hole in the center of perennials

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sara329 Elgin, IL Jul 21, 2010

My salvia plant and my black-eyed susans have a hole in the center of the plant. Basically the stems all fall away from the center and are drooping really bad. Is this caused by something in the ground? i.e. grubs?? I didn't have this problem last year. What do I need to do?? Thanks!

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pirl (Arlene) Southold, NY(Zone 7a) Jul 21, 2010

They need to be staked. The same exact thing happens to many of us with sedum 'Autumn Joy'. Leave the stake in the ground to remind you to tie them up next year.

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cyclops101 Wakefield, RI Jul 22, 2010

Dying out in the center of many perennials is a natural occurrence Salvia being one of them. You can certainly stake the plant on a yearly basis but this never solves the real problem. My suggestion would be to mark the location of your plant and next spring just as growth begins dig it up and and divide it. This also helps invigorate the plant and it will actually do much better and you get more plants as a bonus.

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pirl (Arlene) Southold, NY(Zone 7a) Jul 22, 2010

sara - is the plant dying out in the center or does it look as though a cat sat on it? I have several plants that flop like that and the problem has been on radio gardening shows. If it isn't dead in the center it needs staking. If it is dead in the center then follow the advice cyclops gave.

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sara329 Elgin, IL Jul 26, 2010

Thank you very much for the advice. I was thinking about maybe splitting them, but wasn't sure. I will be sure to do that this spring. Thanks again!

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