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Herbaceous perennials not appeared
Nelly the Belly
Posts: 24
I bought quite a few new perennials last year; scabiosa, rudbeckia, achillea, echinacea and agastache and none of them have made any appearence yet. could this be normal? I find it hard to believe that none of them have made it through the winter? Thanks for any opinions ????
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whereabouts are you, Nelly? My achilleas are above ground now, rudbeckias and echincea are visible (only just). I'm in the south of England though. If you're in the Orkneys it may be too soon......
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I'm in Manchester so maybe theres still hope. Fingers crossed. Thanks ?
Check for slugs, they may be eating the shoots as soon as they break cover
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Could be. I have a continuous battle with the little blighters.
SW Scotland - rudbeckia and scabious are through.
I consistently lose newly planted herbaceous perennials in my garden. I plant them one year - they do great, leave them for the winter and by spring, dead and/or rotting in the ground. Some however do make it every year and when they do, it usually means they will be in for the long term. Monarda's are one's that consistently fail to come back. I've tried them in several different areas of the garden but although they do well in the season they are planted, they never come back. Given up on the them now. The soil in my garden is fairly light loam but about 18 inches down, there is a hard compacted layer, so in winter, the ground can be quite wet as there is nowhere for the water to run to. I also suffer with moss not only growing in the lawn but also on the borders. When I moved into my house, I had the garden re-landscaped. There was a small tree located at the bottom of the garden that looked like it was really struggling, so decided to take it out - it was only around 15 foot tall. I literally only had to pull the tree out of the ground with my bare (bear??) hands as there was no root ball as it had obviously rotted away. Amazed it survived at all and that it was still standing - just!
Tim, it might be worth your while to build raised beds to give your plants a better chance.
The compacted layer/possible concrete lower beneath is the case of the rotting and poor drainage that will be making your perennials disappear.
I also think don't think my border is particularly wet. It's just so annoying when they don't call me back. My mum says her garden centre give a two year guarantee on perennials but ours doesn't. I have bitten the bullet and bought some more. If the existing ones decide to come through then happy days ?