Seems every year at least one mystery plant turns up. If I can't identify a seedling as a weed, leave or pot it up till it blooms. A Virginia spiderwort (Tradescantia) that flowers a striking shade of blue appeared a few years back in a sunny bed. Left it to make a nice clump before relocating it to shade at the foot of a maple clump on a slope. Promptly died back to regrow the following Spring. Imagine the maples' fibrous roots & natural leaf mulch keep it from spreading, and the blue is quite refreshing glittering from the shade. Last year seedlings emerged for the first time near the lone phlox David. Potted up, one bloomed lavender - David's Lavender. Another time, a different looking wispy grass clump showed up with delicate stems that only reach a few inches high & wide, producing a cloud of pale pink flowers at the top like miniature Gypsophilia from Spring till frost. No idea what this is, looks like it may have originated in fairyland. Left to grow & seed, it turns up within a 20' radius of the original each year. A small bushy plant with deep green leaves appeared one year. Not recognizing it, left it to grow, as it seemed so happy. When it formed a 2' ball, decided it needed to be moved & found a spot in the backyard overlooked by the kitchen windows near a post birdfeeder. An old peach tree blown down in a storm had provided shelter for the birds there & thought the bush might do the same. The bush certainly took to its new spot. The next year, a slender trunk appeared out of nowhere to elevate the ball. Ten years later, it's a 20' high graceful tree, teeming with birds from dawn till dusk. Haven't found another like it in the woods for miles around, nor found its identity. We're in the migratory path for birds & an overnight waystation, so perhaps one gifted it to us on their way through. Many more surprises through the years. So far this season, a sturdy seedling that looked vaguely familiar left in place quickly reached two feet high by a foot wide. Began to bloom yesterday, pale yellow with lavender pincushion centers - Verbascum. Grew its forebearer many years ago in another garden bed, but that one never returned the following year. The first was pale melon with lavender eyes. Is this one a seedling or a wildling? Regardless, serendipity always welcome!

My large trachy (windmill palm), needle palm, and musa basjoos (hardy bananas) will be wintered in the ground here in MN. Needle gets a rosebush cover, mulched, and with a small string of Xmas lights. Basjoos will get rosebush covers, and tons of mulch, and cut off with about a foot or two of stem remaining, as they do grow over 10-15 feet during the summer, and with 5-6 inch wide stems. These are tried and true methods of wintering these plants in ground in zone 4/5. The large trachy will get a large version of a foam rosebush cover, a foam box with lightweight wood frame. Xmas lights, and/or a CFL bulb or two inside the box during the coldest times, to keep the temp in the box above 20F when it gets below zero outside. Fronds will be tied up somewhat to allow it to fit in a 2x2x8 foot 2-piece box. Again, a tried and true method for wintering larger palms in cold zones. For those Minnesotans who think I am nuts, do a little reading in the "palms and cycads" forum here... The mature trachy and needle palm are good down to the 10s, even single digits above zero*F without significant damage. I also have a friend in MN who has similar trees in ground, and there is a lady in Rochester who does similar. Here is a link that might be useful: Link to some pictures

Bareroot peonies planted in the spring will put out some growth, maybe even once in a blue moon bloom that same spring, but certainly don't put out the same growth that one planted in the fall and overwintered will. Depending on where you got it your peony could've even been in storage for months out of the ground. If it's one of the bagged roots from a big box store your results are fairly typical for spring planted bareroots that same season. But it WILL recover and you'll get good growth next spring. I've done the exact same thing and got the same results you describe then had to divide the peony just a couple of years later because it grew so big and fast. Don't let insignificant growth from a spring planted root, especially if it was small with only 1 or 2 eyes, discourage you!!

Not sure why you are blaming "growing slowly" on lack of crop rotation. Many gardeners plant in the same place year after year as they don't have the space to rotate. When you can, rotating is good, but when you can't it can still work fine with good soil prep. I'd look for alternative explanations. "Growing slowly" can be caused by many things. For many this year it has been the unusual weather they are having. For others, inadequate soil prep before planting. For others a later than normal start. For others, lack of sufficient nutrients. In this case I'd quickly suspect insufficient nitrogen since you haven't added any that you mention and it is the primary growth triggering nutrient. Dave