Late Return
For the gardener, spring is about plants returning to active growth from their winter dormancy. The earliest plants to do so inspire a special jolt of happiness.
Then there are the perennial plants that don’t emerge from the soil until later in the season. For me, these can be a great cause of anxiety. Are they coming back or not? Do they just want to make a grand entrance? Or have they succumbed to winter cold and wet, or perhaps frost heave? Thoughtless of them not to let me know.
Right at the moment there is a sizable patch of Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) in the Driveway Border that refuses to show itself. I’ve even gently probed the soil with my fingers in search of buds, but no luck. It’s worrying because another patch of the same plant has been visible for a week or more – though that second batch gets a longer dose of afternoon sun.
The missing Butterflyweed is well established, and showed no signs of poor health. I’m already thinking about how to replace them, but I don’t want to jump the gun. Butterflyweed roots do not like to be disturbed, so for now I’m forcing myself to remain patient, not an easy thing.
Meantime, there are some winter losses I can confirm. For example, I’ve lost two ‘Inspiration’ Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum). Two others have come back, one looking more vigorous than the other.
Last year the Culver’s Root was infested by Four-Lined Plant Bug. I suppose the missing plants were weakened beyond recovery. This year, fortunately, there is no sign of the Four-Lined little monsters.
Also missing are four of the five ‘Arizona Sun’ Blanket Flowers (Gaillardia aristata) I planted in the parkway Lamppost Border. Here I think the culprits are the piles of snow dumped onto the parkway by snowplows and snowblowers. As they melted, these probably made for more winter wetness than the Gaillardia could tolerate.
Of course, the upside of a dead plant is that it provides an opportunity to buy a new live one.
Do you have any perennials that perished over winter?
gardeninacity 
I’m missing the butterfly weed too. Last year some late arrivals surprised me after I’d planted something else practically on top of them. Trying to exercise restraint this time around.
Yes! A mini-mini balloon flower—purple!—that I adored. I bought it years and years ago, and there is no sign of it this spring. Like you, I have been poking the dirt. Nothing. Sigh.
I know what you mean about the late emergers, Jason. You stand (sometimes even stoop) and stare and wonder. I once cut straight into a root, so sure the plant was dead, only to see that it had been very much alive, under the soil.
I like your attitude that it gives you the chance to buy new…perhaps even try out a plant that might be a little heartier.
Butterfly weed a no show for me too. One appeared a few weeks ago and I think a bunny ate it, there’s no new signs of growth in that area. There are other butterfly weed no shows in other parts of the garden. I tried the variety “Hello Yellow” last year which went great guns, but nothing so far. We’ve had so much rain that the weeds are taking over!
I am waiting for so many plants to show up again…some are very late.
For me it is mainly those Butterflyweeds, but I hate the idea of losing them.
I think I’d wait a bit longer. Plants can surprise us.
Very true. I guess I don’t have much choice – no time now to plant replacements.
I feel your pain. I’m missing a prized hosta and I’m not sure what happened to it. I usually make notes of when I move perennials around, but for some reason, I’m not finding it and I’m not sure if winter got the better of it. Your plants are looking beautiful. 🙂
Thanks. I hope your Hosta turns up. I always thought they were indestructible.
I lost Hibiscus coccineus (Texas star) – it was attacked several times by rabbits or deer, and I ended up transplanting it close to the house mid-season last year. I suspect both of these insults weakened it so much that it did not return.
I also lost a newly planted Indigofera kirilowii (Kirilow indigo). It should have been hardy to my zone. All I can think of is that it was such a small plug (ordered via mail order in autumn) that it didn’t have a chance to establish good roots before winter.
I was a little surprised to lose both Mexican sage (Salvia leucantha) and Lantana camara ‘Miss Huff’ — I had hoped they might be hardy in my borderline zone 6/7 garden, but I’m thinking they need at least a warm zone 8 (Because we had a relatively mild winter where temps here only bottomed out around 12 degrees and yet neither of these plants came back.) The Lantana I’ve replanted as an annual. I don’t usually like to do that, but it was such a great butterfly plant late in late summer and into autumn that I couldn’t resist.
Sorry about the Hibiscus. Here Lantana can only be grown as an annual, hard to imagine it as perennial.
Hope your stragglers show up eventually with a good alibi. That first picture is very nice at illustrating your emerging garden.
Thanks. I don’t really care why they are late, I just want them to show up!
I tried to grow Blanket Flowers several years ago and I don’t remember if I had even one; something wasn’t right with them. It seems every year or two something disappears, while other things persist and maybe I’m even more surprised by that.
I suppose that’s a better attitude.
No just lazy and helplessly giving up control. 🙂
I haven’t noticed any losses yet, except maybe for some that were left in their nursery pots over the winter and never made it into the ground. I think I’ve heard that those Gaillardia can be short-lived, so that in concert with the snow might have been responsible for their demise.
That makes sense. They were certainly short lived. Bloomed there heads off, though.
I grew a new Brunnera last year that I think was called ‘Silver Hearts.’ It was utterly spectacular with foliage that was literally metallic silver; by far the best Brunnera I’ve grown. All of my other Brunnera are around (and blooming) and there is no sign of ‘Silver Hearts.’ I maybe give it one more shot because it was just that good.
Sounds reasonable for a plant that is so special.
I was worried about my milkweeds (all of them!), too. But I feel like they were telling me something–foreshadowing the freeze/frost event. But the various patches did begin to emerge just before the freeze on Sunday morning. As things are warming up, they’re really making fast progress. I have some Butterflyweed seeds that I harvested from my plants last year. They’ve already been cold stratified–let me know if you want some. Three plants succumbed for me this year–my Russell Lupine and two Delphiniums. The Lupine surprised me because it’s been going strong for a long time. The Delphiniums just don’t seem to last long in my garden, so I think I’ll try something else in that spot. I hope some of your plants will make an appearance. It was a topsy-turvy spring, so they might have been waiting for some consistency. 😉
Glad to hear about the Milkweeds. I don’t grow Lupine or Delphiniums. I assume Lupine needs acid soil (which I don’t have) and have always had thre feeling that Delphiniums were fussy.
oh, I still check everyday, whether or not my larkspur will reappear
I hope they do!
Butterfly weed has never over-wintered for me so I’m really surprised in does for you in your much harsher conditions. Our winter was so mild thins year I don’t think I’m missing anything.
Which species do you use? Is it A. curassavica? When I say butterflyweed I’m talking about A. tuberosa, which is very hardy.
No mine was tuberosa.
Nothing missing here so far but we didn’t have any snow or frost to speak of. Disappointments = opportunities. There speaks a true gardener 🙂
That’s what keeps us going.
So far I haven’t noticed any glaring openings. When I first started reading your post I was struck that since you travel a lot, in spring you would come home to almost a new look in your garden every time. Your garden is so full with such a diversity of plants, wonderful even with the misses. I can’t grow blanket flower. Just too wet here sometimes I guess and and not enough sun. However that is changing. At least the sun part is. Have a nice weekend.
I think I’m giving up on blanket flower, I just don’t have the right conditions.
Asclepias is also very slow here, but I do see a few signs. I may have lost Bouteloua gracilis, but that one is late too. We shall see.
Such a wonderful grass, I hope it returns for you.
I have two butterfly bushes and they look awful. There is some life at the ground level but I’m guessing I’m going to have to cut it right back to the soil line. 😦
Actually, I forgot about my butterfly bush! I cut it to the ground every year but I’m not seeing any signs of life yet!
I think I’ve lost a couple Arizona Suns as well, and it’s a shame because that is one powerhouse bloomer! I will definitely replace them. Our problem here was very little snow cover, warm temperatures in the middle of winter, and an early spring blast of Arctic air. Several brand new things I planted in the fall have yet to make an appearance too. Also, still waiting for the hardy hibiscus and Joe Pye weed to come along. I know both of those tend to show up very late in the spring. No sign of new growth on the butterfly bush (Buddleia) yet, either.
No growth on my Buddleia either. The Joe Pye Weeds are up, though. You’re right about Arizona Sun being a powerhouse bloomer.
I planted two bellflowers next to each other several years ago – on your recommendation actually. Two different cultivars and one was always a little slower than the other. This year the slow one hasn’t emerged and its weeks after her sister came back.
I hate to say this, but all of my bellflowers have bit the dust, so to speak, and now I have none. At this point I wouldn’t recommend them to gardeners in the Chicago area. I hope your two are still good, though!
Both Butterfly Weed and Gaillardia like it high and dry. While Butterfly Weed is long-lived, I’ve never seen Gaillaardia last more than a season or two here. As for my garden, I planted 5 Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ last fall and only 1 came back.
Huh. I’ve found Amsonia, including ‘Blue Ice’, to be pretty reliable.
Hello Jason, we had such a mild winter this year that I don’t think we lost any plants. I’m not god at keeping track of what we do and don’t have so I might have lost some and not realised it. I hope your missing patch of Butterflyweed returns for this season and subsequently.
We had a pretty mild winter, too (for Chicago) which makes me curious as to why we would have lost these plants.
Veronicastrum isn’t a plant I lost, it’s one I got rid of. Although yours looks like the photos of the plant I’ve seen — which is why I bought the plant — in my garden it looked pale and boring. I’m wondering if I got a mislabelled specimen or if others have had the same experience.
Sounds like you had the straight species. I have a cultivar. Though I’ve seen plantings of the straight species that were very attractive.
I had several plants rot. The orange milkweed like to be really warm before they break dormancy. The others might be in a slight microclimate with reflected heat. But sometimes they’re just slowpokes. Give them more time. 🙂
OK, I’ll try to be patient.
It seems I always have a couple of plants that don’t make it through our very wet winters. I always suspect rot. This year I am missing Joe Pye Weed.
Oh, that would be a shame. I hope it makes a late appearance.
Our butterfly weed doesn’t appear until the poppies start to die out, then it magically emerges from under them. No sign of it yet as the poppies are at their peak.
Alright then, I’ll try to remain hopeful.
Oh what a shame that some of your plants may had died…fingers crossed, hopefully some are just late. I’m mourning my wisteria, planted in the courtyard, doing great, full of buds….then dead as a dodo….ours is not no wonder why!xxx
Same thing with my patch of Butterflyweed. Seemed to be thriving last year, then this spring just a tiny bit of it comes back.
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