LOL Paul, we got it too! ^_^
But I'm remembering now I had an agastache, a beautiful one, I don't know where it came from! Maybe I ordered it and forgot (that happens) or maybe I wintersowed it and forgot (that happens too) but it bloomed and bloomed in say July-August, so around September, I made my younger daughter plant it, in spite of herself. How soon should that reappear, up here?
What didn't come back this year and should have?
Dearest carrielamont.....I only know one thing about the great state of Massachusetts and it ain't got nothing to do with agastache.....and that's this......Everyone in the entire state hates the New York Yankees........:)
but that aside even down here in hot and humid land my 'Blue Fortune' agastache is a tad late sometimes in getting started or appearing for that matter....one other thing as an aside..agastache? drainage, drainage and of course, drainage......nuff said.......:)
Paul from Alabama
Hmmm, drainage. This I did not know when I forced DD #2 (at shovel-point) to plant this beautiful creature. That might have been the problem.
I mix pea gravel into my planting holes for anything that needs better drainage in our clay soil. It keeps my lavender coming back. It is not the cold that kills them here but the wet clay winter soil.
I'm back to report that 4 of 15 liatris ligulistylis seedlings, 1 of the two types of amsonia, all my hosta, and 1 ipomopsis have decided to poke through the ground :) One Caryopteris divaricata has a couple shoots starting too! At least that cuts down the list some :) Oh, and I only have one ballon flower and forgot about it until I just noticed it poking through yesterday.
I thought the apricot sprite was a cultivar of a. rupestris, until I checked that link. Now I see it isn't but it looks so similar to me, any one that's having a hard time with it being hardy - I recommend the rupestris http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2064/ I had a ton of them and they are all growing back and were one of the first things to start up earlier in spring. They flower a little the first year from seed and they smell nice too, like rootbeer :)
Well there is some good news! Yay!
Suzy
Meredith
>>I recommend the rupestris [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] I had a ton of them and they are all growing back and were one of the first things to start up earlier in spring.
yanno - when i first saw this plant, it was high on my Must Have list. I did manage to get a few seeds [the WS ones are not germinating] but i did start a few in the house, where i have 2 lil ones growing.
I also purchased one from Gurneys, potted it up and left it in the care of my 20yr old, when i left town for 5 days..... it is now dead.
If I can't get these other 2 going... I may hit you up for some seeds. I'm still holding out a lil hope that the WS ones germinate.
I need to get outside this morning... lots of dandylions to pull and just survey the yard. but it's cold out [52º] though the sun is trying to peel out .... after lots of rain yesterday.
Of all things, my Dianthus are looking terrible. Other people's are blooming already. They looked green well into winter. Late winter they turned brown, and look like goners to me now. Isn't that kind of weird? Also had one Echinacea that didn't come back. Had two Sunrise, one came back and one didn't.
On the other hand, Leonotis laurus (or something like that) sprouted, and it's not supposed to be hardy anywhere close to here.
My Sunrise died over the winter before. All of my others came back.
I really wanted Sunrise, but I got the names mixed up and got another Sundown instead. :))
That's interesting about that Lionitis stuff. I always thought it looked interesting.
Dianthus are touchy for me, too. My new theory is they are effectively a biennial or only live for two years. Just a theory, and only certain species; I'm still fine tuning it. LOL!
I heard that theory from someone else, too, Suzy, so it may be truer than you think! Shortlived perennial, was what I heard, although I suppose it helps if you plant it.
On the Leonotis, are you sure it's the same plant coming back and not seedlings?
My forget-me-not did remember to come back after all, just not where it used to be. Self seeded, not came back, I guess.
Tcs, I will be sure to save you some seeds. :)
My dianthus barbatus did great until it started to flower then about a week in it started getting yellow. I looked them up and found out they like alkaline as oppsed to acid soil. I have slightly acidic soil, and most of the stuff I grow is happy, so I'm not gonna lime it up just for the sweet william. I am thinking of moving it closer to the pool now, because a woman at a garden center told me that gunite pools can make the soil nearby more alkaline. For me, it forms low clumps of leaves first year, then sends up flower stalks the second. I cut mine back and clusters of new plants formed around the old stalks, so far it looks as though they will bloom again this year. :)
This will be my very first year for Sweet William, and though I have the lime soil, I might not have enough sun -- stay tuned! I maybe grew it years and years ago, and it flopped over? I'm not sure,. but somehting is tickling my brain.
I think Peonies and Dianthus are the two most common things that prefer the sweeter soil.
Suzy
Lost Echinacea's Sunrise, Sundown, Harvest Moon and Fragrant Angel. I planted 3 White Swan too, lost 1 of them. I have already replaced the Harvest Moon as I really liked it. The others will not be replaced. Their spots have been filled with some daylily seedlings from last year.
Planted 3 Agastache Acapulco Orange - 1 doing great,1 struggling and the last one was goner!
Chocolate Joe Pyeweed-gone
Still waiting on my butterfly bush...
I discovered the Leonotis was still alive when I went to dig it out. I had left it for winter interest, started to dig it up a couple of weeks ago, and heck if there wasn't sprouts coming up from the roots! I stuffed it back in the hole and trimmed it off.
Nanny_56, I should send you some of my chocolate Joe Pye weed. I have 'volunteers' coming up everywhere this spring!
Golden Berry --- I'd LOVE some.
I think I am okay with it not coming back! But thanks for the offer anyway! lol