Hi. I put in a Liatrus last year and for some reason the spikes are not standing straight. They are all curly and floppy around the ground.
I am used to Liatrus that groes nice and straight.
Can anyone please tell me what might be wrong?
Thanks! Mary
Liatrus problem
Is it getting enough sun? Not having enough light can make plants get leggy and floppy. Too much fertilizer could also do it, stimulating fast growth that is weak. Or if you've had some heavy rain lately that will sometimes knock plants over and make them flop. Best way to fix it at this point regardless of what caused it would be get some stakes in there and support the flowers
Thanks ecrane.. I study my sun there...This is a fairly new home to us,, so the gardens are new.
Although I went out a little while ago, and it looks like something has dug in the center of the plant. What ever dug , also dug up my little girls flower that she grew from seed at kindergarten,, :(
thanks for the post
Mary
Hi Mary,
Does the plant in my picture look similar to yours?
I posted this photo and question as to why this is happening over at GardenWeb but noone seemed to know for sure. Someone did suggest that I send photos to a local botanical garden to see if they had an answer.
Other than the crazy-looking heads that bend and change shape slightly everyday, it's a very healthy looking second year plant. It is in a full sun location. It's in the same bed where I have Liatris ligulistylis which is doing very well also, with heads that are straight (they do bend over slightly if it rains, but straighten back up quickly). The soil has some clay, but I did amend with compost and some sand. I see no evidence of any pests on the leaves or in the soil near the plant.
Michele
I have had mine for several years and this is the first time they have done this curli-locks thing.
We have had over 15 inches of rain the month of June and still raining so that has been my excuse for what is happening. Almost no sun because of so much rain. They have been in such deep water some days I am surprised they haven't died. Will be watching for another explanation.
It looks to me like lack of sunshine too.
Mine are a little punky and we have had a string of cloudy days.
aspenbooboo, could you by chance post a pic of your Liatris ligulistylis?
I have it in our garden but its not doing much. Thanks. t.
Michele, YES, mine looks like your picture, but mine is even worse. Some of my "spikes are even laying on the ground. It did the same thing last year. I almost am thinking of giving up on it and removing it. :(
Thanks for the posts everyone.
Mary
Sometimes this can happen (and not just on liatris) because of lack of water to the stem, making it temporarily lax until it rehydrates. If it doesn't rehydrate relatively soon, it can become permanently bent. Here where we are having a spring drought, I see it on many different spiking plants that are not watered. Overwatering causes the same result. Roots do not function as they should, and water is not transported up the plant normally.
Another possibility is wind. I mean strong straight line wind that batters to the point of breaking cellular connections that keep spikes straight. When they are repaired, very often spikes don't return to normal, and remain permanently bent. A beating rain might cause the same results.
Overfertilizing can cause this with plants that don't want to be fertilized. Not so much with liatris though. But coupled with a bout of wind or "wilting" caused by lack of water or overwatering, to much fertilizer that induces fast weak growth could be a problem.
Herbicides. Done any lawn weed killing lately, or used round up on something? What about your neighbor?
If spikes are practically on the ground, the most likely culprit is overwatering or overfertilizing (or both). Remember, overwatering doesn't have to mean the soil is too soggy. Only that it is more moist than the plant wants to be. Similarly, fertilizing varies with types of plants too. If you are fertilizing your liatris as you would a hybrid rose, then that is too much.
Flowerlou, could you post a picture of your plant? Did it bloom last year?
Hmmm... very interesting that so many people are experiencing this.
My plant gets sun from about 10am until dark; no herbicide usage by me or neighbor; no fertilizing done in that bed. I have tested out the too dry/ too wet scenarios and have watered/ not watered accordingly, but that has not made any difference whatsoever. This curling business did not start until about 2 weeks ago, before that the stalks were all nice and straight. Edited to add: If it were that the heads were kind of wilting due to lack of water, wouldn't it follow that they would be kind of limp? This is what happens with most plants I have, but the crazy curly heads of the Liatris Spicata are not limp at all- they are just as firm as they should be. The heads on mine change shape slightly almost daily. One day a stalk will be doing a corkscrew, the next it looks like a question mark.
Tabasco, here's my Liatris ligulistylis (far right of pic)- planted last autumn and doing well.. very excited to see it bloom.
This message was edited Jul 1, 2007 12:18 AM
Sounds like you have considered most everything. I really don't have any more ideas. But to answer your question:
If it were that the heads were kind of wilting due to lack of water, wouldn't it follow that they would be kind of limp?
Yes. Limp when they first bend over, but limp for long enough (I am thinking more than a complete day), they could harden that way.
Maybe it has something to do with the weird early spring weather. Several of the other forums are reporting odd budding and other plant habit, much of it due to the late winter freeze out...of course, I don't know if the weather was inclement in all areas, but it was weird in Cincy in early spring....
Gosh every
one. I am grateful for your ideas. But truely, honestly, no drought, no over watering, no fertilizing.
It is planted in a bed that was here when we bought the house. This bed was overgrown with groundcover: uhhhhh,, oh shoot, now I cannot get the name. I will try to look at the plant groups on Dave's.
It is a spreading root, easily pulled, nice bright green finger or hand like leaves with some grooves.
Oh,, sorry will try to post a picture.
But I do thank you all for all of your help.
Great people here at
Dave's.
Flowerlou