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Auriculas
Sambucus Jan
Posts: 15
in Plants
I love auriculas, and my hubby built me a lovely 'theatre' to show off the 20 or so best in small terracotta pots each spring. This year, a lot of the plants grew and sprouted OK, but quite a few had very long, spindly stems, which wouldn't support the flower heads properly. Any suggestions as to why this has happened and how it can be remedied for next year please?
0
Posts
Are they getting enough light?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The theatre itself is on a south-facing wall, but I overwintered last year's plants on a small set of shelves (outdoors) on a west-facing wall. They were open to the light and elements, but as you say, maybe not enough light got to them - is this critical throughout the winter?
I grew mine in a sheltered south-facing gravel bed which was backed by a white wall, so not really sure how much they need, but I'd be tempted to say try growing them in a well lit cold frame and only put them in the theatre when they're in bloom.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Did you feed them at all? I start feeding mine with half strength Maxicrop at the end of February, every 2 weeks or so. They live in a cold greenhouse over winter and are moved to the Theatre when they begin to flower.
Thanks for your suggestions folks; I'll try making sure the overwintering plants get more light next time round, and start feeding them towards the end of winter. Will report back if they are less weedy stems in 2018!