Judybusy says:

May 11th, 2007 at 4:04 pm

I think I have lost a daphne ‘Carol Mackie’, which I planted last fall. When I scrape the bark, it looks green underneath, but absolutely no leaves. Is this a super-late starter? I also lost a daylily, ‘Daring Deception’ which was purchased bareroot and very small. I’ll try again from a different grower, and bigger plant.

Margaret says:

May 11th, 2007 at 5:21 pm

I may have lost an HT rose I planted last year, Let Freedom Ring. I am still waiting to see if breaks dormancy late but all my other HTs have so I am starting to get resigned to the fact that I lost it.

I have (in addition to Blue Moon wisteria which is robust this year already) a Japanese Wiseria that is about 2 years old. It is also late to break dormancy but I am still hopeful

I protect all the stuff I have that are on the edge. Protection looks like it saved the butterfly bush. I have lost two of those already in years past.

Connie Nelson says:

May 11th, 2007 at 5:44 pm

Hey Judybusy,
Here’s a little info on your daphne: (Sounds like a difficult plant to grow.)

Carol Mackie daphne (Daphne x burkwoodii `Carol Mackie’) is a
lovely small shrub prized for its fragrant early-spring flowers and
delicately variegated foliage. Unfortunately, this shrub can be
rather temperamental. It requires a site with excellent soil
drainage, and even this doesn’t guarantee success. A virus may be
responsible for some cases of “sudden death” in daphnes. Carol Mackie daphne is semi-evergreen, but in our climate even
the leaves that stay on the plant usually dry and brown over
winter. This can make the plant appear in worse health than it
really is. Carol Mackie daphne also can be a bit slow to leaf out
in spring, so be patient. Wait until you see whether the plants leaf out this spring. If
there is some dieback on the branch tips, you can prune out the
dead wood once you can tell where it ends. Once the plant has
finished flowering (around mid-June), you can do some light pruning
to improve its shape, if necessary. .

Peter Hoh says:

May 11th, 2007 at 11:17 pm

Ironically enough, I lost an ice plant (delosperma). Most of the ice plant varieties are zone 5 and up, but I’m fairly certain that the one I bought last year was sold as a perennial that should survive our winters.

debw says:

May 14th, 2007 at 7:29 am

I too had several casualties this last winter (I blame that late cold snap before the snow in the spring). I have successfully wintered over butterfly bushes for 8 to ten years buy laying the branches down and mulching with a foot or so of leaves and each year they have come back from where they left off the year before. Not this year! Out of the dozen I had four are goners.
Also the Whiskey Mac rose which had stunning yellow and red flowers with fragrance to die for has bit the big one after 15 years. Bummer!
My azeala didn’t bloom and neither did the star magnolia. Oh well, maybe next year, as long as they have leaves they can store up energy for next time.

JR says:

May 17th, 2007 at 8:51 am

Unfortunately, weather and critters are not always the reason for a “hole.” We transformed our front yard into native perennials and some of them are a wee bit expensive. A sharp eyed thief noticed the costly plants and nicked them from the yard - during the day!
Most of the folks on the block work during the day. I wonder if the Arboretum has any tips on this issue. They’ve had lots of plants stolen!

sparklegirl says:

May 18th, 2007 at 10:54 am

Either I have some very late arrivals, or I’ve lost:

– Two campanula “Blue Clips”
– Two heuchera “Vesuvius”
– And all four of my Gaillardia “Burgundy.”

Should I keep waiting to see if they emerge? Or should I give you and replace?