As you can see the shrub is growing well but just all red flowers but I have been reassured that it will revert back to it's glorious red and white profusion soon
I have had my hot lips for about 8 years now and have always had masses of flowers on it. The first flowers of the year start all red but quickly change to red and white, but loose the redness as they get older. I keep it trimmed to about 3 feet each way to keep a nice bushy shrub, give it a mini trim in autumn, then right down to about 3 inches early spring, clearing out any straggley bits and give it a kick-start with some slow release granules.
Last year i bought a blue lips plant but kept it in a large pot. It had one lot of flowers and that was it. It didn't go on flowering like the hot lips. Must admit I was very disappointed with it. The flowers soon went to seed which I kept and planted, and i now have about 20 plants which are being passed on to neighbours and friends.(keeping a couple for myself). The original plant didn't make it through the winter,(not sure why as we didn't have a bad winter) but I will plant the new ones in the ground this week-end and see how they get on.
Verdun, maybe you're right there. Perhaps the ones grown from seed with the fresh Norfolk seaside air whistling round their ankles will be better than the original plant. Only time will tell.
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Cut right down to the ground in April and it will regrow strongly. Sorted ????
As you can see the shrub is growing well but just all red flowers but I have been reassured that it will revert back to it's glorious red and white profusion soon
I have yet to overwinter one. I grow cuttings every late summer ready to plant again now.
I have had my hot lips for about 8 years now and have always had masses of flowers on it. The first flowers of the year start all red but quickly change to red and white, but loose the redness as they get older. I keep it trimmed to about 3 feet each way to keep a nice bushy shrub, give it a mini trim in autumn, then right down to about 3 inches early spring, clearing out any straggley bits and give it a kick-start with some slow release granules.
Last year i bought a blue lips plant but kept it in a large pot. It had one lot of flowers and that was it. It didn't go on flowering like the hot lips. Must admit I was very disappointed with it. The flowers soon went to seed which I kept and planted, and i now have about 20 plants which are being passed on to neighbours and friends.(keeping a couple for myself). The original plant didn't make it through the winter,(not sure why as we didn't have a bad winter) but I will plant the new ones in the ground this week-end and see how they get on.
Verdun, maybe you're right there. Perhaps the ones grown from seed with the fresh Norfolk seaside air whistling round their ankles will be better than the original plant. Only time will tell.
Verdun, my old dad has always said that as well.
Though last years hotlips, which were my cuttings didnt survive either.
Same problem with the bowles mauve, new cuttings every year.
Only one of last years has survived and it bloomed all winter.
we bought some hotlips last year and we gave them a good pruning but they have not come back yet and ideas as to why they havent