1. Don't honestly know Tea. I have cimicifuga and I can't honestly place another plant that's similar from a leaf standpoint.

2. My Oak Leaf Hy. is leafing out as we speak. Patience and that micro climate of yours. Mine has just started within the last week or so. ;^ )

1. Baneberry? Sweet cicely?

2. My oak leaf H. has been leafed out for a month but it is in a spot that warms up early.

OK, I'll wait a bit longer before I give up on the O L hydrangea.

I realized yesterday that I lost my Calycanthus. I'm going to cut it off at ground level and wait for a while before I dig it out of the ground - it just might stage a comeback.

No, it's not baneberry or sweet cicely. (I found wild baneberry the day before yesterday!) In three years, this plant has not bloomed so I guess I'll just have to wait until it does to see what it might be. It took Ligularia "The Rocket" six years to bloom for me so I could be in for a long wait for whatever it is.

1. Angelica? astilbe?
2. Yes, my oakleafs are leafed out. You might be able to tell by the terminal bud. Should be plumped out and fuzzy.

Mine has been quite vigorous; grown about 6 inches this year so far.

In response to my own question #1 above - apparently it is cimicifuga but it is just NOW blooming, it started yesterday!

(BTW, my cimicifuga with the dark leaves - can't remember the name of it - bloomed for the first time this year. It's been in my garden for 3 or 4 years.)

The dark cultivars are fall bloomers. There is also a species that blooms in summer - black cohosh. Which is C. simplex or C. racemosa, I don't know. The info is conflicting. Mine is green-leaved and the flowers last much longer. Both types took a few years to establish here as well. Unfortunately, my James Compton died back to one small leaf. Now I am starting all over with two overpriced Hillside Beauties.
What do you think of the new name actaea instead of cimicifuga? The old name had a ring to it once you got it. Actaea sounds like someone is sneezing.

Did your oakleaf live?

My dark one, is it Black Beauty?, bloomed in mid-to-late August (I think).

The one that is in bloom now is more like black cohosh. Wish I knew where I got it.

Actaea as in baneberry? I prefer cimicifuga - less confusion for me.

No, the oakleaf didn't live, but i got a new one from my son and planted it in a different location. It's doing quite well. There's a seedling white oak coming up where the now- deceased was located. I'll let it stay there and in a few years there will, hopefully, be a nice tree growing.

Well then that is late - mine blooms with the astilbes.
I didn't notice that they grouped the baneberries with the bugbanes - now that is confusing.