skip to main content

Is General Sikorski dead if I don't see shoots yet?

18 years ago

Last year my beautiful General Sikorski clematis turned black all over and shriveled to the ground in early summer. I assumed this was the dreaded clematis wilt. I didn't see any signs of life last year after he wilted to the ground, and I don't see any shoots yet this year. Might he still come back? If I don't see any shoots yet, does that mean he's probably lgone? I don't want to plant something else in his place if he may come back, but I don't want to leave a big hole in my garden if he's not going to come back. Any advice would be appreciated!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

suzymac
18 years ago
I highly doubt that your General is dead from a bout with wilt. If you are in zone 6 you should see new growth begin about May 1st or perhaps 2 weeks before then at the earliest. I am in zone 6 as well and my plants are not yet showing much of anything. Patience is what we ALL need, lol.
Suzy
clematis_not_bombs
18 years ago
Hi lisah, I agree with suzy your General sik is most likely still alive. I think the word clematis should really mean patience because thats what it takes to grow these lovely things.
Related Discussions
Don't shoot, I give up.
Q
Comments (20)
LOLOL. I had one really bad case of flu back in the fifties. I was just a kid, and thought I was going to die. My poor mother was just frantic. I do remember the doctor made a house call, and he was one of the towns most illustrious surgeons. I would love to have heard what she said to him to get him to do that. I guess it was Hong Kong flu, he prolly didn't want my butt in his office spreading it around. The only other time I had flu was about seven or eight years ago, and I was running myself ragged with just a couple of hours of sleep a night. That was just a compromised immune system from fatigue and stress. Got well, and then relapsed. I do take the vaccine. Shall continue taking it until I find out it's made in a third world country. But, I have a very strong immune system, and avoid exposure in flu season. If you aren't exposed to a carrier, you won't get it....it's that simple. Problem is, most people who must work away from home don't have that option. It would be a big help if employers would stop insisting their workers come in....sick or well.
...See More
Which of your plants aren't shooting yet?
Q
Comments (43)
Nitida is not shooting yet here. Last year it was putting up tons of shoots in May. I hope it doesn't flower. A couple thin little shoots on the murielae. This is a 3-4 year old seedling-started plant that has hardly topped 2' so far. It's the slowest 'boo I've ever planted. On the other hand, a tissue culture F. rufa I planted weeks ago is already shooting and taking off. A three-year-old decora got top killed over the winter and put up two skinny shoots. One drooped over and snapped. Bah. I have another planting that spent two winters in a tub sunk in the ground, and it is shooting like gangbusters.
...See More
Bird Nets: Damned If I Do, And Damned If I Don't!
Q
Comments (35)
Lou, you crack me up! I had an old neighbor once in the country who shot a red-tailed hawk who came after his chickens. Wildlife had just released them a year earlier in a repopulation project. I told the wildlife guy at the time he was releasing them in the wrong area, that they would all be dead soon. He said that a lot of people would be in jail if they were. Nobody ever went to jail. The hawks caught on and moved elsewhere. I heard they were seen in Aiken, about 30 miles down the road, where they raise horses, not chickens, and love hawks because they eat the barn mice. Birds are smarter than we think they are. It's sad that we can't protect our crops from migratory marauders, but rich people can breed doves and foxes by the hundreds and shoot them on a yearly basis for "sport". FWIW, I've done some borderline illegal stuff to protect my garden when I lived in the country, and I purposely put net on my chicken coops to kill the snakes. I like snakes...in their place...but chickens are not as cheap to raise as some people think.
...See More
More than 50 dead in Las Vegas shooting
Q
Comments (133)
Scott, the Chicago gangland image pre-dates America's gun violence epidemic by decades. I am not American and I can tell you that when my civil engineer grandfather was hired to work on the Deep Tunnel in the late 1970s, my grandmother's first reaction was to clutch her pearls and trot out the old Hollywood images of the Chicago typewriter, Al Capone and such. Even she knew this was a tinsle town fabrication, though. Today, sadly America is known for its promiscuous gun culture throughout the world, but it's not fair to compare that vice to the post card images of other countries who have their own serious vices (Brazil's murder rate is staggering for example.) Fortunately this country is known for its many excellent qualities too. America is known as the country of innovators and doers, a country of compassion, first to respond to catastrophes around the world with aid and volunteers. If we want to move forward as a country and find a way out of the political gridlock that has bound up our ability to respond to the epidemic of gun violence, we would do well to focus on what makes America strong and united, not what weakens the country and divides it. Many Americans feel strongly about their right to have guns. No Americans want to see their fellow citizens gunned down by madmen. We can solve this problem if we acknowledge that we all want the same end result: a country where we are safe from madness powered by high powered weapons. It does us no good to constantly repeat how right we are to ourselves and among ourselves. That is how Trump became president.
...See More
LisaH
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you, Suzy and Clematis Not Bombs. I hated to think the old guy was dead! ;-)

LisaH
flowergirl70ks
18 years ago
Suzy, I am amazed to hear you say they will green as late as May. I am on the border of 5/6 and all of mine are already green. Strange, isn't it? I think if I ever moved, I wouldn't know how to garden at all.
suzymac
18 years ago
flowergirl, I sometimes think that our zonal maps are a real crock. Where I live, I never see growth anywhere near as early as I'm supposed to. If you are seeing green now, you're a lucky ducky.
Suzy
michael_in_chicago
18 years ago
On the other hand, GS is one that shriveled and died on me a few years ago, never to return. They usually come back, but this one didn't. Still, I don't think you should be seeing growth just yet. I can barely see my peonies, and they would be coming up first!
magda
18 years ago
I can see some growth on my clematis already as well, no shoots, mind you. But, this green stuff is usually frostbitten and gone by the time the real growth to stay comes, which is in May.
One of my group 2 clematis (Evista) has died regularly at the end of the summer and faithfully come back the year after for four years already.
I also have General Sikorski which I planted last year. As yet no growth whatsoever on it.

Related Stories

DINING ROOMS New This Week: Proof the Formal Dining Room Isn’t Dead

By Mitchell Parker

Could graphic wallpaper, herringbone-patterned floors, wine cellars and fire features save formal dining rooms from extinction?

FUN HOUZZ How to Survive an Epidemic of Walking Dead

By Becky Harris

Tips to use around the house and garden to prep for the zombie apocalypse

GARDENING GUIDES What’s in a Name? See 6 Wildflowers That Aren’t ‘Weeds’ at All

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Dispel the stereotypes of weeds and try these wildlife-supporting native wildflowers in your garden

DECORATING GUIDES 12 Deadly Decorating Sins

Are your room designs suffering from a few old habits? It may be time to change your ways

SMALL KITCHENS The 100-Square-Foot Kitchen: No More Dead Ends

By Mitchell Parker

Removing an angled peninsula and creating a slim island provide better traffic flow and a more airy layout

DESIGNER SHOWCASES See the Daring Designs at the 2013 Kip's Bay Decorator Show House

New York designers show their latest creations in a fashion show for the home

KITCHEN DESIGN Stylish New Kitchen, Shoestring Budget: See the Process Start to Finish

By Becky Dietrich, Interior Designer

For less than $13,000 total — and in 34 days — a hardworking family builds a kitchen to be proud of

LANDSCAPE DESIGN See 5 Unexpected Ways to Use Vines

By Falon Mihalic

Vines can grow over slopes, trail off pergolas and add seasonal color to the garden

KIDS’ SPACES See an Arizona Nursery That’ll Never Get Old

By Becky Harris

Age appropriate but not childish, this baby boy’s room will grow with him without a redesign

BEFORE AND AFTERS See 6 Yards Transformed by Losing Their Lawns

By Annie Thornton

Wondering whether a turf lawn is the best use of your outdoor space? These homeowners did, and they found creative alternatives

Sponsored

Foremost Siding & Exterior Design Solutions in Columbus

More Discussions

Could this be Jackmanii Superba?

11

Atragenes, Alpinas for the south?

11

Anyone grow Brother Stefan?

6

Recommend a clematis for zone 6b please

7

Pruning of type 2?

1