Arlene,
When the rust broke out, it was already August and for the most part, past blooming time (the plants arrived here in late July). So the first cut on them was in August, as well as the cuts I made on my established clumps. I considered it a pre-fall cleanup.
At the point I cut the newer arrivals the second time, it was late fall (October) so I figured I didn't have much to lose with winter right around the corner. I didn't recut every single plant a second time, only 3 of them that were still much affected by rust.
They are all coming up great this spring, and I don't think it had an ill effect. I will update as it gets warmer to let you know if their bloom season was affected.
Believe me, I am prepared this year should it show up again. I had just been very diligent up to that one order about not ordering from rust prone areas...my buying had been limited to local farms where there is no rust and northern buyers. This order came from CA and I was just not expecting it.
I agree that plants shouldn't give me grief, they should make me smile...if they continue to be rust buckets, they will be finding a new home in the compost pile!
