This winters toll wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared. Big credit to late fall 6" leaf mulch, which I will continue to do as long as Im able.
Only one, and sadly, not the one I'd feared ended up as a "goner." Two were new last year and had me worried, they'd both lost a few fans over the winter, but both Green Ribbons and Spiral Distraction now have at least one scape and have 4 fans showing! Initially each one only showed SF at first. WALTER KENNEDY had been a big clump but only showed a couple of straggling pieces this spring. I dug up the entire clump and gave it to a new club member when she stopped by a couple of weeks ago. She lives about 45 minutes due south, and that will help!! All of the fans, about 10, were budded, so she should be seeing a clump by now. The one that died sadly, had been a new one, ELFIN BLUES, last spring. It had grown to about 4 fans by fall but only one tiny fan came up this spring. That keeled over after one of the weather extremes. SIgh. But only one loss isn't bad, as we had a harsh winter.
I had taken the marker for SMILING COBRA into the garage a couple of days ago and was going to dig up what was left , admit defeat, and plant something else there. But wait! A fan JUST emerged this past Friday . SO: note to self, wait until at least June 1 before you write them off!! It may not get back to the small clump it was last year, but it lives to fight another day!!!
