Serviceable Milkvetch

[Spiegel]

Astragalus angustifolius is the one I've never been able to grow even short term.  Everyone else seems to have good luck with it. My all-time favorite is Astragalus lutosus but it got carried away by our truly awful winter this year with 60 in January for days and then crashing down with a wet period.

[McDonough]

Astragalus angustifolius is the one I've never been able to grow even short term.  Everyone else seems to have good luck with it. My all-time favorite is Astragalus lutosus but it got carried away by our truly awful winter this year with 60 in January for days and then crashing down with a wet period.

Anne, is the photo showing A. lutosus?  If so, the foliage is stunning... certainly worth trying again and hoping for more amenable (and normal) winter conditions.

[Lori S.]

A. lutosus is spectacular - what an amazing foliage effect!

[Kelaidis]

A. lutosus just shot to the top of my wish list...

You have GOT to be able to grow A. angustifolius, Ann. It grows everywhere for me, and is in full bloom as we speak. It is tough as nails. The one Astragalus that comes easily from cuttings...and lives forever. Mine were half smothered by Verbascum last year and again this year: I finally banished the mulleins from anywhere near them. They have bounced back beautifully despite being choked out and crowded  (something other astragalus would not tolerate)...

[Spiegel]

Mark, my photo is of Astragalus lutosus.The foliage is spectacular, I think. Each leaf appears to be outlined in silver - what's really happening is that the edges of each leaf curl up slightly so what you are seeing is the intensely silver hairs on the bottom.
It apparently grows in very inhospitable places but can be grown in the garden, needing full sun and perfect drainage.  This horrible winter we had just carried off the last several plants.  It never made seed pods for me although it flowered so well.  It is simply a beautiful plant. Alan Bradshaw of Alplains carries seed of this. He said that in nature it rambles a bit which is just what my older plants were doing.  When young it's quite tight.  Another beauty is Astragalus loanus but very difficult for me to grow and hard to find seed.

[Spiegel]

A. lutosus just shot to the top of my wish list...

You have GOT to be able to grow A. angustifolius, Ann. It grows everywhere for me, and is in full bloom as we speak. It is tough as nails. The one Astragalus that comes easily from cuttings...and lives forever. Mine were half smothered by Verbascum last year and again this year: I finally banished the mulleins from anywhere near them. They have bounced back beautifully despite being choked out and crowded  (something other astragalus would not tolerate)...

You've convinced me to try again. I seem to be surrounded by people in the northeast who have no difficulty with this one

[Spiegel]

Here are two pictures of astragalus pods forming. The first is Astragalus zionis, not a great picture, sorry, but the pod is wonderful.  The 2nd picture is of Astragalus monspessulans pods.

[Bundraba!]

I've gone and done it. taken to hacking away at an ancient Astragalus angustifolius in my front garden. This one had grown to over a meter across and had ceased to flower well. Winter left all but the tips toasted. It did fully recover last season from this and I suspect it would again this, but there does come a point. I call the front garden Cactus Park; a tree sized Yucca glauca is hogging alot of the scene there and a massive toasted pea doesn't quite fit the picture. Oh; there are pieces of pea remaining to tease me and the plant has been propagated: it, is, after all, a desirable plant which thought has actually been an impediment to my removing it in this garden before! I'm actually considering something more in theme to replace it: Opuntia macrorhiza, an old faithful I collected in Wyoming years ago. This makes large doilies of pads standing as high as 25 centimeters and always blooms in soft yellow. It has nice fruit too in fall, is architecturally striking and doesn't really look dead in spring. Ten years later: I'm still working towards Cactus Park -a theme that is completely doable here in the northeastern US. The pea will give its graces elsewhere in the garden.