Are you looking at plants in your garden and wondering why they aren’t flowering?
I am. And I’ve discovered a surprising reason why my cosmos plants don’t even have any buds on them.
So to get to the bottom of what stops garden plants from flowering, I asked local flower farmer, Sue Oriel of Country Lane Flowers, to explain it and suggest effective solutions.
Sue and her business partner, Stephanie, grow all the flowers for Country Lane Flowers in their own gardens. They create locally sourced, sustainable flower arrangements for weddings and supply bouquets, so if there’s one thing they can’t afford it’s flowers not flowering!
6 reasons why your plants aren’t floweringYou’ve planted it in the wrong place in your gardenThe age of the plant (perennials only)Sowing your seeds too late (annuals only)Not dead-heading enoughPruning at the wrong timeNot fertilising enough or using too much fertiliserThe No 1 reason why your plants aren’t floweringYou’ve planted it in the wrong position. ‘If you plant sun-loving plants in too shady a spot, then they’ll get leggy with few or no flowers,’ says Sue.
Shade-loving plants, such as foxgloves and hydrangeas, will flower in the shade.
But sun-lovers, such as lavender, cosmos, dahlias, zinnias, sunflowers and more, need full sun.
Iris experts Irises of Sissinghurst say that the number one reason for irises not flowering is that their rhizomes are buried too deep. Not only does the iris plant itself need full sun, but it needs sunshine on the top of rhizome.
‘Full sun’ in the gardening world is defined as ‘six hours or more of direct sunshine a day in summer’.
How to fix it: move the plant to a position where it will get the right amount of sun. It’s better to move plants in spring or autumn.
Read more on themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk