I planted 3 packages of Morning Glories and only a few are sprouting. Can you tell me why all of them seem not to be sprouting? I planted 2 Heavenly blue and one Crimson Rambler, it will be interesting to see what color the one that seems to be going crazy is going to be. Here is a picture of it. I have 5 or 6 plants that have sprouted, can you tell me why the others did not sprout?
If you started them outdoors in the garden there are tons of things that could happen to them...birds could eat the seeds, they might not have been planted at the right depth, they might have been washed away in a rainstorm, soil could have been too wet and they rotted, soil got too dry and they dried up...probably a dozen other reasons too. Or if it hasn't been that long since you started them, they might still come up and they're just a little slower than the others. From the size of the one in your picture though I would guess you started them long enough ago that the others should have come up by now if they were going to.
Ecrane is right, there can be a number of reasons. Here is some general info for you.
http://sandradodd.com/morningglories
http://www.ehow.com/how_2152924_grow-morning-glories-seed.html
http://www.chiff.com/home_life/garden/morning-glories.htm
Got a question, the other stuff that is in with the Geraniums, would it be a good idea to take them out or should I leave them in there?
The tops of my Cosmos plants have flattened out, what does that mean? They also look yellow, is something wrong with them?
I discovered something interesting in my neighbor's Rose of Sharon bush, it is blooming! I thought they did not do that until August, and my other neighbor's has buds on it. What could have caused them to start blooming two months ahead of schedule?
They can bloom this time of year. There's always going to be some natural variation in exactly when things start to bloom--the weather conditions that year can be a factor among other things. And to be fair, it's practically the end of June so it's really only about a month until August :)
do you think mine at the fence will bloom? It is not as big as these others that have been here for years.
If it's something that you just planted this year it's hard to say, sometimes you might get blooms but often shrubs will take time to settle in and get their roots going first, so it can be a year or two before you start to see a lot of blooms. Especially if it's one of the ones you showed in your other thread that seemed pretty stressed I would guess that it probably won't bloom this year. But it's impossible to say for sure.
It is one I planted last year, the ones I planted this year that look stressed, I am not sure are going to make it, I just got done watering everything that needed it really good, I did the finger test, ecrane3, and it felt dry, I did NOT water the Cosmos, I think they have been getting too much water when I used to water with the sprinkler cap on the watering can. I just watered the Rose of Sharon bush by the front of the lattice, the Morning Glories, the little Rose of Sharon beside the house and the others, the ground was so dry that it soaked the water like a sponge! I bet I used one whole can of water on one plant it was so dry! So do I just water them once a week? Need some advice.
Unfortunately, nobody can tell you a magic watering frequency i.e once a week, etc. It's something that is going to vary from one person's garden to another depending on your type of soil, and even within your own garden you'll need to water more frequently in hotter weather and less frequently in cooler weather. Eventually you'll develop a better sense for when you need to water things, but until then I highly recommend doing the finger test on a regular basis to see if things need water or not.
The ground was so dry yesterday, I had to use something else to poke a hole deep enough to get my finger in! I went out this morning and the Morning Glories have grown enough that you can tell the difference. I used a screwdriver and poked a hole in the dirt to get the finger. I did not water the Cosmos and I tried not to get much around the Irises. Will I need to cover any of this stuff up with leaves like I did last year or do you think it will be ok now that they are established and will have bloomed? Last year I put a whole lotta leaves on the Irises and the Stonecrop Sedum and the Rose of Sharon. The one we broke the other day, I think it died, the leaves dried up and the stem is brown, the one Rose of Sharon I planted two years ago so hopefully it will bloom. The other ones that look stressed are still green so I am still hopeful. I will post a picture of the other Morning Glories and see what I mean.
Here are the other two Morning Glory plants. And the next picture shows the other one.
As you can see, they are getting ready to start reaching for the sun, they got quite a bit of sun yesterday because it was a bright sunny day. I watered my Geraniums today, and I watered it so well that the water actually drained from the holes, first time I ever gave it that much water, but where it is now, it gets a lot of sun.
Teddy, any time you need to water a container plant, you should give it enough water to see it run from the drain holes....that is the only way to assure the roots get a good drink.
Since I gave it a good drink, if it rains should I just leave it out? The neighbor woman agrees with you, she has several hanging plants and she always waters them until it drains out the holes. I put some more dirt around the two Rose of Sharon bushes in the back, one of them had one of the roots exposed and the other was in a hollowed out space, so I put some more dirt on them to help them out, tomorrow I am going to give them some Miracle-Gro that I have had for awhile and maybe they will snap out of it.
Plants love a good drink of rain, so yes, let the geranium stay out and get a good soaking.
Ok, themoonhowl, that is one good piece of news, I was texting to a friend and dropped the phone and cracked the screen! So at least the flowers are cooperating.
Good to know something is cooperating....GRIN
The second Morning Glory that came up has now started to vine around the trellis, I did not even have to help it, it found it on its own. And the wee little one is growing good too.
Just be patient Teddy. That is one of the hardest lessons for a gardener to learn. Most plants move at their own pace in accordance with Nature...we can't rush them, but we can do harm by pushing them. Make sure your plants have regular water, feed as recommended and let Nature take its' course. Your job is to keep away the weeds and enjoy your garden.
Is this one to big to move? It is far enough away from the trellis, I have NO idea what it could twine around, it is kind of in the middle, just wanted to know if I could move it without killing it.
I may have to move this one, it is trying to twine around my Cosmos plant, is it too big to try to move?
The one that was trying to twine around the Cosmos, I put a stick beside it and it was bent toward the trellis, and the other one that was trying to grow out of the ground, I put a little more dirt around it and tonight I will water it real good and pack the dirt around it, hopefullly it will do okay. I wound the first one around the stick, hopefully it will follow the stick to the trellis and twine up it. When the little one gets bigger I will do the same thing, put a stick in front of it so it will find the trellis.
They're not too big to move (people transplant shrubs and trees that are much larger), but if you move them you'll disturb the roots and they'll have to take some time to get their roots going again before they'll grow more & bloom for you. Plus if your weather's hot, transplant shock can be tough on small plants. Since they're annuals having them in a spot that you don't totally like isn't nearly as bad as if they were perennials/shrubs/etc so unless you're going to rip them out otherwise I'd probably leave them where they are. You can always let them grow along the ground for a bit and then when they get long enough to reach the trellis you can help them up onto it.
good idea, I put a small stick next to the one that is little, it is resting on it. I watered everything really good tonight because it is supposed to be warmer tomorrow. I really did not want to move them, I thought about what you said about desturbing the roots and I also saw a picture of what happens with transplant shock, so I will just wait until it gets bigger and then probably do what I did with the other one, take a stick and help it to the trellis. Thanks for your advice ecrane3.
Should I water my plants at night when it has been hot during the day? I did last night and the Morning Glories look like they have doubled in size! I don't know if I should water them every night or not, I should not have planted flowers that don't need a lot of water with ones that need abundant waterings. But I will learn better the next time, the one problem with the flowers is most of them need to be in full sunshine and when your house is surrounded with trees, full sun is a issue, now, my Irises,Cosmos,Morning Glories are by the lattice and they get sufficient sunlight, but some of the others I am not too sure about. I would like to plant some Calla Lilies but knowing my luck, they take a lot of sunlight too. I do have the stop sign that I could plant things there, they would be in full sunlight there.
It's generally better to water in the morning if you can--when you water at night, the leaves tend to stay wet for a much longer time and that can encourage fungal growth. Obviously if you have a plant that's in distress because it needs water then you should water it even if it's the evening, but given a choice morning would be preferable.
As far as watering every night or not--unless you have really sandy soil that is most likely going to be too much. Try the finger test before you water and see how wet things are down an inch or two in the ground. The top of the ground can look all baked out and dry if you don't have mulch, but go down just a little bit and it can still be quite wet, and if you water when it's still wet underneath you'll end up overwatering your plants. It's just as easy (if not easier) to kill something by overwatering it as by underwatering it.
Thanks ecrane3, you are right, I tried the finger test tonight, and even though the top looked dry, it was still damp underneath, so I postponed watering for a few days. I guess I should practice the tough-love method. Let it get dry before giving it a good drink again, I think the temperatures are supposed to get in the 80's so that will dry it out pretty well.
Can anyone please tell me what this flower is? The same friend who gave me the Rose of Sharon gave it to me, he don't know what it is and neither do I. One of my neighbors thinks it is a lilac, but again, not sure. It DOES have a strong sweet smell, but it is not growing very fast. HELP!
I think I might dig up the lilac and put something there that is going to bloom sooner than 2-4 years! I was reading about lilacs and it says they take that long to get established, I want something that is going to bloom while I am still here! Who knows where I will be in 2-4 years or where anyone is going to be in that period of time, I was thinking of maybe putting red geraniums there, it seems like a perfect place for something like that, what do you think ecrane3?
Many shrubs will take a couple years before they bloom much, I don't think lilacs are that much worse than a lot of others. Without seeing the spot you're talking about it's hard to say what's perfect for it, but if you like the lilac I'd go ahead and plant it there. As you said, you never know where you'll be in 2-4 yrs but if you're still there you'll probably enjoy having the lilac! And if you're not, then the next person will probably love it. The red geraniums will be annuals so personally I wouldn't look at them as something to plant instead of a lilac, but you could plant them there too (since the lilac is still small there should be room for it plus the geraniums)
If you're not sure your plant is a lilac, then I'd take some more pictures and post it on the Plant ID forum, someone there can tell you for sure what it is. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/plantid/all/
thanks ecrane3, I have another question, the bottoms of my Cosmos is turning yellow, is this something that is supposed to happen? It is the bottom leaves, and it has me a little worried.
A little bit of yellowing on the bottom like that wouldn't worry me too much, but if you start to see more and more of it then I'd start looking at things like how often you're watering (could be too much or too little).
ok, ecrane3 thanks and have a happy and safe 4th!
Do you remember the iron post in the front yard with the 3 Irises around it, I was thinking of putting red geraniums between the Irises and the small Lilac bush. It would get plenty of sun and it drains well, the pink geraniums need thinned out I think, I watered them some time ago and it is still damp. They are still blooming but I don't think the sun can get in between the plants, so what do you recommend I do, I want to be able to put the geraniums inside for the winter and keep them growing. Do you think they need thinning?
And here is where I was thinking of putting the red geraniums.The geraniums won't take over the irises will they? On the right side is where the little lilac stick(Icall it) is, I was thinking of putting some there, of course can't take them inside for the winter, but I can enjoy them now, that is if I get them, not sure right now. How much longer will it be ok to plant them? What month is the cutoff date for planting flowers?
I think I am going to stop watering my Morning Glories for a while, I got lots of foilage but no blooms, I think I may be watering them too much. What is your advice?
You must keep the plants watered on a regular basis....if they dry out, they will lose leaves and will be too stressed to form buds.It takes each plant a certain amount of time, light and moisture to start producing blooms. I know you are excited, but you must be patient. It can take as long as 120 days (4 months) from seed to bloom.
I agree, I wouldn't blame lack of blooms at this stage on watering, most likely they just need more time.
I've seen you post several times in these threads worrying about whether you're watering enough, too much, etc...the best way to figure this out is the finger test that I've suggested previously. If you stick your finger down a couple inches into the soil and it's still wet, then you need to wait before you water again. If it's feeling really dry, then your plants need a drink. You'll get your hands a little dirty, but this is a much more reliable way to tell if you're watering properly vs trying to guess based on other things that may not even be related to the amount of water.
