Perennials that don’t come back

Big Blue Sky · June 2019

Well this is not just asking for advice but also a bit of a rant really.
Getting a bit fed up with those so called “perennials” that never come back next year, or come back a quarter of the original size just to disappear completely by the end of year two.
I love rudbeckias and echinaceas, and I seem to have perfect conditions for them - sunny, well draining, but watering and feeding as required. Well the money I spent on all those plants (both new exciting varieties and good old classics) is ridiculous, bit not a single plant is to be seen in my garden.
Even Leucanthemum, that apparently grows like a weed everywhere else almost disappeared.
What is it I am doing wrong? Any ideas? Should I take them in for winter? Should I take cuttings and propagate new plants every year? But surely this is not the point of a perennial plant? Or is it like that “built in obsolescense” in appliances - they design it in a way so it dies quickly and you have to buy a new one?
(rant over 😄).

Fire · June 2019

Is it possible that slugs have taken your new shoots?

None of my coreopsis have come back this year, which is a bit odd. I have dug down into the bed and there is no sign of them at all.

Big Blue Sky · June 2019

I don’t really have this many slugs here, I am very vigilant with them because of my delphiniums, so I use both blue bits and that organic wool pellets. And unfortunately I can’t even see remaining plant parts, just dry dead stumps of what used to be a large plant last year.
I bought two coreopsis last weekend @Fire - you guessed it, to replace coreopsis moonbeam that didn’t come back from last year (and which I loved). 😢

Fire · June 2019

My coreopsis Mercury Rising I found underwhelming and don't much miss it. But I'm surprised they disappeared without trace.

Dovefromabove · June 2019

Last summer’s drought was very tough on plants and we’ve had a very dry winter/spring. Did they get enough water?

Fire · June 2019

Mine were fine until the frosts, so would have thought they would make it through.

Dovefromabove · June 2019

Depends on whether or not they’d been able to store up enough energy in the crown last year to produce new top growth this year.
The effects of year’s drought are still being seen 🙄

Loxley · June 2019

There's a good book called 'Dream Plants for the Natural Garden' by Piet Oudolf, that highlights the cast-iron dependable plants, and those that are short lived or disappearers. He works in public planting schemes so dependability is key for him.

Some perennials are just naturally ephemeral. Some are prone to slugs nipping off young shoots, or sensitive to competition from other plants, or succumb to winter wet etc.

Big Blue Sky · June 2019

Maybe that was the heat from last year that weakened them up. They did flower quite decently until autumn, but I’m not sure if they were prepared for the winter enough.
I wonder if I really should grow them in containers. I would be reluctant to, as it creates so much extra work 🙁
The coldest night we had last year was about -3/-4C, so I wouldn’t assume it was too cold for them.

Singing Gardener · June 2019

My rudbeckias and echinaceas do come back every year though the rudbeckias look rather pathetic this year and I do find they're very thirst plants so they probably didn't enjoy last summer.

Dovefromabove · June 2019

Most hardy perennials will survive difficult conditions in the ground rather better than in a pot ... but they do need lots of water in a drought so that they can grow and die back naturally thus replenishing energy stores in the root/crown, instead of being dried off in the heat after flowering, as happened to a lot of plants last year.

Perennials that don’t come back

Posts