Sorry for all the "beginners" questions and my impatience. I planted 18 Coreopsis plants in various colours back in around March this year. They've grown quite high and appear to be healthy but there are no sign of any flowers. Do you think they'll flower this year?
Posts
I've never grown them Charley but they're late summer early autumn plants so the buds probably just haven't formed yet. It's amazing how quickly they can suddenly appear though - just when you think it's never going to happen!
Young plants can be slower to mature and flower anyway so don't get disillusioned.
Oh ok, I didn't realise they're late summer plants. It said on Parkers' website they flower June to September, hence my impatience and yes, you're right, I have been getting slightly disillusioned. Oooh, well I'll look forward to a nice colourful display after all then
Thanks Fairygirl.
Were they just tiny plug plants when you bought them Charley? If so, they might have been better potted on first for a few months before planting out so that they get a chance to mature a bit. I don't usually buy plug plants but if I do I treat them the same way as I would treat a cutting - potting on until it's a decent size, filling a 3/4" pot or sometimes a 6" pot before I plant out.
In any case, you may get some flowering this year and some won't till next year. It's always a bit of a learning curve!
No, the coreopsis plant were those jumbo plants when I got them. You've given me hope that they may flower this year after all so I'm happy again now
thanks for your help.
It's a very steep learning curve indeed - but a great one to be on!
Thanks Verdun. Are you South of England? We're on the Isle of Man. Yes, keeping them watered. Can I just ask ... where do the flowers come from? From the tips of the leaves like say, osteospermum? So will they flower earlier next year when they're established do you think?
We're all still learning Charley, and some plants and some methods of culture and care are easier than others. I've learnt a huge amount in the time I've been on here. It's a great source of info. Learning about the weather conditions in the area you're in is important too - Verd is about 400 miles south of me so everything up here would be a month or so later anyway!
Verd - you have to remember you live in a 'different country' from us ordinary folk.....
Ok Verd - I'll not send the plague of frogs just yet...just watch out for the bolts of lightning..
Charley you'll have a different climate to many of us on the mainland I'd guess, although as Verd says - a garden even a few miles away from you can be the opposite of what you have! My last house was exposed and higher than the houses in the nearby hamlet and that impacts enormously on what you can grow, so sometimes you need to start with creating some shelter if you want certain plants to thrive. Wind causes a lot of issues.
I'll second the "always learning" remark, Fairy! Been in this house 7 years, 600ft up in pennines. Tried coreopsis twice, the bog standard sorts, but it's just too wet for them here - I lose them in the winter. Such a contrast with where we were before (rural Northumberland, colder winters but half the rainfall) and even more with where I started "proper" gardening when first married, in Cambridgeshire - even less rain, loads of sun & alkaline soil. Fascinating pastime, gardening. Sometimes infuriating or depressing - but sometimes pure delight...