Knowing exactly how to care for plants is a matter of judgement and experience. Many plants need treating with tender loving care, but others can benefit from 'mean' treatment.
Knowing exactly how to care for plants is a matter of judgement and experience. Many plants need treating with tender loving care, but others can benefit from 'mean' treatment.
Take my agapanthus. In their 'youth' agapanthus produce leaves and shoots, rather than flowers. Nothing surprising so far - many plants need to get established and fill their pots before settling down into a regular flowering routine.
To get agapanthus to flower well you must almost ignore them. They need to become pot bound, so their thick, white, fleshy roots completely fill the pot. I'm never sure quite where the compost goes, but remove the pot from the rootball of an established plant and almost all you'll see is roots, with little compost remaining - just what's required to curtail excessive growth and to promote flowering.
My agapanthus had been growing in this plastic pot for so long I had to cut it free in order to pot it on, which was clearly needed before it burst out of its own accord. (Surely it's verging on botanical cruelty to keep it in this pot bound state for too long?) Over time I want an agapanthus in an even larger pot, growing into an ever more impressive plant, and producing a greater number of flower-heads.
When to pot on large plants is a judgement call we all have to make, and there really isn't a rulebook providing accurate timing. So, how can you tell? Well, checking the rootball is a good starting point. If little compost remains then there's nothing to retain moisture, and certainly no food. Potting into a slightly larger pot (about 1-2cm wider all round) surrounds the whole rootball with a layer of fresh compost for roots to grow out into. I just hope the extra compost doesn't prompt a return of those unproductive youthful habits, and I can look forward to more agapanthus flowers.
See more comments...
