In message
,
Rebecca writes
Im so dissapointed. Being a relatively new, and very (very!) nervous
gardener I have been thrilled with my Lavatera which was the first
shrub I bought and has been a superstar in the garden the past 3
years.

This year..nothing. Absolutely zilch. Its completely dead.

Admittedly I didnt prune it last year but surely this won't have
killed it?

Trying to do online research I read somewhere that they only live for
about 3 years. Is this right? I thought they lasted forever?(!)

They can last a long time (there's one down the road that's been around
for 10 years or more), but they do tend to be short lived. They don't
like standing water around their roots (I've had plants killed by
flooding in the summer before), and they're not the hardiest of plants
(some shelter helps).

With regards to pruning, some people (not me) prune Lavatera's back hard
to a framework. In Autumn I cut off the flowered stems to where new
shoots are breaking, and in spring cut out any dead wood. Some normally
shrubby varieties can behave as herbaceous perennials in some climates,
dying back to the ground, and shooting from the base. 'Barnsley' is
known for doing this, and I've found 'Lisanne' to produce new shoots
from suckers, rather than the base of the stem.

Lavateras, especially 'Rosea' and 'Barnsley', are easily propagated from
cuttings, so you can always have replacement plants available if you
have somewhere to overwinter them.

So, is it time to dig it up and start again?
Your thoughts wd be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Becky

--
Stewart Robert Hinsley