Weak stems, drooping flowers
mariou
14 years ago
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gnabonnand
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Astilbe weak flower stems
Comments (9)There could be any number of reasons to explain the problem--poor soil, insufficient water, predators. Lots of astilbes have thrived where I am in your zone so I'm guessing soil is probably at fault for yours not doing so well. My own are doing well in slightly acidic, sandy loam in full to partial shade. For some reason this seems to be a down year for their blossoms altho' a few varieties are apparently thriving. Keep in mind that thanks to weather conditions, many times perennials have good years and bad years. A gardener learns to accept both rather than expecting a garden to perform exactly the same year after year. This year my Hellebores/Lenten roses produced nearly 50 blooms whereas I was lucky to see less than a tenth that many last year. Don't rule out/ignore adding/incorporating other shade-tolerant perennials in your shady garden beds--Tricyrtis hirta/toad lily, Polemonium/Jacob's ladder, Alchemilla mollis/Lady's Mantle, Aquilegia/columbine, Mertensia virginiana/Virginia bluebells, Hosta, Dicentra/bleeding heart, Brunnera/Siberian bugloss, Heuchera/coral bells, Pulmonaria/Lungwort, Chelone/turtlehead & Cimicifuga racemosa/black snakeroot, Atherium japonnicum/ Japanese painted fern & Japanese sedge grass. They'll provide both foliage & color contrasts. The majority of the plants mentioned above can easily be grown from seed via winter sowing or else by division + you can trade for seeds on the Seed Exchange forum. It's been my experience in recent years that gardening doesn't need to be terribly expensive I you're willing to work hard....See MoreDrooping, Weak Stems?? What am I doing here?
Comments (1)Inthemama99, you must have your bucket set to private, as I cannot view it. Can you just do the picture using the properties with and close the brackets in by omitting the space after . A few things come to mind but I would like to see them....See Morestems too weak? please help
Comments (8)thanks kariann! since you've mentioned sun, i think that's the problem!! we had a heatwave tear going on for the first few weeks after i got the dahlia, and she didn't do well, so i panicked and moved her to the shade under my maple tree where she's been ever since. it makes since now - the stems are reaching for the sun! i even have some blooms laying on the ground!! i better get her to the sun and quick! i really want to get her in the ground, not a planter, but the only area that gets good sun, primarily gets pm sun and i'm not sure at all that she can handle that...CAN SHE? i have no idea what she is, i got her from my local home depot and there was no tag. it was love at first site. thanks again angela...See Moreweak flower stems on hibiscus
Comments (1)"and I keep them moist" Let 'em dry out a bit (just a bit). Hibiscus don't like "wet feet". Also, many so-called hibiscus fertilizers are horrible for hibiscus (way too high on the phosphate). Try a tomato fertilizer or dig some Osmocote into the soil. A low middle number (7-2-7 or so) is a pretty good route. Also, how long have these plants been in the same pots? They may be root bound, in which case you can root prune (trim a bit of the root ball all the way around, and do normal root bound procedures to encourage new roots) or simply pot up. For hibiscus potting soil, I mix regular potting soil with perlite, bark, and some cactus soil if I can find it -- also a little potting charcoal if I've got it. That makes a very well draining soil. Finally, since you say you keep them moist, you may have salts built up in your pots from the tapwater. Let the soil dry out and then run the hose on the pot with a gentle stream til a good amount of water runs through the bottom. This should help wash any salts out....See MorebodiCA
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