skip to main content

Florida Gardening

Big leggy plants- are they worth it?

14 years ago

I have a few plants in my garden that grow pretty fast and can get pretty leggy. I am constantly trimming or proping them up. I am trying to decide if they are worth it or not.

Some are a no brainer.

My Salvia leucantha is worth it. Yes, it can get big and floppy and I do have to prune it here and there, but I like it. It blooms alot and I think the foliage can be pretty.

Brillantaisia ulugurica aka giant salvia- I am not sure if it is worth it. I have had it for almost a year with no blooms. It take up alot of space with no reward...yet. Should I hang in there.? Is it worth it? Will it survuve the winter? The jury is still out on this one.

Forsythia Sage/Salvia madrensis-can have pretty blooms, but it is definatley more of a sprawler than a bush. It doesn't bloom as often as I would like and takes up alot of room. I like it but I don't know if I like it enough.

I realize that for some of you, these are great plants. Maybe they perform better for you I don't know. I do know that there are alot of plants out there I would like to have and I just need to figure out which ones work for me.

I would love to hear you opinions about the above mentioned plants. Maybe I am doing something wrong. Who knows.

What plants are you debating about?

Wanna trade? LOL

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

an_ill-mannered_ache
14 years ago
yeah... i can never decide whether i like my forsythia... the blooms are great, but it S P R A W L S and seems to get ugly and yellow at the exact moment it blooms... (in all fairness i have it in my arid garden and it never gets water). i have some cultivar of s. leucantha that nicki gave me a few years ago... just as pretty as the species but not at all sprawly...
laura1
14 years ago
I have a cassia. I love this small tree. It is planted a bit too close to the house and fence. I have to trim it all the time. It is brittle and branches break. It has blown over 4x this year! This last time I left it down/over for a few days. It does give my kitchen window some privacy too. I love that it is covered with flowers now. On Monday my handyman came and I had him sink an eye hook into the side of the house to tie it to. I paid him too much (ouch!) to do this.
...but I love the plant.
Related Discussions
Leggy strawberry plants
Q
Comments (3)
Kate: What is meant by "trimming them back"? Do you mean cutting off leaves or removing runners entirely, roots and all? There is not much point in cutting off leaves until the plants are ready to go into dormancy, at which point leaf removal can be helpful in controlling diseases. If you want to keep your patch going for several years, you will want to leave at least some of the runners, since they are the future of your patch. Older plants can often continue to produce into the 2nd or even the 3rd season, but production declines and berry size declines dramatically. Newly formed plants generated by runners will be more vigorous and productive in the future. Older plants can be identified by their longer crowns, which have the history of all their past leaves written on them. So if you are going to move or give away plants, make sure they are the youngsters, not the oldsters. None of the above addresses the most common problem of strawberry plantings, and that is weeds, particularly perennial weeds like bermuda grass and clovers. You may not have them in CA, but we sure have them here, and keeping them controlled is the real challenge. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
...See More
Leggy looking plants
Q
Comments (9)
I got 3 leggy big zaks and 1 mystery thats a smaller mater that has been grown by an old woman for the past 30 years. a cross from many years ago... just curious as to how it will taste! They are all planted and i planted them with a very small amount of 10-10-10 and a low dose of Calcium Nitrate. I hope this causes a vigorous growth without burning them since they have not been around any sort of fert. before... I cut off most of the sets of leaves and panted the vine deep very deep only about 3 inches of the fine remains.. Lets start on that 3 or 4 lb mater this year from some ugly leggy looking zaks!
...See More
is it worth planting old, leggy tomatoes?
Q
Comments (26)
BTW - I have NEVER had a fungicide problem with my tomatoes. Maybe somewhere you get 66 inches of rain a year that might be an issue, I don't know. But if someone is having problems with fungus, I'd wonder if the tomatoes weren't planted too close together. They need sufficient air movement. I'm in a very arid climate now so I plant them closer together than I otherwise would - but I have only 2 plants so they still get good air movement anyway. I've been growing tomatoes for 50 years. I have never applied a fungicide. In fact, I can't recall ever using any pesticides on tomato plants, either. Eggplants, now that's a different story, and beans ... anyway. How close are your containers together, and what is your climate like?
...See More
A few questions about leggy plants
Q
Comments (9)
Yes, I know light is the biggest reason why plants get leggy, but without artificial lightning there is not much I can do other than placing them in a south facing window. I can also wait until the season brings more sunlight but that means I get a shorter season. Much of my concern is when is a good time to start my seeds. It is useful what you said, Brennan, about leggier plants producing less. That means I should probably not start them in January-February like I have seen so many others on the Internet say they do. Too bad I don't remember when I started my seeds this year. I think the harvest was a bit late, especially if I had put them outside, but maybe I can make them grow faster by being quicker to repot them, or would that just make them grow bigger? I guess I will have to experiment. Burying the stem is a good advice, at least for stability, but would the plant not still produce less because it is still leggy under the soil? I have heard some claim the stem will grow roots and some say it will grow almost no roots so I don't know what to believe.
...See More
SaintPFLA
14 years ago
I can understand this feeling!

I did not plant Cuban Buttercup - it planted itself. Now, I have 8000 of them. They are very reliable bloomers and the only thing you have to do IS trim it. It gets extremely leggy - quickly - and doesn't want to stay in a small shrub shape.

Just this week, I've started to rip them out and the new seedlings that I find.

I also have Cape Honeysuckle. It also gets leggy, but forms a nice privacy screen. I only trim it once a year so it's not as big of a head-ache.

My two Cassias have never, never bloomed. :(
garyfla_gw
14 years ago
Hi
Since my entire lot is only 75x100 and had a mature landscape when we moved in ,has been a problem from the start.lol The only plant left from the original is a shefflera the only reason it's still there is the roots are approaching china and requires no care except to whack it down lol I'd say I've changed the entire yard about 15 times in the last 30 more since I retired lol.
I still like the specialized grow areas the best ,shadehouse for epiphytes,3 ponds and a marsh garden and I'm still trying to grow stuff in the aviary. yes the birds do most of the pruning but they have no sense of form and they hate flowers lol lol
It seems that the plants I like the best are those that require the most maintenence lol
Since you seem to be into Salvia I was recently given a type without a tag . It mounds and has very deep cobalt blue flowers and has a very pleasant aroma to the foliage.
You know the name of this one?? I love blue flowers lol Thanks gary

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES 8 Take-Home Planting Ideas From Hawaii's Big Island

Bring the tropical spirit of Hawaii to a mainland garden — for a summer or even longer

LANDSCAPE DESIGN 5 Ways to Plant a Big Kiss of Red on Your Landscape

By LuAnn Brandsen

Ignite passion in your garden beds and container plantings with flowers and foliage in this dynamic color

GARDENING GUIDES 10 Plants for Colorful Fall Blooms in the Drought-Tolerant Garden

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Want fall color but not a big water bill? Consider these not-too-thirsty fall bloomers

BATHROOM DESIGN 14 Bathroom Design Ideas Expected to Be Big in 2015

By Natasha Saroca

Award-winning designers reveal the bathroom features they believe will emerge or stay strong in the years ahead

PLANTING IDEAS Big Foliage for Small Spaces

By Jay Sifford Garden Design

Use bold, large-leaved plants to create intriguing contrast in a garden where they’re least expected

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Spring Blossoms Burst Into the Big City

By Living Small: City & Small Space Consulting

Warm weather has lured busloads of gorgeous flowers to New York, from shy buds to full-blown blooms

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Liatris Squarrosa

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

This big-bloomed, drought-tolerant native deserves a place in many butterfly gardens

INSPIRING GARDENS Native Plants Bring 10 Southern California Front-Yard Gardens to Life

By Annie Thornton

Rare plants, rain gardens and wildlife habitats are just a few of the features showcased on the 2016 Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour

PLANTING IDEAS 8 Sumptuous Shade Garden Plant Combinations

By Olander Garden Design

Enjoy these plant combinations made for spots with varying levels of shade and different garden zones

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Texas Ranger Explodes With Color

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

If purple is your passion, embrace Leucophyllum frutescens for its profusion of blooms and consider the unfussiness a bonus

Sponsored

More Discussions

Diagnosing problems with firespike in Sarasota

5

Rats in the garden ID?

6

Garden plans for 2024?

6

New Blooms Feb./Mar.

26

Leaving my final garden

5