Plants don't age in the same way we think of people aging. Age in people is a described on a chronological basis, where plants age ontogenetically. This might be framed as, the parts that have taken the most cell divisions to produce are the plant's oldest parts; so strangely, the most recent part of the plant (say, a new branch high on the plant) to grow is the oldest part of the plant. The youngest part of the plant will be found in the root to shoot transition zone. This juvenile part of the plant is also nearly always the most vigorous part of the plant. Plants pass through life stages until they end up at the sexually mature stage. At that point they are capable of blooming/fruiting. Whether they DO or not is complicated and not entirely understood. Blooming and other environmental reactions of most healthy plants are primarily influenced by day length (technically it's night length), but more than a few plants are triggered by other factors, like moisture availability, temperature, predation. Some plants even seem to have an internal 'alarm clock' that acts as a trigger to bloom. There are species of bamboo that bloom as infrequently as every 130 years and when the bloom occurs, all plants of a given genetic origin bloom simultaneously, en masse (all at once), and this occurs regardless of environmental influences. Now, that a plant is capable of blooms/fruit doesn't mean it will produce same, no matter how much we hope. The factors that limit a plant's ability to bloom are as complicated as those that trigger blooming. The plant's internal chemical messengers that limit blooming is first influenced by the plants ontogenetic age, but then by health, stress, stored energy reserves, a significant number of environmental factors, and sometimes seemingly no more than a built-in piqued obstinacy that can be more irritating than Justin Bieber or the Kardashians, if that's even possible. How do I get it to bloom? Keep it healthy and let it do its thing. You can search online - there might be some simple ways to coax it to bloom exactly whenever it feels like it. How old does it have to be? The only age important to plants is what growth phase they're in. They have to be old enough chronologically to have reached sexual maturity. This is also complicated because the (ontogenetic) age of the parent plant from which the propagule (that is now your plant) was taken has to be a part of the equation. Example - a hawthorn tree from seed needs to survive around 20-25 growth cycles to bloom; whereas, a cutting from a blooming hawthorn tree can be counted on blooming within a few years if its state of vitality has been generally good. Al

nyssaman a photo would help but from what you discribed I'm betting it is. Photo please to be sure.

Drat. I posted a long reply a few days to this and for some reason it didn't save. Argh! It even had pictures! I was wondering why I hadn't gotten any responses... Here are answers to your questions: -They were potted. -Bought and planted in mid/late May. -The nursery guarantees plants for one year--50% rebate in store credit (pretty pitiful, right?!). We were a few DAYS past that deadline, so they're offering nothing. I'm trying to decide the approximate probability that this is my fault versus their fault before I post some negative reviews. I want to know how angry I should be. -We're in Western NY state, so it's real winter, but this one was not especially cold. Nor dry. Nor wet. -We're very good about watering. We planted a lot of other perennials last year in the same area, and I believe 100% of them came back and are thriving (possibly lost one--can't remember exactly how many penstemon I planted). We watered the trees more than the rest of the bed, with good soakings at least 1/2 times a week, more or less depending on rain and temps. -Yes, they were mulched. -No idea about the %. I fixed it--thanks! -Planting hole (and entire bed) heavily amended with compost. Both home-grown and store bought. -I believe the two dead ones never showed any new growth this spring (the living one has lots of buds). So I think you're right they died some time ago. Here are some photos: This one is much browner in person than it looks in the photo. I do recognize that it's a bit crowded now. That's new--the plants around it really exploded this spring (which tells you something about the watering and soil quality). For what it's worth, I generally have very good luck with not killing plants. It's rare for me to lose them, and I usually assume it's a poor fit of plant and soil/climate. I would do that with these, except that they were about $100 each (!!! We used this nursery because of gift certificates.), and the owner assured us they were both good choices for our area.

Hardwood cuttings take a whole year, really. I no longer grow them straight in the ground, but in big pots, which can hold 4 or so cuttings. I stash them under the bigger roses, in shade. Apart from r.californicae, they have all had a couple of blooms by now, but I won't be doing anything until autumn, when I will separate and replant. I have not ever covered the pots (unlike with semi-ripes when I cloche them). I find I have around 50% success but by now, it is usually fairly obvious that any dark canes are not going to survive. I am afraid to say I do meddle, giving mine a very gentle tug to see if there is any obvious sign of roots...and any which are blackened, I remove from the pots as they have no sign of callous or root initiation.