I wonder why some plants make it, and others don't. For instance, last spring I planted Johnny-Jump-Ups; it flowered, faded, went what I thought was dormant, and there is absolutely no sign of it this spring.
Several years ago I planted Echinops (blue thistle flowers, so pretty) and while it's weathered harsher winters with evergreen foliage, this year the root came right out of the ground as I was scrounging around looking for new growth.
A couple of years ago I planted a fairly common purple clematis. It had a problem with bunnies eating the old stems off in the spring, but it sprouted new stems and bloomed beautifully for two years. Then last year, right after blooming, the whole plant turned brown and died.
I've planted multiple lupines (including two new ones last spring with no sign of them yet) and the only ones that have ever returned for a second year are the white ones --and I never even bought white ones!
Of course, there are some flowers in my garden that keep on giving --iris, daylilies, yellow foxglove, spiderwort and asian lilies, for instance. I have more of them than I know what to do with, and splits often end up in the compost.
Still, I'd just like to know why some things don't make it? Is it me? Is it them? Don't they like my garden? Really --I'm willing to please, I just need them to use their outside voices to let me know what they need!
Isn't it maddening?? I have plants that I wish I could grow. columbine, variegated iris, and larkspur, among them, that will not grow. I grew larkspur without any effort in Memphis, friends have columbine volunteer every year. Me? Zippo. Dead.
ReplyDeleteThe johnny jump ups should reseed, the clematis probably got botrytis, and white lupine is better than none, I would think. It probably reseeding and the hybrids never come true from seed...