Drooping Roses Due To Weak Stems
vinedancer
8 years ago
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vinedancer
8 years agoRelated Discussions
weak rubber plant or is this natural???
Comments (20)It sounds like a good candidate for a trunk chop. Sever the trunks an inch or so above the second leaf from the bottom. Spritzing the wound with plain water a minute or so after pruning will stop the sap from oozing. Unpot and use a pruning saw to remove the bottom 1/3 of the root mass & then remove all the soil from the roots. A combination of a chopstick and a garden hose on 'fine spray' will help with the chore. If the roots are dense & tangled, remove an additional 1/3 of the remaining roots, concentrating on only the heaviest - leave the finer roots. Repot into the same container (if you choose), using a free-draining soil. Use the chopstick to work the soil into the root mass so there are no air pockets. Site the plant outdoors in bright shade & water only when the soil is dry a couple of inches below the surface. As the planting matures & roots colonize the entire container, water when the soil first feels dry at the drain hole, or a wick inserted in the drain hole is dry. A wick can be a useful tool - especially before the planting is well-established. If you are interested in knowing more - just ask. Fertilize at repot time with a 1/4 suggested strength solution of an all purpose fertilizer like MG 24-8-16 or 12-4-8 and repeat weekly (making sure that when you water, you saturate the soil and at least 10-15% of the water you apply runs through and exits the drain hole). Balanced blends like 20-20-20 or similar have much more P than the plant needs. I've already repotted 3/4 my 30+ Ficus bonsai & treated them in similar fashion - a hard pruning, a complete root-pruning, & a complete soil change - all had latent buds breaking all over the plant within a week. What I just described is an excellent way to rejuvenate a tropical tree. Al...See MoreWeak stems, drooping flowers
Comments (17)A word about fertilizing mid-season. Most of my rose garden is in nutrient poor soil. Years of mulching has improved the soil, but it is still not viable enough to carry the plants through the season without a boost. I wait until temps drop from the usual high 90s and apply a LIGHT feeding of chemical fertilizer that is immediately available to the plant while the temps are lower. The chemical fertilizer is immediately availabe to the plant and when the heat returns, the plant has been fed and I don't have to worry about problems that may arise from fertilizing in high heat. Observing my plants, this is what they need. If you have fertile soil, this practice is not necessary. It takes four to five years for a plant to mature in this garden to be the solid rose it can be. I don't prune new plants for the first three years except to remove dead or diseased growth. If a plant appears to be "weak", I don't allow it to bloom except at the end of the season so that it can complete it's plant cycle and move into dormancy. This practice allows the young plants to put their energy into growing roots and into plant growth. This is not necessary for all of the roses I grow, so it is the plant that is my teacher and which tells me to help it back off from blooming and mature. Observing the plants to see what they need and understanding your soil is the key to finding the cultural practices that lead to a stronger plant. Smiles, Lyn...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 Moreprune weak branches or leave it alone?
Comments (11)I fertilize with Foliage-Pro and Pro-Tekt, Miracle Grow for Acid loving plants, fish emulsion, and Sunniland citrus granules (but not all at the same time!). The citrus granules were mixed in with the potting mix as I was making it. Last Sunday it was fish emulsion, today it was the Miracle Grow for Acid loving plants, next Sunday it will be the Foliage-Pro/Pro-TeKt. None of it is used full strength. I'm afraid of burning it. This lime tree lives in fine sized orchid bark ordered from a nursery on the Internet because I couldn't find small enough bark here. It has turface bought on e-bay. The only thing I got locally was the perlite! LOL! It spent several months in a soil conditioner and Miracle Grow potting soil that holds moisture. That was a nightmare. Parts of the mixture would be bone dry while other parts stayed wet all the time. I finally collected all of the needed materials and repotted. I study the threads compulsively looking for clues as to what might make it happy! When I read your post about sticking my finger into the soil mix I did that and watered. That's probably more accurate than my water meter. I've also used a wooden skewer stick sometimes to determine wetness. On the Texas forum someone said that citrus don't do well in our extreme heat. I think this was written back during August when we'd had many,many days of over 100 degree heat. I'm hoping that the cooler weather will help. I welcome any and all suggestions!...See Morevinedancer
8 years agovinedancer
8 years agoEmbothrium
8 years agoVivien23- Zone 6B
7 years ago
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