My first run-in with stubborn plants was with a discarded batch of run of the mill orange day-lilies. When I found the yellow roots sprouting in my compost bin the next spring, I retrieved them and gave them the place they deserved. Irises have been added to that list, and now one particular astilbe.
I first saw astilbes waving in abundance in our friend's shade garden on Vancouver Island.
I assumed that they would never survive in the prairies, but every year the garden centres bring in these beautiful delicate astilbes.
So I bought one. Put it under the trees in the back border.
It flowered the first year (well, actually it came with a flower, so that was technically cheating), and then the next year the foliage reluctantly emerged, but definitely no flower.
It looked so dejected that I decided it needed a new home. Put it into the front in the shade of the blue spruce and purple leafed sand-cherry.
Didn't like it there either. Refused to emerge till I dug around looking for it.
Oh. Time to come out? Ok ... and it would send out two or three shrimpy and grumpy looking stems that just sat there glaring at me.
Fine. You don't like it there? I'll move you again.
(A battle of wills with an astilbe is never a good thing.)
Put it back into the back yard against the house where it gets early morning and evening sun.
Right beside some very happy hostas. Nothing.
This spring I dug around looking for it, long after its companion astilbe across the path was well on its way. (Yes. couldn't help it. I bought another astilbe - a much less stubborn variety.)
Definitely dead. I left the old root ball on top of the soil and forgot about it...
till a few weeks ago when I was weeding in that bed,
and about to put the hoe to a new random bleeding heart seedling
when I saw a happy little red stem with leaves, hiding behind the bleeding heart.
Seriously?!
I put it back into the soil, and put a little fence around it, reminding me to leave it alone.
If all this astilbe wants to do is send out little stems, some years grumpy, some years quite happy,
I've decided to let it do what it wants. I give.
This is not a picture of my astilbe:
Official description from gardening website
http://www.gardenersnet.com/flower/astilbe.htm : "Growing Astilbe is very easy..."
I feel as though I should write a "parenting Astilbes" response. What do you know? You just haven't met my astilbe!
I know the feeling!!! I have neighbours down the street that have a lovely pair of astilbes that great us every time we drive by. Working at the nursery, I found we propagate a couple varieties. Oh, Joy! I can have one of my own. No so much. The most I get is three lovely looking leaves that won't clear the 5 inch high vinca in front of it, AND, I've replaced it, because it didn't survive the winter (and possibly, rabbits,) twice! I think I give up, too.
ReplyDeleteSo glad I'm not the only one fighting this battle :)
ReplyDelete