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How to mulch/feed Persicaria affinis?

NoSlugsPleaseNoSlugsPlease Posts: 120
in Problem solving
I was given a few stems of persicaria last year (I *think* it's Superba, low-growing like a mat & creeping) which I just stuck into the ground without digging in any organic material (clay soil) but they still rooted and grew. Now I'm wondering how to apply compost or manure to it. The plants practically cling to the ground like a dense mat. Could I just sprinkle a thin layer of compost over the plants/leaves and just wait for them to be washed down into the soil?
Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you.

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I think it's one of those plants where it's best to leave them to get on with it.
    If it's happy where it is it'll thrive and if you feed it you'll probably get fewer flowers and more leaves.
    A house a few doors away has had a patch of them in their front garden for something like 15 years+. They're not gardeners at all and it's surrounded by weeds, but it flowers quite happily all summer long every year

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    I agree ,best left alone .If they’re looking good what more can you ask for .
  • Arthur1Arthur1 Posts: 542
    Persicarias are great plants, especially if you have difficult soil. Lots of species and cultivars. No maintenance needed except cutting back when they outgrow their site.
  • NoSlugsPleaseNoSlugsPlease Posts: 120
    Thank you, everyone. I like the idea of not having to do any work so that's a relief.  :smile:
  • izzy8izzy8 Posts: 147
    I can honestly say that I have never fed my Persicaria ,hate to thing how far it would spread if I did.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    I second the "don't fuss them" votes.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
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