It's early May, but I don't see any signs of my balloon flowers. Should I be worried?

Question:

It's early May, but I don't see any signs of my balloon flowers. Should I be worried?

Answer:

Don’t worry.  The balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) is slow to emerge in spring.  Other late emerging perennials include hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus hybrids), butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), and Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia).  It’s a good practice to mark the locations of late emerging perennials to prevent damaging these plants when working in the garden in early spring.