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[Auxin]

So my S. miltiorrhizas are in their second year.
First year they died back and went dormant in fall after the first freeze.
This year they flowered, after they stopped flowering I cut the developing seed heads off so theyd have more energy left to save for winter.
But now, with the weather still around 104°F, five of six have fully died back to the ground and the remaining one isnt looking good.
I read these critters are supposed to be perennial, not biennial. Did they die, or do they just go dormant right after seeding or in warm weather?

1 Like fairdinkumseeds likes this.

[fairdinkumseeds]

Mine died and didn't come back and it doesn't even freeze here.
I think the cold snap, and extremely dry weather for a couple months after finished them off while they were sleeping.
Happened a couple times. Only get 1 season out of them here, when I tried watering a bit every few days when dormant the root mass was invaded by beetle larvae, but I reckon they came to eat the already dead and decomposing root mass..
Very frustrating as the Mrs tells me they are like a weed at home in Japan.

[Auxin]

Well hell, if they try to act like annuals/biennials outside their comfort zone I guess my options are either selectively breed any survivors- or piss on them, call them compost, and find a different plant to grow
Hopefully the former, as the leaves have sexy polyphenols.

1 Like New Wisdom likes this.