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Originally Posted by Steve
I am in SE Wisconsin (sometimes Zone 4, sometimes Zone5 depending on what guide I use). Last year I planted a Hummingbird Summersweet. It did wonderfully all year. This year, I thought it had died off over winter as I had seen zero signs of growth - a scratch test of the stems shows dull white and somewhat dried out branches. No signs of green budding, growth, etc up
to today. Today, I notice two very tiny and very lonely buds on a branch near the ground. Still no signs of anything else anywhere else on the plant. I'm wondring if it is suffering second season blues, an extremely late grower, or if it is dying off. Whats the best way to tell?
I'm also wondering if its a suitable plant for SE Wisconsin. Last year it was at all the garden centers and nurseries, this year - no one carries it. It says Zone 3-9. The other interesting thing is it says leaves yellow and drop in fall. My leaves were hardy green to the end of fall and didn't
yellow or drop until into winter. Maybe its suffering from some off timing??
thanks for any tips!
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Hi Steve,
I'm in Maryland zone 7 and mine acted that way the first two seasons in the ground. Three quarters of it appeared to die off. I cut the dead stems to the ground after waiting for the really warm weather. I only had a couple of stems for the first two years and was very disappointed. This year I was surprised to see lots of new branches. I think this shrub is a bit fussy. Too much snow cover and it's not happy. Too little snow cover and it's still not happy. I think it takes a good couple of years to settle in.
Maybe others will come along with more info.
Newt