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unhappy roof terrace plants
photosynthesize
Posts: 5
Hello... I know almost nothing about plants and I am humbly asking you experts for some support. I put some plants on my roof terrace in the summer and they were generally doing OK, but as winter has progressed some have died completely and others seem to be halfway there. I'd really appreciate any help you could give me - I think the hydrangea and the one I don't know the name of (pic 1) are being chomped on by something...
and the wisteria and little conifer thing and the rosemary have maybe gone a bit dried up despite the constant rain...?
I do have some miraclegro stuff (blue powder that you dissolve in water) but as they've all been so drenched lately I didn't want to deluge them further by giving them that too.
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No point feeding anything at the moment.It will just wash through. wait until signs of growth in March.
do you mean that everything else should be OK if I just wait, despite the half dead looking rosemary?
any suggestions on what to do about the nibbled leaves?
Let me guess, you potted them all in multipurpose compost? If you did then they are too wet. Plus they are on the floor so they won't be draining properly. Does the terrace get windy?
The other plant in the top picture looks like a magnolia. Really none of them are suitable for pot growing. You can pot grow rosemary, but they won't like MPC. The wisteria needs a deep good root run and will give up the ghost eventually.
The conifer has dieback, again it won't do well in MPC. The hydrangea isn't being nibbled it looks like scorch of some description. There are solutions to the rosemary and hydrangea, but I'd look for a different set of plants more suited to growing on pots as the best solution.
Wind shear (the compass direction and the angle the wind strikes) effects water uptake and leaf scorch which will damage or stunt growth.( IKEA sell pretty, taped balcony railing sheets and canopies to offer wind, rain and sun protection.) Are there any heating vents, boiler exhausts or air conditioning vents causing huge temperature variations?
Oh forget it, this is impossible. I don't know how anyone does it. And no Dave Morgan, I used a compost recommended at the garden centre for potted plants.
I agree, don't give up. You can get such lovely results with a roof terrace or a balcony. It's all about choosing the right plants and providing them with the best possible circumstances. Maybe this link will help and inspire you: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=674
If you'd like some inspiration just google for roof gardens and lots of pictures come up. And the same goes for designs too.
Wisteria actually can be grown as a standard in a large pot, say about 110 liters capacity ( you'll need to adjust the pot size as the plant grows). I agree that your rosemary looks as if it's given up the ghost. The evergreen shrub in picture 1 is a Euonymus, a japonica type. They are very easy to grow, sturdy plants. Good for hedging!
I have done research, that's why I got the plants I did... Only potted them all in the summer, I can't buy yet more pots already. This isn't my hobby, I just want some hardy greenery on my terrace. Most of the pots are sitting on breeze blocks, is that no good for drainage?
Any suggestions on very low maintenance replacement plants that will be OK on an east facing roof terrace then?
thank you for being so kind Tetley.