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Your most surprising loss of the winter
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Posted by
aachenelf z5 Mpls, MN (
My Page) on
Wed, May 15, 13 at 10:30
| I don't know if I should blame my plant losses on the winter or the drought going into the winter. I have a feeling the dry fall and the fact I didn't water enough was most likely the reason I lost a lot of plants. Every single Echinacea is gone which doesn't bug me as much as I thought it would, but what does bug me is my huge Dicentra spectabilis (Bleeding Heart) which I've had forever. I thought it should be showing by now, so I started to gently dig and found the huge mass of very dead roots. I really loved that plant. Bummer. My white Dicentra did make it, but it's only a fraction of its original size. I know there will be a lot of emerging seedlings, so eventually I'll have it again, but for this season it's gone. Kevin |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| My dicentra is also missing--the eximia variety--and my hydrangea aborescens as well. It always happens to those of which I have only one; however, this morning I found foxgloves hiding in the salvia mystic spires and many buds on a rosebush that I had given up on. Win some--lose some. Really gardening is so much fun--I always love the surprise factor. |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| And I was surprised to lose 2 of 3 of "Pretty Lady" Anemones and yet 2 first year, someitmes finicky Lavenders made it through just fine. |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| I too lost all of my dicentra, plants that were in place for years. Many of my hostas that were in big pots for years just rotted away. Also lost a number of daylilies. My echniaceas are coming back but very, very slowly; most are only 1/2' tall. I don't know what happened. It wasn't the winter. We've had much harsher weather in earlier years. I can only attribute it to a combination: brutually hot, droughty summer, warm December and a fluctuating cold/warm February & March topped off by torrential rains in April (5" in 24 hours). I am planning to hold a funeral service over my compost pile! |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| Yes, lose some, but when it happens to a plant which was supposed to be TOTALLY HARDY, then it makes you wonder. Azalea Hamlet(an old bush), some daylilies, which were supposed to be hardy to zone 4 (I'm in 7), Echinops, Leucanthemum Manhattan(has been here forever), young peonies. On the other hand, my Agastaches survived 4 years in a row now. And they are usually described as very unreliable here (practically annuals). Also surviving: Echinacea Hot Papaya survived 2 winters without shrinkage, also Marmalade and Irresistible. This (together with Razzamatazz and Alaska) makes them the most reliable Echinaceas here overall. |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| 2 geums are bad enough but would you believe Hosta Krossa Regal - I always regarded this as cast iron.....but not, apparently in my garden. |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| Almost all of my potted hostas rotted. Very disappointed. Seems like I'm not the only one who lost potted hostas that had otherwise lived through several winters without a hitch. Who knows what happened, but I'm blaming it on the several inches of rain we got in April. I guess I need to store them in the garage and keep them dry until they start to show signs of coming out of dormancy. Karen |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| the money i lost on the lotto .... wait!! .. that wasnt surprising.. lol ken |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| Voles ate the roots of Eryngium 'Big Blue'. Boy, am I mad!! Took three years to mature and it was gorgeous. |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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- Posted by mxk3 z5b/6 MI (My Page) on
Thu, May 16, 13 at 9:35
| I lost a scabiosa, pretty surprising to me. I think critters ate the roots over winter. I wouldn't be too quick to blame all losses on winter weather, though. Could be voles eating roots for some of your losses. Also, if the plants rotted in pots, that would suggests poor drainage to me, not winter weather. Plus, stuff dies - sometimes for no apparent reason. Just like people - when it's time to go it's time to go. (shrug) |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| I can't figure out what happened to my Pink Double Delight Echinacea. I grew it in a large pot all summer and into early fall. It grew lush and bloomed several flowers. It was moved into the veggie garden for the winter, to be moved into it's permanent spot in the spring. The tag is there, but there is absolutely NO sign that it was even there. Nothing at all - no dead stalks, dead leaves, or dead roots. The dianthus and carnations that were in the veggie garden for the winter are fine and even in bud right now. I just can't figure this one out. Linda |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| I lost all my Echinaceas, too. So disappointed. |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| I lost all my Echinaceas, too. So disappointed. |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| I lost a group of old-fashioned variegated hostas and a Knockout rose. My dicentra came up, but it's only a fraction of its usual size and didn't bloom. In my Michigan location, I'm chalking it up to last summer's combination of extreme heat and drought. What surprised me is that none of these plants appeared to be stressed last summer. I was watching everything carefully and giving extra water to plants that showed any signs of stress. Interestingly, all my natives came back this spring. They are well equipped to deal with Michigan's challenging climate extremes. |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| I lost a group of old-fashioned variegated hostas and a Knockout rose. My dicentra came up, but it's only a fraction of its usual size and didn't bloom. In my Michigan location, I'm chalking it up to last summer's combination of extreme heat and drought. What surprised me is that none of these plants appeared to be stressed last summer. I was watching everything carefully and giving extra water to plants that showed any signs of stress. Interestingly, all my natives came back this spring. They are well equipped to deal with Michigan's challenging climate extremes. |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| It's not a dead loss, but I had major dieback of a supposedly hardy rose I planted last year ("Belinda's Dream"). Other roses came through the mild winter well, so go figure. On the other hand, three tiny "Cheyenne Spirit" Echinaceas survived the winter, and are already surpassing the 25 or so seedlings that I planted out this spring. If I don't get all possible color combinations from this seed batch (there are 20 more still in pots), I'll be annoyed. |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| Well, one of my Echinaceas did survive - Milkshake - so I guess I should be grateful. All in all though, I'm done with these plants. No more. The other loss I really do feel bad about is my Veronica Georgia Blue. I posted a pic of this one earlier and thought it might survive, but it is very, very dead. I might replace that one because I really liked it. Kevin |
RE: Your most surprising loss of the winter
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| In the island bed out front, extensive damage to the large area of Geranium Biocovo was caused by, I suspect, voles or tunneling moles. There is a twisting and turning dead trail throughout the planting. It seemed to be filling in somewhat as the growing season progressed. Then about 2 weeks ago we had a hard freeze which caused dieback of the new tender growth and the death of most of the forming bloom. Biokovo is an evergreen perennial, but that tender growth couldn't take the 27 degrees that Mom Nature dumped on it. There will be very little if any flowers this year. I just hope that It can recover from the damage by those &*%$#@^*&^% critters. And how am I going get rid of them?! |
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