Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Do osteospermum dislike certain dahlias...??

Sambucus JanSambucus Jan Posts: 15
in Plants

I bought 4 lovely healthy white osteospermums about 3 weeks ago. Planted them up in 4 square wooden planters along with other assorted plants. After about a week (it was a windy period so everything took a bit of a buffeting) I noticed that 2 plants were, and still are, thriving with lots of large flowers and plenty of buds. The other two are really suffering however; the original heads drooped, and the new flowers forming are tiny and very spiky. In addition, the leaves are shrivelling and turning yellow.

I checked what the companion plants were, and the only common denominator for the two containers with the sickly osteospermums is the presence of a red dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff'. The other two (thriving) are in with a Dutch orange variety Glory of somewhere or other, and these do not seem to be affected. All the tubs have French marigolds, two have pelargoniums and two have spider plants.

Q: do osteospermums have an aversion to Bishop of Llandaff dahlias, or is this just coincidence? Any other ideas as to why I have this strange anomaly of two successes and two failures? I have shifted both the sickly plants away from the suspected culprits by swapping stuff around, but I think the damage is done, they do not seem to be recovering.  

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Have you given all the containers the same amount of water?
    Also, if you can get the plant out easily without damaging it, check whether there is a 'teabag' strangling the roots. They're often used on osteos. If you find one,try to tease it off gently or at least try to tear it open.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Sambucus JanSambucus Jan Posts: 15
    Yes, all containers treated equally. Took both sickly plants out several days ago, roots looked ok and no sign of restriction, replanted by swapping around with other plants, away from the dahlias. Still no sign of improvement in spite of extra watering. Thank you for your thoughts anyway.
    Anybody else got other suggestions please??
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    You may want to add a photo to help us out!
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I bought three white osteos, probably about 3 weeks ago! Planted and watered the same. Two are thriving, one just died. Checked for teabags on digging it up, none. No discernible reason. I find osteos just do that sometimes.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • RoddersUKRoddersUK Posts: 537
    I always find I buy mine with flowers. Then they all die off and I get one or two flowers for the rest of the year.
    Can never get then to fully bloom!?
  • YviestevieYviestevie Posts: 7,066
    Do the planters get the same amount of sunlight?
    Hi from Kingswinford in the West Midlands
  • RoddersUKRoddersUK Posts: 537
    Yes, pretty much sun all day, as I understand that's what they love!
    I have them in just compost, do they like something else?
    One's had no flowers for a week or so, but there are some buds. So hopefully I'll get a few soon. 
Sign In or Register to comment.