I had accidently deheaded and then broke the only stem of this delphenium I had bought for a friend so I asumed it was a goner and bought her something new. On a lark I watered the pot after more than several days of no watering and being completely dry as far as I was conserned. This morning I looked and there were two new shoots. :)
My rule of thumb is to always keep a plant for at least six months after I'm 'absolutly certain' it's dead. So far, I've saved quite a few ferns and trees because of that...
I have moved plants too and eventually I either find out the plant is not ment to be or just needed the right place.
I also think it's important to live with a garden for 12 months when you have bought a new place. It was so sad to see up the road rip out a glorious bed of pink Wind Flowers / Wind Anemones They thought they were weeds because they were in their winter stage. The whole neighbour hood has bits of this bed of flowers. Liz
That is a very dangerous philosophy. When you have a plant that has been infested with a virus, one has no choice but to destroy it or else other plants will also become infected. There are no cures for virus diseases. All the pampering in the world won't help. Resarch on your plants is very helpful in understanding their life cycle. Many plants have a particular dormant period when they stop growing or die back. The dormant period for many plants is in the middle of the summer as well as winter. That is particularly true for most bulbous plants that die back.
That's the same advice I gave my sister who bought a house last fall and was going around "weeding" this spring. I said wait until you know what will come up.
My garden is too small. I can't keep plants that "don't like me" or that I don't like. But I am lucky to have friends with different likes and locations and we do a lot of swapping.
Hello! I think just the opposite - why waste time on a plant that just isn't performing well? I don't bother getting all sentimental - just throw the darn thing out, and start another seed! I only want to be surrounded with beauty - not half-dead, dwindling along, spindly runts!!!! Some plants just aren't worth saving, and we need to take the initiative to put the poor thing out of it's misery!!!!
Well my take on this is, everything deserves a chance. I do it with plants and I have nursed very ill animals. (wildlife)Those that have survived have given great joy be it plant or animal. Usually the right conditions will revive a down and out plant and like most things people included they still have a lot to give. If I am sure it is a "virus" and it is a problem then yes it goes to the bin in the sky. Liz
Delphiniums are herbaceous and so as long as the drying out period was not fatal it was able to make new growth from the roots, where it always comes from on such a plant. More than viruses bargain plants brought home are liable to be infested with root-rotting water molds, which may continue to work on it after planting and perhaps also infest the soil of the new site. Water molds are a big problem in plant production and landscape management wherever soils and atmosphere are suitable. One that has gotten much airplay recently is the cause of Sudden Oak Death.
Hello Liz!!! Well I sure do agree, that everything deserves a chance - most certainly animals! I just meant that if you've tried everything possible, and the plant is just suffering, it might be time to do what is necessary! Everyone has their own style of gardening - I garden in a small area - so I don't have the space to spend on plants that aren't thriving. I didn't mean to say, just give up right away! You must have thought I sounded so cold!!!! I have a friend who refuses to throw ANY plant away, out of guilt, and her garden is full of plants that are just not performing the way they should - as a result her garden looks shabby, most of the time. There are cases where you are doing everything right, but a plant just isn't responding - this is what I meant. Just wanted to clarify. Thanks.
Glad to see you do give them ago. My original slant on this was those poor supermarket mark down trolly plants. Having worked on the nursery end in my youth and see the work that goes into plants for sale I feel really sorry for these rejects. I have picked up some very nice ones and they are thriving. I am lucky to have good base soil and I have worked hard over the years with manures and mulching. It is fairly hard to kill something in this garden other than wrong type for area or lack of water. By the way welcome I have been off computer for a while due to work but it is a great community here Liz
Liz, I agree, sometimes these ugly ducklings just need alittle tender love and care and the right place to thrive. Sometimes it's not my garden but my mom's or grandmothers who have slightly different climates.
Hello Liz! Well, it's great that the dwindling plants you care for, respond to your nurturing - my friends' plants do not respond, and much of the time only get worse. When the TLC fails, after a year of trying - I think it's time to throw in the towel, and grow something else! My friend disagrees with me entirely, on this. I say - to each their own. I just don't know what she gets out of it. At least your nurturing brings excellent results, hers does not. She should really join this site! Thank you for the warm welcome - I only joined one week ago! I am loving it - so much great advice. I look forward to my future, associated with this site. Thanks again, for welcoming me. Hope to chat with you soon........
My neighbor planted a comparatively large 'Klehm's Improved Bechtel' crabapple in her front some years ago. When I went over to look at it I observed that it had a nasty crown call infestation and told her not to plant near it, keep her feet and tools away from the galls, maybe treat it with antibacterial paint etc. - my preferred option was that the tree be removed and burnt but she had gotten it for free and didn't want to give up on such a great (not!) score. Years later the tree remained, with new plantings around it - thereby endangering roses and other susceptible plants on her own as well as neighboring properties, including the many roses I have just on my side of the property line. Eventually it may have been removed, maybe this year - when I look over it may be gone - now that there has been plenty of time for the bacteria to have been spread around the vicinity.
Dear Hollyberry Lady, Yes there comes a time when even I know that a plant is just not worth the try and dispose of it.
Hello Ron B! Wow that's just awful - I would be sooooo mad! I always listen to people who are more experienced. I used to have a neighbour that just let the weeds grow, and the seeds from them, would germinate in my garden constantly! I hated it. I finally took to weeding them myself! They were 3 feet tall. I just couldn't stand it anymore. Hello sweetpea66! Yes, well, could you please tell that to my friend - she won't listen to me! By the way, I am growing sweetpeas right now, indoors, in a sunny window!! They are not blooming just yet, but they will be. I planted them from seed, and provided a trellis for them to weave onto, in a very sunny position! They will be white and pink.
