Astrantia

I hope they will... Sounds like they are a little hard to get going but once you have got them they do ok.

I will be putting them in full sun, but intend to mulch the beds so they should be nice and moist underneath.

 

Well I planted my astrantia out last week, six moulin rouge in a clump and six alba in a clump. They were already shooting when they arrived and have since started poking up through the soil. They seem quite happy.

What should I expect from them this year? What I mean by that is, if they had overwintered would they have been foliage for some time now, or do I stand a chance of them catching up, just being a little later?

 

No reason why they shouldn't bloom this year. One clump of mine is much further along than the other. In fact I thought the latter had died, until I saw new growth there earlier this week.

 

Yay!!! Finger's crossed then,

Thanks Aaron

 

Yes I would agree with SussexG. Any plant you have bought will already have a root system and should flower. As opposed to a seedling that still has to develop a root system.

Actually to be technically correct, it all depends on whether the plant is a juvenile or an adult. All seedlings go first through a juvenile period (like humans) during which they can't reproduce - ie flower. Once they become mature enough they become adults and can then flower and reproduce. The length of time that a plant spends as a juvenile depends on the type of plant. Annuals become adults within a few weeks, but some trees can take up to 60 years!

That's why they always say don't grow Wisteria from seed. It can take Wisteria from seed anything up to 20 years to become an adult and capable of flowering. However a cutting is a clone, which is a perfect reproduction of the parent. Consequently a cutting from a mature Wisteria will be an adult, even though it is only a few inches high. So you should only buy a Wisteria which has been grown as a cutting and which is usually grafted onto another rootstock as well. Then it should start to flower pretty quickly.

So going back to bare root Astrantias. I suspect that they are already adults.