Why do perennials die?
Eleventh Hour
Posts: 14
in Talkback
I dont know why but my Geums as well as my Salvia Hotlips have not produced any leaves or flowers. Very frustrated . Do some perennials die?
0
Eleventh Hour
Posts: 14
Eleventh Hour
Posts: 14
Posts
everything that's alive will die.
of old age, drought, too wet, disease, infestation, getting swamped by a larger plant, getting an accidental dose of weed killer. The list is endless
In the sticks near Peterborough
If plants aren't happy where they are, they will eventually falter and die
I was looking at your profile where you mention that you have difficult soil and wondered if that was a factor.
I know you said on another thread that your salvia had flowered twice so assume it was a young plant.
I've lost plants almost the second I've bought them through not improving the soil - I have clay soil and if I do not improve the drainage sufficiently when planting, the plant ends up in a clay bucket of water...
Could your plants also have been affected by the type of soil or planting conditions?
Yes you could be right but I have done lots to improve the soil ....truck load of top soil mixed with compost from Hart council was dug in. What more should I do?
Just keep adding a thick mulch of compost every year in autumn and leave it to the worms to work in over winter. Wen planting new treasures, looesen teh soil in the hole and around the plant and add pleanty of weel-rotted organic matter and a handful of grit. You will end up with enviably healthy, fertile soil that your plants will love but you need generous amounts of compost and also patience.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Thankyou obelixx. I am still feeling disheartened though. But I will persevere? should i throw the plant away because it hasn't flowered or should I replant it to see if it does flower next year?
Don't throw away a plant because it hasn't flowered.
But if there are no leaves at this time of year it's dead.
We all lose things, don't be disheartened.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Many perennials are short lived - geums and many salvias among them. Neither live for more than about 5 years on my clay soil.
Many thanks folks for all the advice ,,,,I just have tone careful what I plant out.