I haven't grown them this year, but in other years I've found them quite easy, but I'm in SW France where the summers (not this one) are usually hot and sunny. This year I was at OH's house in Norfolk for over 2 months and the garden didn't flower as well, the heleniums are very poor, but it has been a very cloudy, not very warm, summer.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
You need something like tomato food for heavy flowering plants. Seaweed is a good product, but it promotes foliage rather than flowers, which isn't what you want in annuals.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I don’t use tomato/seaweed food and have always had (what I consider) good flowering from Zinnias (and everything else) - all my gown annuals go into the garden not pots. We’ve had endless days of heavy cloud this summer and cool temperatures where we are, which combined with the slow start to Spring and lots of late frosts means many things are late or just performing poorly.
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
That's why many of these plants don't do very well here @Butterfly66. That's a fairly standard summer for us. Potted plants are always different to those in a border too. However, my post was in response to someone mentioning feeding with seaweed.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
That's why many of these plants don't do very well here @Butterfly66. That's a fairly standard summer for us. Potted plants are always different to those in a border too. However, my post was in response to someone mentioning feeding with seaweed.
OH describes it as Scottish weather as it reminds us of summer holidays we used to take the kids on along the West coast of Scotland. 🤣😍 Fabulous holidays
I’m a tough love gardener, even the dahlias and annuals I do put in pots only get the occasional feed of home-made alkanet tea. I find Bidens and Lobelia will flower their socks off all summer without any additional feed - they are the ones that have done well this year despite the weather. I’d probably (maybe?) get more flowers on my dahlias if I fed more but as I am trying to reduce/eliminate the plastic I use in the garden that’s not an option unless I get more organised and regular with the alkanet tea. I only water once a week and have a new toy this summer - a hose fed off the water butts - so keep forgetting to feed them. It’s just occurred to me that I could add the alkanet feed to the water butt 🙄
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
It's a balance though isn't it? In borders, excess feeding just gets washed through too, so it becomes a bit pointless. I don't feed much other than the stuff in pots, but I don't grow lots of flowery annuals anyway as they aren't my thing. I do like my sweet peas though, and most are in pots due to the slugs. They need a lot of food to get the best from them, but some good prep helps too. I lose a lot after planting them out if I don't choose suitable sites, even if they go out around early to mid May. Ironically, we've had the hottest July on record here. In the north, especially the N.East, they had the wettest. Usually we look forward to the kids going back to school in mid August because we get some drier, sunnier weather then.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sweet peas are greedy aren’t they. I haven’t done any of those this year either, OH can’t stand the smell and they set off his hay fever so I could never pick them to bring indoors anyway.
Were hoping for a good September too, fingers crossed we both get one @Fairygirl 🙂
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
Indeed. I don't like heat so I've spent a lot of time inside this year. Thankfully it's been cooler recently, although still much warmer than usual. I love September - my favourite time of year
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I think Zinnias are really warm weather plants and don't like to be put outside too early. I grow mine in pots and wait until June before putting them outside here in the East Midlands. They hate root disturbance but I pot them on carefully if necessary and pinch them out to make them branch and produce more flowers. I tend to feed the soil not the plants and don't add anything extra for annuals. This was a late season and the very dry then very wet then very dry weather did not help, but the Zinnias are finally doing well now.
My zinnias did great this year.. but I live in a semi-arid desert in the middle of a multi-year drought. 😆 So I would hazard a guess and say they like it hot and dry, with a good soak every morning.
Posts
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
Potted plants are always different to those in a border too. However, my post was in response to someone mentioning feeding with seaweed.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I’m a tough love gardener, even the dahlias and annuals I do put in pots only get the occasional feed of home-made alkanet tea. I find Bidens and Lobelia will flower their socks off all summer without any additional feed - they are the ones that have done well this year despite the weather. I’d probably (maybe?) get more flowers on my dahlias if I fed more but as I am trying to reduce/eliminate the plastic I use in the garden that’s not an option unless I get more organised and regular with the alkanet tea. I only water once a week and have a new toy this summer - a hose fed off the water butts - so keep forgetting to feed them. It’s just occurred to me that I could add the alkanet feed to the water butt 🙄
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
I do like my sweet peas though, and most are in pots due to the slugs. They need a lot of food to get the best from them, but some good prep helps too. I lose a lot after planting them out if I don't choose suitable sites, even if they go out around early to mid May.
Ironically, we've had the hottest July on record here. In the north, especially the N.East, they had the wettest. Usually we look forward to the kids going back to school in mid August because we get some drier, sunnier weather then.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Were hoping for a good September too, fingers crossed we both get one @Fairygirl 🙂
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
I don't like heat so I've spent a lot of time inside this year. Thankfully it's been cooler recently, although still much warmer than usual. I love September - my favourite time of year
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...