you. I have planted several different tiarellas in different places and not a one has grown for me. Boooooooo It is so frustrating when plants are mismarked. Especially when you want the plant as is marked.
I second Lisa. I have no luck with tiarellas at all, while my heucheras do famously. I have no idea why this is true.
I am inclined to believe that there are a lot more mislabelled plants out there than we realize. My brother in law is a market gardener, grows for farmer's markets in his area. Last spring we were visiting him during the time when he was hardening off tomato seedlings. He had a whole rack of them out in the spring sunshine when a sudden huge wind appeared out of nowhere and knocked the rack over. Beautiful little tomatoes were scattered everywhere. The problem was, he had flats of tomato plants, each flat was a different variety. He only had one plant stake in each flat, planning to put stakes in each individual plant at a later time.
You guessed it. We spent all afternoon trying to sort the seedlings by variety and get them back into their proper flats. How many did we get wrong? I have no idea.
How often does this sort of disaster happen in a commercial nursery? Perhaps your experience indicates that it happens more often than we might imagine.
It is beautiful, but I understand, especially when I'm using my own garden photos for an article. I want the real deal.~~Dee
Sylvia - that's a good suggestion. I guess I should bring along photos of what the plant is supposed to look like, but that would require planning. I am such an impulse buyer.
Gail - I love Tiarellas, so I guess I should just get another 'Iron Butterfly' and call this one the mystery plant. I already have 2 other kinds of Tiarella, what's one more?
Frances - I'll have to post a photo or two of my new (last year) Tiarella. Its leaves turned solid red in October.
Tina - my secret to growing Tiarellas is dry shade in well-drained soil. I can't tell you if they like it moist, as there is no place in my garden that is moist.
Kathy - you need more Tiarellas, plant more Tiarellas. Most of the misnamed plants were ones that I was specifically seeking out. The Clematis in particular was such a case. It wasn't in bloom when I bought it. I've learned my lesson & now will buy Clematis locally only if there are blooms on it.
Cindy - Tiarellas are just one more reason I put up with Chicago winters.
Lisa - I'm sorry about your Tiarella losses. I've lost only 1 so far (it was 'Heronswood Mist'). I still don't know why that one died & the others have thrived.
HMH - wow, that is illuminating! It's also a really good story.
Dee - yeah I hate that "d'oh!" feeling when you've been talking about a particular cultivar and comparing it to others, then learn that you had no clue what you were talking about. It's even worse when it's for an article on which the public might rely.
MMD, It's a wonder,isn't it? I noticed the suggestion on taking photo of the cultivar with you, but have you noticed that even the photos at the variety of sites are different, too? Oh, well. I'm sure it doesn't matter so much (except when you want to purchase a new variety or two), because they're all special! And we can encourage people to plant them, no matter what! :-) Thanks for the link. (Actually, I think the left hand leaves on your second photo look like those on my plant.) ;-)
I've planted six named varieties of Tiarella over the last ten years and most have survived. But ask me which is which and I will be hard pressed to answer. The descriptions are so similar (maple-shaped leaves), maybe only the flower color is different. I am considering double checking them against catalog photos this spring to see if I can match them up once they are up and in flower. Glad to see I'm not the only one who's confused.
This is an anomoly that truly unites gardeners..... I think we can all attest to bringing something home, hopes high, anticipation peaking, only to discover that it isn't what we expected. Some of my Trillium catesbyi ended up being T.erectum, I am sure that a Heuchera 'Mocha' is in fact H. 'Brownies' - and the list goes on.
I have given up looking at most of the labels - too many are photo-shopped to death, without a hope of the actual plant even coming close to resembling the pictures... for me its an instant visual connection..... if I like the looks of the actual plant, chances are its coming home with me! I am sure your Tiarella's bring you lots of happiness... whatever their species and cultivar...
Where to start? People routinely swipe labels from plants in nurseries, or pick them up, look at them and put them back down in the wrong pot. Plants are affected by soil chemistry, which can affect flower and foliage colour in some cases. And as others have noted, seed-raised plants don't always come as true or accurate as do divisions. Or, in the case of daylilies, sometimes tissue-cultured plants don't have the right colour of blooms. It can be really exasperating to have mislabeled plants, especially if you've paid a premium price for something you really, really wanted.
I say 'refund'! Especially if you are buying from a reputable nursery but you will have to take the wrongly labeled plant back and that is such a time consuming effort. I am amazed at the quantity and variety of heucheras and tiarellas, not to mention heucherellas available at the garden centers these days. So many choices and so little space.
I have just one tiarella that looks much like yours, but it was labelled "Heronwoods Mist." Whatever they're called, they're pretty little additions to the shade garden.
I think we've all experienced this. I have two "Sum and Substance" hostas (remember my big one?), both from reliable growers--I thought--but with very different leaves. I just don't worry about the names so much and just enjoy them!
Shady - some photos are probably more reliable than others. Photos provided by the plant breeder, for example, probably accurately depict what the plant looks like. Maybe next July you should mail me a leaf of your Tiarella & I'll send you one of mine & we can then compare them to the plant.
Ms. Wis. I hope you can figure out what is what. I'm not a big fan of plant tags, or I'd recommend labelling them once you do ID them. Maybe a map of the garden or your own personal plant catalog is the way to go.
Teza - at least you were able to quickly realize that you had the wrong Trillium. I've had this Tiarella for years, so it's too late now to complain to the place I got it.
Jodi - that's it in a nutshell. I did the research & chose the cultivar based on that. It's frustrating.
Layanee - it's usually too late to ask for a refund by the time I discover the mistake. I had a shrub in the ground for over a year when I realized that it wasn't Clethra 'Ruby Spice' by comparing it to a 'Ruby Spice' I had just purchased.
Rose - I'm glad you can enjoy your misnamed plants. Some of mine I can overlook, but others just aren't what I wanted. (The Clematis is a good example.)
It happens to us all MMD, all we can do is grin & bear it. I know I was the recipient of at least 3 mislabeled plants last season. :(
MMD, Great Idea!! Will you have the better memory? ;-)
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