I grow both echinacea and rudbeckia and neither are short-lived for me, so no obvious reason to suppose echibeckia would be, but time will tell. Echinacea are notorious for dying off in poorly drained, cold, wet soil. Mine survive regular freezes to -8 and a fair amount of rain so drainage is definitely the key, I reckon. I have clay soil but dug in a tonne of grit to the whole raised bed, but they don’t get any manure or fertiliser.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Yes - I'd avoid the manure for the Heleniums etc, if possible, especially if the plants are doing fine. It'll only lead to lots of soft growth which is more vulnerable to changing conditions. Home made compost would be fine. Raised beds always need adding to over time, and you could use some grit if it isn't too big an area, but it's expensive to do it
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@Nollie Interestingly, I've just been outside and there's no sign of the Echibeckia but I have new growth on the Rudbeckias in pots. They're Rudbekia Hirta "Cherokee Sunset" which are supposed to be half hardy annuals. End of November last year they still had some new growth so I put them in my small pop up greenhouse but when it died off, it wasn't a surprise. I bought a couple of new shrubs about a month ago and needed the space so took the Rudbeckias out and just left them on the patio. I have no idea how they're growing again. They weren't planted in anything fancy, just Wickes multi-purpose compost. The ones I put in the raised bed though haven't got anything new on them but I shall keep an eye out for it.
@Fairygirl No room to make home made compost (garden is about 5m x 8m) and we don't generate enough compostable waste anyway, especially since I removed the lawn. I've always used Wickes multi-purpose which has served me well and you know what they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! My raised beds are a tad large 😁 https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/comment/2450740#Comment_2450740 I'm going to try some annuals this year this year to fill some gaps while the shrubs grow 🙂
Ah - I remember your lovely garden now @februarysgirl. It's just one of those things with raised beds. They always need topping up. Your plot is maybe slightly smaller than mine, but I have a little extra corner which is where I have the shed, and the compost bins are in behind it. I've thought of putting mine at the front, and just screening them off, and I may consider doing that. It does take a bit of time to get enough compost being produced too, but the annuals are a good idea, and will give you some extra material to compost as well, if you can even fit in a small bin somewhere - perhaps screened off with a climber or similar. Last year, I removed the back lawn I'd put in, so one bin is full of turf. It'll be handy when it breaks down! I use turf for the bottom of the pots I have my sweet peas in.
Those Cherokee Sunset Rudbeckias aren't hardy at all here. They'd need to be in the house, or a heated greenhouse for them to overwinter. I had some a couple of years ago, and forgot to take cuttings so that was that. In mild areas, some half hardy plants, even pelargoniums, are surviving winters, but it pays to be cautious if you aren't in that kind of location.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Unfortunately, anywhere a compost bin could be tucked away out of view, would block hedgehog access in and out of the garden. Well, not unfortunately at all, I feel lucky to have them use my garden 😁
I have no idea what's going on with the Rudbeckias. I was intending to have a go at sowing some seeds for more this year. I'm still going to, but I'm intrigued to see how this plays out. I'll be pleasantly surprised if the new growth comes to anything.
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Home made compost would be fine. Raised beds always need adding to over time, and you could use some grit if it isn't too big an area, but it's expensive to do it
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@Fairygirl No room to make home made compost (garden is about 5m x 8m) and we don't generate enough compostable waste anyway, especially since I removed the lawn. I've always used Wickes multi-purpose which has served me well and you know what they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! My raised beds are a tad large 😁 https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/comment/2450740#Comment_2450740 I'm going to try some annuals this year this year to fill some gaps while the shrubs grow 🙂
Your plot is maybe slightly smaller than mine, but I have a little extra corner which is where I have the shed, and the compost bins are in behind it. I've thought of putting mine at the front, and just screening them off, and I may consider doing that.
It does take a bit of time to get enough compost being produced too, but the annuals are a good idea, and will give you some extra material to compost as well, if you can even fit in a small bin somewhere - perhaps screened off with a climber or similar. Last year, I removed the back lawn I'd put in, so one bin is full of turf. It'll be handy when it breaks down! I use turf for the bottom of the pots I have my sweet peas in.
Those Cherokee Sunset Rudbeckias aren't hardy at all here. They'd need to be in the house, or a heated greenhouse for them to overwinter. I had some a couple of years ago, and forgot to take cuttings so that was that. In mild areas, some half hardy plants, even pelargoniums, are surviving winters, but it pays to be cautious if you aren't in that kind of location.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have no idea what's going on with the Rudbeckias. I was intending to have a go at sowing some seeds for more this year. I'm still going to, but I'm intrigued to see how this plays out. I'll be pleasantly surprised if the new growth comes to anything.