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Echinacea White Swan not looking great

LatimerLatimer Posts: 1,034
edited July 2020 in Plants
Hi all

The Echinacea planted in March this year from 9cm pots seemed to be doing quite well but now that the flowers are opening up I'm wondering if there is a problem.



I'm assuming they shouldn't look "damaged" like this? Is this pest damage? I watered them regularly when first planted and especially through the very hot spring but haven't watered them since the rains started again in June. The soil is clay and under the compost mulch it's damp but not wet. In all other ways the plants look to be doing ok for the first year.

Thanks all
I’ve no idea what I’m doing. 

Posts

  • Janie BJanie B Posts: 943
    Not sure about yours, sorry, but just wanted to say that I replanted a White Swan from the bed into a pot recently (it was a bit squashed in the bed), and the leaves all got chomped by some critter... could it have been a pigeon, do you think? 
    Lincolnshire
  • LatimerLatimer Posts: 1,034
    @Janie B I suppose it's possible but the plants are quite tall (about half a meter) so I don't see how pigeons could peck at it from the ground
    I’ve no idea what I’m doing. 
  • CloggieCloggie Posts: 1,457
    Ooh I had that once.  Wonder where it went?
  • Dirty HarryDirty Harry Posts: 1,048
    Earwigs leave similar damage on my dahlia leaves.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,326
    It does look as if something has had a chomp! I find echinacea tricky to establish from small plants and prefer to buy established 2L ones. If I can’t get those, I pot the little uns up first, cutting off early flowers to allow them to put all their energies into growing a good root system and form bushier plants before planting out the following year. Any 9cm pots I have tried putting straight in the ground tend to languish a bit then disappear... White Swan is quite a tough one tho, so it might be fine.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • LatimerLatimer Posts: 1,034
    Nollie said:
    It does look as if something has had a chomp! I find echinacea tricky to establish from small plants and prefer to buy established 2L ones. If I can’t get those, I pot the little uns up first, cutting off early flowers to allow them to put all their energies into growing a good root system and form bushier plants before planting out the following year. Any 9cm pots I have tried putting straight in the ground tend to languish a bit then disappear... White Swan is quite a tough one tho, so it might be fine.
    Hmmm, that's not good news, I thought they were looking quite good! 🙈 Guess I'll just keep my eye out to see if anything is having a chomp.

    @Dirty Harry I'll keep an eye out for earwigs

    @Cloggie not got a clue!! 😀
    I’ve no idea what I’m doing. 
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