Hello!
This year was my first foray into outdoor container gardening on my balcony, unfortunately some things went awry after my health suddenly declined for a month (I'm okay now!) and I was unable to water the garden. My perennial foxgloves (see post subject) successfully bloomed every bud and promptly went dormant despite the lack of water, but one thing that concerns me is that the bottom, vegetative rosette of leaves is dead. I've seen online that when you cut back perennial foxgloves to get bigger blooms the following year, you're supposed to cut them at the top of the rosette and then cover the rosette with mulch. However, when I look at videos and image tutorials, the rosette is usually still green and healthy.
What I would like to know is, are my foxgloves still alive? Should I still cut to the top of the rosette and mulch?
Also some context, my balcony is covered by another balcony on the floor above me. The area in general is heavily forested. All that to say that the balcony is very shaded. Additionally, we had a relatively mild summer, about low 80's and high 70's.
This year was my first foray into outdoor container gardening on my balcony, unfortunately some things went awry after my health suddenly declined for a month (I'm okay now!) and I was unable to water the garden. My perennial foxgloves (see post subject) successfully bloomed every bud and promptly went dormant despite the lack of water, but one thing that concerns me is that the bottom, vegetative rosette of leaves is dead. I've seen online that when you cut back perennial foxgloves to get bigger blooms the following year, you're supposed to cut them at the top of the rosette and then cover the rosette with mulch. However, when I look at videos and image tutorials, the rosette is usually still green and healthy.
What I would like to know is, are my foxgloves still alive? Should I still cut to the top of the rosette and mulch?
Also some context, my balcony is covered by another balcony on the floor above me. The area in general is heavily forested. All that to say that the balcony is very shaded. Additionally, we had a relatively mild summer, about low 80's and high 70's.