Photo of The Week: In Praise of Tall Plants

August 8, 2024
Larry Hurley
Perennial Plants
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Prairie-Compass-with-Prairie-Dock-behind-it-with-Larry-Hurley

We horticulturists are always looking for (or breeding plants for) shorter and more compact plants. There are many reasons for this. If you reside in a place where you have a yard, odds are good that you don’t have a lot of space. You may live in a condo, or you may have a big house that nearly fills your lot. From the grower and retailer’s point of view, small plants are easier to ship (you can fit more on a truck), easier to display (because among other things they don’t blow over as easily), and easier to keep watered in the summer. An example would be Monarda–beebalm. In the wild they might be four feet tall, but the newer varieties top out at a foot, and are powdery mildew resistant, to boot.

But if you’ve got the space, large plants can make a statement, as they usually have large, bold foliage that contrasts well with all your more petite plants. Out here in southern Wisconsin dairy country, which used to be more prairie than dairy, we have a lot of prairie plantings in our local parks. Frequently seen are several species of Silphium. The photo in the grassland is Prairie Dock. The photo with the nearly 6 -foot tall elderly model shows Prairie Compass, with Prairie Dock behind it, in the Hurley garden in Middleton, WI. The taller flowers, from the Prairie Dock, top out at around ten feet. The third photo shows the foliage of Prairie Dock with Purple Coneflower and others at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, WI.

When I was in charge of growing perennials at Behnke’s, I thought the Prairie Dock and Prairie Compass (which has large, incised leaves) might make interesting foliage plants for mixed container gardens, so I ordered some liners from Prairie Nursery, and we potted up 50 of each. This was around 2005. It took us three years to sell them, so I guess that idea wasn’t so great. Or, perhaps in my usual cryptic style, I neglected to actually tell any of the staff that was why I bought them.

The Prairie Dock and Prairie Compass in my garden were planted from small one-quart pots in August of 2022, about 23 months ago. Wow. Those are fast-growing plants. Unlike another Silphium, Cup Plant (which spreads aggressively), these Prairie Dock and Prairie Compass are clump-formers. I have the foliage of mine in chicken wire cages, as there was some rabbit browse in early spring. Next year I will give them their freedom and get the full foliage effect.

foliage-of-Prairie-Dock-with-Purple-Coneflower-and-others-at-Olbrich-Botanical-Gardens-in-Madison-WI. — Echinacea; Silphium; Parthenium, etc; Gravel Garden at the entrance to Olbrich Gardens; Madison, WI By L. Hurley

grassland-is-Prairie-Dock — Prairie Dock; Silphium terebinthinaceum; Pheasant Branch Conservancy, Middleton by L. Hurley

Larry Hurley

Larry Hurley worked at Behnke Nurseries from 1984 until the business was composted in 2019, primarily with the perennial department in growing, buying and sales.

Before landing at Behnke’s, he worked as a technician in a tissue culture lab, a houseplant “expert” at a florist shop, and inventory controller at a wholesale nursery in Dallas. With this and that, ten years passed.

When his wife Carolyn accepted a position at Georgetown University, Larry was hired at Behnke’s for the perennial growing department and garden center at Behnke’s Largo location.

In 2021, Larry and Carolyn moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to family and further from traffic. After 37 years in a shaded yard in Maryland, he is happy to have a sunny lot where he can grow all sorts of new perennials, if only he can keep the rabbits at bay. He also enjoys cooking, traveling, and the snowblower.