SOS Echinops

HumbleBee

First time planting echinops and the instructions say plant them with the pointed tip upwards an inch below the surface. Well, my bulbs just look like twisty, stringy bits of root that are pointy both ends? And if I plant them 'standing up' an inch below the surface this means 4 or 5 inches of stringy bits will be waving about in the air!

Are the slightly thicker parts the 'bottom'? 

Any help much appreciated  

treehugger80

thickest part upward, i would also soak them in luke warm water for a couple of hours as they look dehydrated

HumbleBee

Ah thank you so much for the quick response treehugger - I'm glad I asked as I was about to plant them upside down in that case! And thanks for the tip about soaking them, they do look a bit dry!  

JennyJ

Yep, your second picture has it the right way up.  The thickest part it the crown where the new shoots will grow from (I think I can see the beginnings of shoots if I zoom in).

HumbleBee

Yes you're right JennyJ there are little greenish bits on the thicker ends - I just assumed wrongly they were the bulby part and needed to go at the bottom. Very glad they are going in the right way up now!  

JennyJ

Hope they grow well for you.  They are tough plants once settled in, so they should be with you for a long time (I moved one once and there was so much regrowth from stray bits of root left behind that you couldn't tell anything had been taken away).

HumbleBee

UPDATE!! So... my first attempt at growing Echinops didn't quite turn out how I expected... This was the result.... they don't look very blue or prickly to me...ahem....

Lyn

You’ll be better of with a nice white lupin, I’ve been in trying to get rid of some of my Echinops, they’re like triffids 😀

HumbleBee

I think you are right - although unexpected, the lupins actually work really well here with the other plants instead of the echinops, so it was a lucky mistake!