On Apr 3, 8:19*pm, ramyad wrote:
Hello all,

Newbie gardener subscribing for your help please.

I bought this last year from Wyevale garden centre and planted them
last summer. Over winter they died away and I trimmed them down to the
ground. But nothing is coming through this year, I would have thought I
would see some new growth?

Have they died completely? How can I tell?

This isn't the only plant that seems to have died. I think I have a
black thumb, instead of green fingers, as two other plants have died
too. :-(

One of the other plants that seems to have died is the Dahlia Bishop of
Llandaff. I can't see anything, above ground.

I'm very sad as my father and mother are fantastic gardeners and I
thought I might have some of there genes (joke) :-)

Please help.

Thanks
Ramesh

PS - I'll post pictures of them tomorrow.

--
ramyad

When you say "died away" what exactly do you mean? Sambucus nigra is a
shrub and while it will lose its leaves in winter, the stems will
remain present and should not have been pruned away. You leave it
alone untill you see new growth buds emerging from the stems in spring
and then trim back any dead wood.

Dahlias are generally treated as annuals. In warmer climates, you can
leave the tubers inground overwinter (if you have very well drained
soils) but new growth won't emerge until both the soil and
temperatures warm considerably. I'd not expect to see much sign of
life until midMay at the earliest. In colder climates, the tubers need
to be dug and stored for winter. You replant the tubers in late spring
after last frost.