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Dying Dicentra
little Poll
Posts: 49
We have a (new this year) dicentra, which after flowering appears to be dying, is this normal?
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Posts
Hi little Poll, that is perfectly normal, it will be back in the Spring
Can you give us a little more info little Poll? They're spring flowering plants so it's quite normal for them to be fading at this time of year and looking a bit 'dead' !
Mine looks pretty ropey at the moment but other planting disguises it. The weather this summer has also made an impact I think - autumn has arrived even earlier for us up here in Scotland, but hot dry weather will also affect growth. Has it gone short of water at all? They like dampish ground to give their best.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you for all your quick replies. I will mark the place and await the spring
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Leave the flower head on and it may self-seed.
Also worth mentioning that with dicentra you need to be careful not to disturb the root system too much. Their roots tend to be relatively near the surface. They appreciate a good mulch once you've cut them back in autumn.
Thank you once again, great to get such prompt replies and very halpful information.
I dug a dicentra up last summer intending to split it into 2. The root system seemed quite brittle and I ended up with about 5, some of which were just bits of root. Was convinced I'd lost most if not all but this year I've had about 4 (& I'd given 1 away so they seem to be pretty hardy).