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geum mrs bradshaw

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Cut back the flower stems and feed it.  Liquid tomato fertiliser is good.  This will help the roots grow stronger to produce a better plant next year and should also encourage a second flush of flowers later this summer.   Once the plant is big enough, you can think about lifting and dividing it in spring to make more free plants.

Posts

  • 4thPanda4thPanda Posts: 4,145

    Should they be cut right back to the base?

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,058

    Yes, but just the flowering stems. 

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • 4thPanda4thPanda Posts: 4,145

    Thanks Obelixx image

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    If you keep snipping off each bloom as soon as it has dropped it's petals, you can prolong the flowering season by quite some time as new buds will soon form.  If you allow seed pods to form, it will stop flowering.

     

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    Yes, just the very end as young flower buds often form an inch or two below the old flower.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,549

    There is an article in a magazine this week (not GW), that says to cut back geum, leaves and all, to the base. I've never done this before, can anyone advise please?

    Last edited: 09 September 2017 16:57:10

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,549

    Please excuse bump, but l am hoping to do this tomorrow, weather permitting, and was hoping for some advice image

    Last edited: 12 September 2017 13:05:00

  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713

    Not a helpful reply AnniD, but I too have Geum Mrs. Bradshaw, quite a few of them and have never cut them back, only the flower heads but not the leaves.  However I do remove any dead or dying leaves from the base of the plant as necessary.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,109

    It's a long time since I've grown geums Anni , but I'm going to suggest that it could be a bit like geraniums, in that they can get a bit manky looking - ie  mildewy and ragged. Quite common with plants that work hard and flower for a long period.  

    By cutting the whole plant back, you encourage fresh new growth. Perhaps even a flower or two depending on your climate, location etc.

    Not saying that's the definitive reason, but it is a possibility.  image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,549

    Many thanks GD2 & Fairygirl.  GD2, I think I'll stick with just tidying them up as you say. If it was earlier in the summer I might have given it a try as with geraniums, but it's a bit late in the season now I feel.

    Thanks again image 

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