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Lobelia for wedding at end of May

Green MagpieGreen Magpie Posts: 806

At the end of May (4 weeks today!) our daughter is getting married and I have undertaken to provide baskets of lobelia for table flowers. I bought bedding plants some weeks ago, which are now planted up in pots (3 plants per 6-inch pot). They're sitting in a sheltered corner of the garden; the plants look healthy and some are showing signs of flower buds. They had a feed of liquid seaweed a couple of weeks ago when I potted them up, and I did a little pinching-out of tips.

My question is this: how likely is it that these will be in full flower in four weeks? I find myself worrying that they will flower too early and be over, or too late and not be ready in time. I could bring them indoors to hurry them on, but if they start to flower, should I cut off any blooms until a week or two before?

Of course there is a fall-back plan - if they're not right, I shall go to a GC and buy whatever plants look bright and healthy (and blue!). But I'd welcome any tips on how to get these lobelia  to be at their best by the very end of May.

 

Posts

  • chickychicky Posts: 10,409

    I wouldn't worry about getting them flowering too early - once they start, they go on and on without a break.  So if it was me i would bring them into a GH, or the lightest indoor place you can find, to hurry them along a bit.  Good luck, and enjoy the weddingimage

  • Green MagpieGreen Magpie Posts: 806

    Thanks for that, chicky. I have brought them into the summer house where, even with the door propped open, it's warmer than outside it. The air is still quite cool and I think a bit more shelter will help. If they're not flowering in another week or so I'll bring them into the house, but I don't want to soften them up (or whatever the opposite of "hardening off" is)

  • Green MagpieGreen Magpie Posts: 806

    Just a follow-up to the above: I kept the plants indoors or on a sunny terrace for most of the last couple of weeks, and they were great! Each basket had dark blue, light blue and white lobelia. We found that a little balloon-weight would just tuck in among the plants, so the balloons came up out of the flowers. Then the baskets and flowers were given away to friends and family afterwards.

     

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  • chickychicky Posts: 10,409

    How lovely Green Magpie - hope you all had a fantastic dayimage.  So glad the lobelia worked out, and so special to have something you had created yourself.  My favourite aunt did table decorations at our wedding .... in October 20 years ago .... she used lots of fir cones and autumn leaves she had collected from the forest the week before.

    And thanks for coming back with an update too - always great to hear how things have turned outimage

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,138

    image Lovely


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • 4thPanda4thPanda Posts: 4,145

    What a lovely idea image Thanks for sharing.

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