The Lamest of the Lame:
Goatsbeard. It used to bloom, but over the past few years, it has dwindled. This year it barely sent up foliage.
I can't even see it in this photo. I guess the soil is just too well drained, even though I planted it at a low point and directed the rainwater from the roof at it. Being next to a greedy Cottonwood probably didn't help either. This is a candidate for assisted suicide.Bergenia 'Bressingham White.'
No blooms at all this year. Usually the flowers get frost damaged. The April freeze also didn't help these plants. They barely had any of the usual red Fall color. They got moved to a less conspicuous location where their foliage provides a foil for frothy flowers.
Actaea/Cimicifuga 'Hillside Black Beauty' and 'James Compton.' I've had both of these longer than 'Black Negligee,' one of which managed to bloom this year. I don't know if 'HBB' and 'James Compton' need to mature or to be moved.
Other floral no-shows:
Hammamelis 'Sunburst' decided to take a year off. It has bloomed well before this year, and I noticed it has lots of buds formed ready for next Spring. At least I could still enjoy its Autumn show.
The native Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra canadensis). This has been a happy plant in previous years. I don't know what happened. Too much competition from the Asarum candensis?
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Endless Summer.' Summer never even got started this year. I think the culprit was that April freeze, as I had already uncovered it.
Iris siberica 'Orville Fay.'
I don't know what happened to old Orville. He used to bloom. Maybe he needs dividing. Or had he been divided recently? I'll have to check my journal.
Clethra alnifolia 'Not Ruby Spice.' I got this two years ago and discovered, when it bloomed, that it was not 'Ruby Spice,' but probably 'Rosea.' It's probably too dry where the Clethra is planted.
Weak performers:
Peony suffruticosa 'Ofujinishiki.'
It bloomed for the first time last year with one blossom. This past summer it also had only one blossom, but it did suffer some damage from ComEd's oafish tree manglers, who had to come out last winter because a branch broke off a box elder onto the power lines. I'm hoping that, with maturity, the tree peony will provide more than one outrageous bloom.
Clematis Henryii used to be a good bloomer. I've had it for a long time, and its blooming has declined.
It got divided and moved to the back of the garden.
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Penny Mac.'
This plant has been in the garden for a couple of years longer than H. 'Endless Summer.' Maybe that's why it managed to eke out a single bloom this year after the damage from the April freeze. It usually has adequate bloom and even a couple of reblooms, but I'm sure it would perform better if the soil were moist.
Well, that's the roundup of the year's bad performances. If I get over this nasty cold, I'll do a post on the top performers of the year here at Squirrelhaven.
6 comments:
Hi, MMD. It sounds as if you might have a soil issue - most of those plants like a slightly acidic soil and here in Illinois, as you know, we're mostly akaline. Try getting some black forest soil conditioner to incorporate into the soil, or some compost and manure spread on top and raked in.
If you had more flowers on that Peony you probably wouldn't appreciate it as much. It is stunning!
I was thinking the same thing as mrbrownthumb: With a bloom of the magnitude of that tree peony, having more than a few might be overkill! (Oooh, sorry...shouldn't say "kill" and "peony" in the same sentence.)
Carolyn Gail - thanks for the advice. According to a detailed soil map of my area, my soil is slightly acidic. What is black forest soil conditioner? Generous applications of manure would certainly be greatly appreciated by my mophead Hydrangeas. It's hard to get good rotted manure around here because all the garden clubs get out to the stables 1st.
Mr. Brown Thumb & Nan Ondra - come on, I need at least 1 over the top plant! :^D
Hi MMD,
Black Forest soil conditioner is fine pine bark that decomposes and acidifies the soil. Compost and manure ( not composted manure ) is a combination sold in a bag and usually you can find these at garden centers.
Carolyn Gail - thanks for the info! I think I must have sugar on the brain as that Black Forest stuff sounds like a yummy chocolately thing. I hope the soil likes it as much as I like Black Forest cake.
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