My aquileigas are still showing no sign of flowering. i've noticed them in other people's gardens absolutely smothered in flowers and am feeling a bit jealous! Anyone else got some that aren't flowering yet?
yes mine are only just coming through they are about 2" high and haven't moved for a week.don't know why they were up and away this time last year.
They are doing OK down South, as evidenced by this pic taken today at Mottisfont Abbey rose gardens. My own have been in bloom for some time, a couple have even finished blooming.
Are the ones which haven't flowered new ones? I have loads with at least one years' growth that have flowered, and smaller 1st year ones not in bloom.
How big a pot were they in? Inches or cms ? I have some that i have been selling in 2 litre pots in flower. However some others were sown late last year so are only in 1 litre pot. Most are not in flower and they are not big enough anyway so i will give them another year before i think they are big enough to sell. It may be that your plants simply have not had enough time to grow. Another possibility is that they did not get a period of vernalisation ie. many aquilegias need a period of cold to stimulate flower buds. If they have been kept too warm over winter, perhaps to keep them growing, then that would not happen.
Geoff - I am planing to grow some Aquelegia as biennials - from a sowing now (already just sown). Is there any reason why I shouldn't get reasonable flowering plants for next year. The reason for growing them as biennials is that I want to remove them after they have flowered and replace them with something that flowers later. I am assuming that Aqualegias won't like being moved and consequently must be composted and new grown for the following yaer.
I think it may be because your aquilegia are new this year? Mine started to flower about 4-6 weeks ago and have now virtually finished.
PeterS I would say you are pushing it a bit. They might make decent plants for next year but you will have to keep them in maximum growth. I sowed some about middle of June last year and they are still smallish, some are flowering but not big plants.If you want to do it that way then I would sow March/April. I have really gone off summer sowings of perennials, too often I have had to wait another growing season. I don't think aquilegias would like being moved, they seem to have a longish tap root and they are short lived as they are. I just cut them down and let other things grow up in front, but my borders are a bit of a jungle. The weeds struggle to get going with all the fighting that goes on in there.
July/August is the normal time to sow Aquilegia, it's also when the self setting ones falling from the plant germinate, they can also be sown up to the following March. You may occasionally have one flower the next year, but normally it will be the second year before they flower. If you are gathering your own seeds they will not come true to type unless all your plants are the same variety. If you want a specific named variety either buy the seed or pot grown plant(s). They can be propagated by division between October and March. At least that's what my Readers Digest garden encyclopedia tells me reinforced by a few years experience.
Thanks Geoff and Mike. I would have sowed my Aquilegias earlier, but I was slow off the mark, and only recently got the seed. I am trying the Christopher Lloyd thing of getting an early crop of flowers by growing things as biennials starting the year before, then digging them up and replacing them with late flowering plants, of which there are plenty. At the end of the day - its trial and error. The problem is that each trial takes at least a year,so I am looking for any pointers.
I`ve pricked out about half of them and they seem to be ok (so far)in the gh.The thing is i`ve put maybe 4 or 5 in each pot as i was a bit wary of them (i`m a bit heavy handed when nervous)Will they be ok? Should i prick out the remainder singularly? I also need pointers please.
Better if you can do them single putting more in each pot means the roots get tangled up so when you go to plant out you can't separate them and have to plant in clumps of how many you put in the pot. You might get away with say 5 round the edge of a large pot.
Thankyou Dorsetmike.I plan to pot them on again into bigger pots then put them in the ground later where they`ll stay.I will take your advice with the rest of them.
