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Ceanothus - flowers never bloomed

ThumbeinaPMThumbeinaPM Posts: 7
in Problem solving
Hi, my lovely Puget Blue Ceanothus looked so hopeful for this year, lots of buds then they just turned dusty and dropped off. The plant itself is very green and healthy looking so Haven't a clue what has gone wrong. It is in a pot but flowered beautifully last year. Any ideas?
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  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It'll be struggling in a pot. It may well have been fine last year, but if it's in the same pot, and has presumably grown, it's possibly root bound, and short of water and nutrients. The flowers will suffer as a result of that - plants drop those in favour of everything else.
    Even plants which like sharp drainage need plenty of watering in pots, as that's all they have access to for their moisture. You can't rely on rainfall either, as the foliage can block a lot of that getting through  :)
    Anything potted needs attention every year, and needs a soil based medium to grow in. If it's been in compost only, that won't have helped either. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ThumbeinaPMThumbeinaPM Posts: 7
    Ah right, I don't know how I can move it out of the pot as there isn't any soil there but I could make sure it is sitting in soil rather than compost. Gutted...
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You can buy specific loam based composts in GCs. John Innes is what to look for. 
    Alternatively, you can buy a bag of topsoil to mix with some compost for the pot. If you can do that, and make sure it's watered well enough, it should be fine. A bit of grit mixed will also be good if you can manage it. Whatever you do - don't just put soil on top of the mix it's in. It wouldn't help if it was buried. If you have a photo of the pot, and the base of the shrub, that would help with advice though. 
    If the pot is too small - you'll also need a bigger one. It would depend on the size of the root ball. You'd need to get it out to see though. They're not really suited very well to pots though - better in the ground   :)  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ThumbeinaPMThumbeinaPM Posts: 7
    That sounds really good advice - thank you. Here are some pics, looks healthy bit for 'flowers' 
  • ThumbeinaPMThumbeinaPM Posts: 7
    Couldn't get a good one of pot as it's raining heavily here 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Really just need to see the size of pot. Is it that square one?
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ThumbeinaPMThumbeinaPM Posts: 7
    yes the square wooden one
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I think you'll need to look at how much root is filling the pot. If it's only been in compost, there may not be much growing medium left in there, if the pot is largely root.
    The pot itself might be soaking up a lot of water too if it's not lined. 
    It looks healthy enough, but it's probably not had enough water at the right time to help the flowers fully open. It has a lot of foliage, so there's a lot for the roots to try and support.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ThumbeinaPMThumbeinaPM Posts: 7
    That makes a lot of sense, thanks very much for your very knowledgeable advice. Hopefully get time to check on this over the weekend. It is my fave plant and I don't want to lose it.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You won't lose it - it just needs some attention because it's in a pot  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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