Help! Seemingly heathly Perennials loose/don't flower

I planted some perennials in the front yard this dreadfully hot spring because i wanted something that I wouldn't have to replant every year.
My front yard faces the Mississippi south sun and my bed gets 6 hours + during June - August.

Since perennials are somewhat new to me, I just sort of grabbed whatever I found at the local box warehouse as long as it had a perennial tag stating 6 hours or more of sun.
However, I ended up with two that I'm hopeful about: Cheddar Pinks (Dianthus) and Ice Plant (Drosanthemum floribundum).
The Cheddar Pinks lost all their blooms at the store but I figured they'd come back after deadheading. The Ice Plant was full of blooms and opened/closed with the sun faithfully for 1.5 months. It gets a whole lotta sun!!

The Cheddar Pinks never developed blooms until a few days ago when I saw this lone bloom happening. When I planted them, I wasn't sure how to deadhead them so some, I deadheaded randomly at three locations (just below the flower, middle of the stem and base of the stem).

Watering:
We're in a drought with record high temps so I monitor the conditions frequently. I water the Ice Plant once every two weeks if we don't get rain for two or more weeks. I water the Cheddar Pinks once or twice a week under the same conditions.

Soil Ph:
I cannot get an accurate Ph test because the dye from colored pine bark mulch has colored the soil.
However, tests all over the front yard yields a neutral Ph.

Any idea why these otherwise healthy plants won't bloom like they should?

This is a thumbnail image - the readers will be able to see an enlarged version once it is posted.

I would give them time since you just planted them this year. There's a saying about perennials "first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap". Many of them don't take quite that long to get going, but I wouldn't expect much out of them their first year in the ground when you've had such adverse weather conditions.

Hi captKirkS - ecrane is right about most perennials not doing much their first year. That's one of the reasons I held off planting perennials for many years. . .I was looking for "instant gratification" and annuals gave me that. The problem with annuals, though, as you mentioned, is having to replant them every year. It seems like such a waste of time and money.

Don't get me wrong. I love annuals. Most perennials don't bloom for the whole season while annuals generally do. I like to mix in some annuals with my perennials. I also like bulbs, particularly Spring Bulbs to start off the blooming.

But getting back to your perennials, I'd just keep doing what you're doing now. If the plants look healthy then I wouldn't worry too much. Some varieties of Dianthus don't bloom at all their first year. I'm not sure about Cheddar Pinks.

If you like the idea of perennials, but don't know much about them, spend some time in the various "Perennial Forums" right here in DG. Read about plants that others are growing and look at the pictures. If you see some that appeal to you feel free to ask questions about the needs and behavior of those plants. DG members love to talk about the plants they're growing and to help other members. Then you can go to "Plant Files" and look at different varieties of the plants you like and read members comments.

There are also forums devoted to particular areas of the Country. They're great because they deal with growing conditions that might be like yours.

And it doesn't necessarily take three years to have nice perennials. I have quite a few that I just planted last Spring that are "blooming their heads off". There are also many that have very long blooming periods.

Here is a link that I love to post. It's for Bluestone Perennials "Plant Finder".

Bluestone perennials is one of DG "Garden Watchdog's" top 30 nurseries. The Plant Finder allows you to click on all sorts of things to come up with plant ideas. You can put in your Zone - type of soil - amount of sun - bloom time - bloom color -preferred plant height - whether you want it to be deer resistent or attract hummingbirds or butterflies . . .and-on-and-on. Try changing the combinations and see all the wonderful varieties you come up with. The info on each plant tells you how to grow it.

There is no obligation to buy anything. It's just one of Bluestone's ways of letting people see the huge varieties of plants they have. And by-the-way, if you are ever interested in ordering from Bluestone they have a Spring Clearance, usually in May, and almost everything is half price. They also have mini sales that change each week in Spring.

Have fun!


http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/adv_search_mod.html

The dianthus plant looks healthy. I have a couple of types of Dianthus including Bath's Chedder Pink and Firewitch. On both of these there is a flush of blooms in the spring. After the spring bloom not much happens. A few blooms now and then but otherwise they are done blooming for the season.

Even though Dianthus loves full sun, they are considered a "cool weather" plant in the South. Temps in the 90's tend to make them take a siesta from blooming. About the only one in my garden that is blooming right now is the D barbatus Amazon Neon...and that is because it only gets sun until early afternoon.

My Firewitch and the Carnations stopped blooming back in June...but will start again in September/October as will the rest of them and continue to bloom until the first frost.

Both your plants look healthy to me, the pinks "if in flower when you got them and then planted them" that's it for this years I'm afraid, with pinks and lots of other pereniels, you need to constantly either dead head the spent flowers so the plant thinks it has to make more flowers so it can scatter it's seeds (that's what all types of plants want to do) the dead heading also ensures more flowers are produced (in most cases) but there are some types of perenials that will only give ONE flush of flowers each year, the secret for this is to plant stuff beside them, other types of pereniels that will flower at a different time of year to give you constant colour in the border / beds. There are as many types of pinks as I've had hot dinners and they dont all flower at the same time or month so looking at the label is a good guide for you, all the pinks I grow like nice well manured (well rotted) soil with a touch of lime also added, the manure give food AND helps with added natural matter to retain some extra moisture within the soil around the roots, helping the care of the plants,
If you do water, make sure the water goes to the roots / soil and NOT just a splash onto the foliage, and it is best done at cooler times of day like evening or very early morning as the hot sun will make all the water evaperate before the plant has taken up the water.

As for your other plant, cant help you there, never heard of it with that name, nor under ICE Plant, however, it also looks in good health, to be absolutely honest, the hight of summer heat is not really the best time to be planting perenniels / shrubs, grass ect as the soil is too hot, the air around the plants are too hot and newly planted anything needs a lot more care and attention than established plants, especially watering and shade etc, etc, you are in a very hot climate in summer and I would imagine that most perenniels in your conditions would do well by giving you one flush of blooms and then needing to retire for a build up of strength to make more underground roots and store some energy for next flowering. Best time to plant perenniels is end of summer or early spring when the soil is still warm or warming up, but not parched, these times of year is also good for spliting up plants to give more of them or some plants die off in the middle of clumps and need lifted and the old part removed to rejuvinate and replant the good bits, Iris is one plant like that.
IF you want to go down the road of perenniel planting, go to the library / book store and sit with books on this subject as there is no rocket science to growing them once you understand their needs, dont forget you have done well up till now getting your plants through the really hot weather you get, sometimes we want to grow plants that are not grown for our climate but you can learn how to adjust the conditions you have to suit the type of plant, not in every case but, in lots of cases, so good luck and happy gardening.
WeeNel.

Thanks everyone. This was very helpful and reassuring. The Chedder Pinks are supposed to bloom all summer so hopefully next year I'll see better results.
I didn't mention that I have a yard full of yellow cannas that I plucked from a old rental property I owned 12 years ago and they are doing great. The first 3 or 4 years, they kept browning as if they had canna virus.
I also have Purple Heart's that have grown about 13 years despite my neglecting them.

On the loser's side, I bought a Sea Breeze Fleabane (Erigeron) and some Delphiniums this Spring that didn't survive the super-hot June. Looking back, I think I over-watered them but the 100+ degree temps were just so brutal it was hard make 'em happy.

I was also told by a friend that tap water needs to be stored for 24 hours to let the chlorine dissipate. After all my hard work and pride installing my new drip irrigation system!

This message was edited Jul 25, 2011 10:04 PM

Most plants can handle water right out of the tap--there may be a few that'll be sensitive and have problems, but if you're losing plants there are a lot of other things I'd check into before suspecting it's the chlorine in the water that's causing the problems. Not to say that water without chlorine wouldn't be better for them, but most plants should grow just fine regardless.

Since you live in an area where you're pretty much guaranteed to have a lot of hot weather in the summer, you may have better luck planting perennials in the fall instead of the spring--that way they've got a longer period of cool weather to get established before they have to deal with heat. When you plant too late in the spring and they can't get established before hot weather hits, sometimes even if you do everything right you'll still lose them.

Great advice! I'm starting to get that over and over so I think maybe it will finally sink-in - to start thinking about planting at a time of the year when my mind is far from it! I'll have to update my calendar to remind me to start earlier.

I usually don't even think about plants until I've cut the grass a few times the first season. By then, it's starting to get hot and I'm finally coming out of my wintering hole and begin to treat the outdoors as more than just a place between work and home.

Thanks again!

If you want a perennial iceplant that will bloom all summer, conside Delosperma cooperi with pinkish red blooms. It is a creeper. Not all iceplants bloom all season.

A perennial that will bloom all summer long and easily started from seed is Gaillardia grandiflora (Blanket Flower). It grows to 2 to 3 ft and is very colorful.

My daughter grows the Gaillardia due to sandy soil.

Below is D. cooperi.

Blomma - Nice photos.

captKirkS - One other thing about the ice plant is that ice plants are listed on High Country Gardens as a Xeric Perennial. In other words you may want to check if it is getting too much water and if it is planted in well drained soil. Below are urls for the US percipitation map (cechek you area for rain fall amount) and also a Delosperm sort on HCG. If it may be getting too much water then a transplant to a container or place with very well drained soil might be something to think about.

http://www.cocorahs.org/media/images/us_precip.png

http://search.highcountrygardens.com/?Ntt=Delosperm&view=&x=21&y=7

captKirkS - The bees also love Gaillardia.

This is Gaillardia 'Goblin'

And this is what the seed heads look like:

Planting in Autumn has another advantage, too. Even in your area it's probably a more comfortable time of year to be outside working on your garden. I love Autumn! I love everything about Autumn...

Unfortunately we don't get much in the way of Autumn or Spring down here...we go from summer, which runs well into October, to a 2-3 week Autumn and from winter into a 2-3 week Spring....although Jackson, MS may get a couple extra weeks of both....grin

Plants Delight will send you a gorgeous catalogue with all info you will ever need. All perennials. It's here in NC. You will get good reliable zone info and height, pest, and growing info as well as great photos. Pricey but you can use to plan your garden. They say they will keep sending the catalogue for a box of chocolates but don't believe it... After a few years with no order it will stop.

Yes SusanKC, I'm aware that the Ice Plant is like a succulent and doesn't tolerate much water. As I stated, I only water it every other week when it hasn't rained for as much time. Unfortunately (for the plant) it's been raining like crazy here. My Mose Roses are tolerating the drenching okay.

Nutsaboutnature, I'll have to look into the Gaillardia. I don't want large plants or those that are very bushy. I like the smaller ground cover like plants (no higher than 6 inches) because anything else will block the rest of my plants.

True themoonhowl, we go almost straight from hot to cold in the Fall but our springs tend to last a little longer.

To be honest, I really like the look of Mose Rose although they are annuals. I didn't buy enough at WalMart when I had the chance. These critters just love abuse. I have never planted them but have kept them in the original containers from the store and they just keep on blooming!! I read somewhere here that they have done will in Canada and come back every year from seeds they drop during the Summer. They are small and cute just like I like and they have deep, multi-colored flowers per plant. If mine come back from seeds, I'm going to go all out with them next year and buy tons more.

Just saying so you know that you are in the averages 70-80inches a year and the plant is a 10-40 inch tolerant. Good luck with them both.

captKirkS,
Since you like smaller plants, consider Gaillardia "Goblin". It is much more compact than the taller variety and grows only to about 16-18" in height. Photo below.

Yep, I too like the Moss Roses. I don't grow them but my daughter does. I am limited to space so prefer ice plants that bloom all summer. Yep, she has those also.

You can look in stepables.com
Punch in what you need and where you need it
Pet resistant, low growing, long flowering, high moisture, sun, etc etc., and height.

Armeria maritima 'Rubrifolia'
Sea Thrift
You might want to look at this too.

captKirkS,
If I was living where you are, I sure wouldn't bother with common plants. I would grow tropical Hibiscus and Brugmansia, both of which I can't grow here.

By the way, deadheading is just a term used to remove dead flowers before they set seeds. Often times that will promote more blooms. You see, perennials have to set a certain amount of seeds to keep generations going, just like humans. That is the reason many varieties will rebloom. I do it to my Salvias, etc. Even Gaillardias benefit from it as it prevent lankiness. Deadheading does not apply to plants like irises, daylilies, bulbs, etc.

Below is a cultivar of Sempervivum (hen and chicks) growing amid Delosperma nubigenum. Love it!

Here's a list of some of the groundcovers I've grown or are growing now:: Ajuga reptans "Burgundy Glow"; Armeria maritima; Aurinia saxatilis; Campanulas (several varieties); Ceratostigma; Dianthus (several varieties); Geranium (perennial, several varieties); Geum; Gypsophilla repens; Potentilla repens; Saponaria ocymoides; Sedum (several varieties); Spiarea ( I think its some sort of japonica, only get 4" tall with gold leaves, pink flowers); Stachys b. (leaves at 4-6", flower stalks at 12", many people don't allow to bloom cuz they just like the leaves); Teucreum;; Thymus; Veronica (sevral varieties); Vinca; Viola (jjs which reseed, I have several patches that are creating colonies). ........ Dianthus grationopolitanus both Cheddar pink (baths pinks) and "Firewitch" are generally spring bloomers and are very fragrant baths pinks got to 36" wide, "Firewitch only 4-6" wide. Generally speaking any plants that are gray leaved are drought tolerant. Also a tip; any new plants still need approx 1" of water a week til established (1rst year). Love Bluestone perenns., I personally have ordered from them for many years. Pix is dianthus g. Baths Pinks and Salvia Blue Queen. Good Luck, Kathy.

For those plants that need less water, mix in planting hole, builders sand (is more corse than play sand), this allows drainage of any excess water. Also have grown annual Alyssum (it reseeded for several years and the fragrance is spectacular. Have you thought about growing some of the vines as ground cover, if they get out of control they can be chopped back. In pix below is Centranthus ruber, Geranium Rozanne (Bluestone), and Humulus "Golden Hops". Enjoy. Kathy.

Great photos. Magazine quality

Thanks, just wished my garden looked that good this year. Things are just beginning to recover from a haill/heavy rainstorm a month ago. Only have a few blooms. maybe next year I can deleat the hail,lol. Good Luck, Kathy.

warriorswisdomkathy,
I do have some vines as groundcover but none of them flower. I may look into that next year. Actually, Ice Plant and Moss Rose spread like ground cover, they probably are not ideal for my region though.