Lilylouise, I've grown wallflowers in pots for years. They work really well, even tall ones if the pot's big enough.
Lokelani, if Bowles Mauve looks too leggy, I cut off the stalks with flowers on the end and put them in water outside. That way they stay in a neat bunch and your bush looks tidier. They last quite well in water outdoors. Mine's doing the same at the moment but it looks really good - a sort of 3D effect. I took a promising photo but it's still in the camera!
Christopher2, I agree that geraniums are brilliant gound cover over bulbs and mostly low-maintenance. But the variety Jolly Bee has been withdrawn, or rather the name has, because it 's turned out to be exactly the same as Rozanne (DNA tested). Some naughty nursery has tried to pass it off as a new variety. It's a great plant - grows in sun or shade and the flowers last for ages because they're sterile. And what a colour!
Van Noort forced to stop growing geranium type after DNA testing
By Jack Sidders 16 April 2010
Dutch grower and breeder Marco Van Noort has lost a EUR200,000 licensing dispute with Blooms of Bressingham North America after DNA testing revealed "virtually no differences" between geraniums marketed by the two companies.
I'm not a subscriber so I couldn't go further, but there was a court case in 2010 where the name had to be withdrawn. In the RHS Plant Finder, under Jolly Bee it says see Rozanne. Having said that, I've also found several nurseries still listing Jolly Bee, mostly in the US but some in the UK.
I've split mine, and in different sites the colour does look a bit different - more purply in shade. Whatever, it's an A1 beautiful plant, and so unfussy. I have a piece that's been in a small pot for nearly 2 years, waiting for a home, and in spite of drying out more that once it's flowered all summer.
my bowles mauve is now 4 years old and still going strong.. i dead head as soon as hte flowers have gone half way up the stem.. i cut back a bit each year down to the thrid bud up.. to stop getting woody. and then i use them as cuttings.. i have found between jan and june is best time for these..
i also have a stars and stripe variegated pink/red one.. an apricot one which i love.. it is mixed apricot pink and orange.. gorgeous.. these not so tough as bowles one thou.. so take cuttings each year..
i also grown my own wallflowers this year instead of buying them.. saved last years seed and i now have loads of plants.. so many i am selling them up top garden in 9cm for 25p each.. going well they are..
Good thread Lilylouise, I just planted out my Wallflower plugs that I'd grown on this week. I grew them last year from seed and they gave a wonderful display. Some of them have survived in the borders and one lot even now has buds but I'm thinking they won't come to much now it's gotten so cold.
Greenjude it's good to know they do well in pots because I've put some into pots this year as they'd get swamped in the parts of the border where I want them. I'm hoping I can set the pots into the borders or plant them out properly in springtime.
Christopher2, it's a great forum, I agree. I don't come in very often but I'm always here for much longer than I planned. There are so many tips to pick up. What I love too is that people tell you their experiences, not what the books say should happen, so you can find out how a plant really behaved in a given site. You can't always trust plant labels, I've found. Several plants I bought this year turned out to be wrongly named, and some others I knew were wrong, eg, a penstemon labelled scabious.
Ladygardener2, I've found you can leave wallflowers in pots all winter and let them flower in pots. I've got I think 4 that have flowered 2 years running and still look as if they'll flower next year. If you want to plant them in spring, they should settle in without problems.
I grow mine in pots as I like to have them near the back door for the lovely scent. I particularly like the dark red and the dark orange. Lovely photos. I used to buy bare root but I went for some trays of reasonably sized plants this year, rather than the tiny ones. Hoping to put them in tomorrow.
Posts
Lilylouise, I've grown wallflowers in pots for years. They work really well, even tall ones if the pot's big enough.
Lokelani, if Bowles Mauve looks too leggy, I cut off the stalks with flowers on the end and put them in water outside. That way they stay in a neat bunch and your bush looks tidier. They last quite well in water outdoors. Mine's doing the same at the moment but it looks really good - a sort of 3D effect. I took a promising photo but it's still in the camera!
Christopher2, I agree that geraniums are brilliant gound cover over bulbs and mostly low-maintenance. But the variety Jolly Bee has been withdrawn, or rather the name has, because it 's turned out to be exactly the same as Rozanne (DNA tested). Some naughty nursery has tried to pass it off as a new variety. It's a great plant - grows in sun or shade and the flowers last for ages because they're sterile. And what a colour!
Here's a clip to Horticulture Week:
Van Noort forced to stop growing geranium type after DNA testingBy Jack Sidders 16 April 2010
Dutch grower and breeder Marco Van Noort has lost a EUR200,000 licensing dispute with Blooms of Bressingham North America after DNA testing revealed "virtually no differences" between geraniums marketed by the two companies.Sorry about the huge print. It doesn't look like that on the site http://www.hortweek.com/news/login/997154/
I'm not a subscriber so I couldn't go further, but there was a court case in 2010 where the name had to be withdrawn. In the RHS Plant Finder, under Jolly Bee it says see Rozanne. Having said that, I've also found several nurseries still listing Jolly Bee, mostly in the US but some in the UK.
I've split mine, and in different sites the colour does look a bit different - more purply in shade. Whatever, it's an A1 beautiful plant, and so unfussy. I have a piece that's been in a small pot for nearly 2 years, waiting for a home, and in spite of drying out more that once it's flowered all summer.
my bowles mauve is now 4 years old and still going strong.. i dead head as soon as hte flowers have gone half way up the stem.. i cut back a bit each year down to the thrid bud up.. to stop getting woody. and then i use them as cuttings.. i have found between jan and june is best time for these..
i also have a stars and stripe variegated pink/red one.. an apricot one which i love.. it is mixed apricot pink and orange.. gorgeous.. these not so tough as bowles one thou.. so take cuttings each year..
i also grown my own wallflowers this year instead of buying them.. saved last years seed and i now have loads of plants.. so many i am selling them up top garden in 9cm for 25p each.. going well they are..
Good thread Lilylouise, I just planted out my Wallflower plugs that I'd grown on this week. I grew them last year from seed and they gave a wonderful display. Some of them have survived in the borders and one lot even now has buds but I'm thinking they won't come to much now it's gotten so cold.
Greenjude it's good to know they do well in pots because I've put some into pots this year as they'd get swamped in the parts of the border where I want them. I'm hoping I can set the pots into the borders or plant them out properly in springtime.
Christopher2, it's a great forum, I agree. I don't come in very often but I'm always here for much longer than I planned. There are so many tips to pick up. What I love too is that people tell you their experiences, not what the books say should happen, so you can find out how a plant really behaved in a given site. You can't always trust plant labels, I've found. Several plants I bought this year turned out to be wrongly named, and some others I knew were wrong, eg, a penstemon labelled scabious.
Ladygardener2, I've found you can leave wallflowers in pots all winter and let them flower in pots. I've got I think 4 that have flowered 2 years running and still look as if they'll flower next year. If you want to plant them in spring, they should settle in without problems.