|
| I have about 20 or so established Astilbe plants, they all seemed to bloom fine. I have now found about half of them turning brown... the others appear fine.
Are they dead now? will they come back? What caused this? We have had drought like conditions... Rob Pittsburgh |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by mistascott 7A (My Page) on Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 2:05
| The drought-like conditions. They (arendsii astilbe anyway) love and need water. They might dieback significantly without water, but they *should* come back in the spring. |
|
| After the season we've had so far, I'm contmeplating removing my astilbes. It's been too dry and even though I've been watering every other day, it doesn't seem to be enough for them. Never really had a problem with them in previous years, and they are in a partly shaded, heavily mulched bed, but obviously those are still not the conditions needed to keep these without more maintenance. So they may go, sadly. What's keeping me from taking them out now is that I have a friend who has a garden that's almost a swamp most of the year, and even her astilbes there aren't looking so good, so maybe it's just a particularly dry year and they'll do better nexgt year. The thing is, the way the weather has been, who's to say that next year will be "normal"? But, if you want to keep yours, yes, keep them watered and they *should* come back next year, I believe. Dee |
|
| I agree. They should come back - no guarantees - but they just might. If you look at that photo closely, you can see there are still green stems. The leaves are toast, but that bit of green might mean they are not totally dead. I've had this happen in the past. It must have something to do with actual rain. Mine are doing very well this year although the temps have been horrible like last year, we've had more rain this year. Kevin |
|
- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 8:44
| whats weird.. is the hosta behind.. is showing no drought problems... take a teaspoon.. and dig small holes near each.. is the soil consistently moist ... then water.. and do the same.. compare info .. total WAG ... the potting media of the astilbe is divergent from the native soil.. and interfering with water movement thru the soil/media its a long shot.. but two plants side by side.. shouldnt be that divergent as to drought... but it is the garden ... lol apparently the drought handling sedum doesnt care .. ken |
|
- Posted by mad_gallica Z5 Eastern NY (My Page) on Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 10:39
| Hosta are drought tolerant. Astilbes aren't. That's all that is going on here. |
|
- Posted by buyorsell888 Zone 8 Portland OR (My Page) on Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 10:58
| Agreed. The problem is the drought. |
|
- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 11:43
| i have 1600 DIFFERENT HOSTA... they are NOT drought tolerant they may be deeper rooted.. and less prone.. but that is an absolute statement ...and is wrong ... ken |
|
| I have hostas next to my astilbes, and the hostas are not nearly as wilted, droopy or damaged from this dry spell as the astilbes are. Dee |
|
- Posted by mad_gallica Z5 Eastern NY (My Page) on Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 14:36
| I have hosta under a red maple that have never been watered. Not even when I first planted them. All drought is not created equal. And hostas can definitely handle our droughts. |
|
- Posted by mistascott 7A (My Page) on Sat, Jul 14, 12 at 16:09
| In my experience, hosta like moisture but can handle lack of moisture much better (especially in summer heat) than astilbe. |
|
| Astilbe CAN'T handle lack of moisture. That's why I tossed the majority of them out, only a very few left on the nothern side of my house and protected from the winds. As soon as I find replacements for them, they are ALL GONE. (water is expensive here). One day of hot wind from the south and their leaves are brown and staying this way for the rest of the season. |
|
| Wow and I thought mine were suffering. Then again mine are under a pin oak tree and get water every 3 days. I did lose one in the first heatwave and now that we are on the second round.... Anyway, I would check the soil like Ken suggested. Are they getting morning or afternoon sun? |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Perennials Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.