Why has my teasel collapsed?

Splandy

Is it normal for a teasel to need support? It has three huge stems and they have all flopped so that they’re only being held up by nearby plants. I’ve loosely tied one to my fence post now because I thought the bad weather might finish it off completely. They flopped before all the rain and wind. Is this normal? My soil is clay.

Fairygirl

If it was dry/hot/sunny when they were getting tall, the clay could have dried out, which encourages any plant to sag and droop. 

Lyn

Definitely, mine always end up horizontal,  they grow to about 6’ so they’re never going to hold themselves up.  They just rest on the bed of stinging nettles, equally as high, 
now, where’s that Gallery of shame thread, 😀

wild edges

Mine always flop and need to be staked. Annoyingly though the ones that escape my garden and grow elsewhere always seem to do fine. I think they need very poor soil to keep their height down. If they grow in a group you can tie string around them all and they help support each other.

B3

I've found the ones in hard dry soil or between paving slabs stay upright. The ones in better, watered soil tip over.

bertrand-mabel

We are on clay soil but where our teasels are growing it is a shadier part of the garden and for once they stay upright not like so many of our other plants that always want to fall over the paths.