Hmmmm........mine seem to be doing about the same as any other year. I don't notice that I've lost any. I haven't found them to be short-lived. I do have a few that are just barely coming up even though others are much further along. Maybe it will still break through? I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Do you have voles? They are usually the culprits in my garden when something is severely reduced or missing. Astilbe is fairly long-lived for me. I have some A. chinensis pumila that is probably 20 years old, and some of the clumping regular ones that are more than 5. They seem to be sprouting as per usual.

....we redid the gardens last fall, and I swear at least 8 are missing! No idea if they were tossed, buried or planted elsewhere.

I don't recall having a problem with voles before, but this year they tunneled all over the place. I lost most of my black-eyed susans, blackberry lilies, and I'm not even sure what else yet. I just have one astilbe and it's still there. Not in the area where I saw tunneling, though.

Yes, they disappear here. I've lost every astilbe within 2 years of planting. No more $ on them.