Cold contributes to plant’s lack of flowers
Q I recently started growing my garden plants from seed. After a disastrous first year, I purchased more heating pads and lights and started earlier in the winter in my little indoor greenhouse (the type with shelves covered in a plastic tent). This year, I focused on cosmos and morning glory. They did very well indoors, I hardened them for a few weeks and planted on the May long weekend. They both grew exceptionally large with foliage but not a single flower grew on any of them. I even planted them in different outdoor locations (I gave some to my mom who has completely different soil and sun conditions).
The cosmos grew more than two feet tall and incredibly bushy, and the morning glory climbed and wrapped itself all over my front porch deck, but not a single flower was produced. I think I saw a bud or two on the morning glory in mid-September right before we got snow so now the plant has died and I can’t confirm. Am I doing something wrong in the indoor growing stage? I use a general fertilizer about once every two weeks when the seedlings developed their true leaves (after those first two “fake” leaves all flowers sprout).
I’m hesitant to try indoor seeding again if there is no proper outcome.
A I am sorry to hear about your woes but I am also here to tell you not to give up. I doubt that the problem stems from your indoor growing techniques. If I were you I might not be fertilizing with full strength fertilizer when they are seedlings. I would cut the recommended strength to 25 per cent.
I would bet that the problem is likely happening after you plant outdoors. Here is a brief list of some of the possible causes of the lack of bloom:
Weather conditions. If we get
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a cold spring or if the buds get touched by frost the plant will not flower. The same holds true with planting them too early. I know many of us rely on the May long weekend as the best time to plant but that is not always true. Keep an eye on the long-range forecast before planting.
Too much nitrogen. Choose a
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fertilizer that has a lower first number and a higher second number, such as 12-55-6. The second number is phosphate, which is responsible for increasing bloom.
Q I have a question regarding perennials. I have perennials that have not been planted yet as we have had rescue pups all summer and they kept getting into my beds (yes, I tried to block them but it didn’t work). I lost a bunch of plants due to the puppies. The puppies are now gone, but with this horrible weather if I plan the perennials now this late in the season with quite cool weather right now will they survive the winter? They won’t have time to establish a proper root system will they?
A Good for you for taking in the rescue pups. Not so good that the little ones found your flower beds. I would not recommend planting in the ground at this time of the year (Sept. 25). With the weather we have had the plants would not stand a chance of establishing any roots. I suggest getting some potting mix and planting in pots in the garage. Water the plants after planting and keep them in an unheated garage. If possible wrap them in some home insulation to protect the roots.
If you don’t have a garage you can try planting them in the ground, but if you choose this method make sure you pile on lots of dried leaves or peat moss to try to insulate the roots as best as you can. You can even use straw, which is one of the best insulators. Pile the insulation as high as you can and then pile snow on top of that as well. The key is to protect the roots from the freeze/thaw cycle as much as possible. Gerald Filipski is a member of the Garden Writers of America. Email your questions to filipskigerald@ gmail.com He is the author of Just Ask Jerry. To read previous columns, go to edmontonjournal.com/filipski.