Passionflower dropping buds

- and one more thing, if I may! The passionflower on the terrace in a pot has come through the winter with lots of healthy foliage and is covered in flower buds. Sadly, only about 1 in 8 flowers - the rest of the buds just drop off. Any ideas? We're 'watering freely' as advised for this time of the year. :confused:

 

Morning, Jervis. It may be that there is too much Nitrogen in your soil. Try giving it a little high potassium fertilizer. Concrete or clay pots are preferable for nutrient absorbtion.

 

Thanks for the reply, L of L - I'll try that. I just assumed that, as I bought it in a container and it lives in one filled with JI compost, that it would be properly balanced, but maybe I'm being naive!

 

They can be greedy plants, I find, I go along with L of L, try the old tomato fertilizer that helps most flowering plants.

 

Thanks Pete - just proves how wrong the little card stuck in the pot can be! It clearly says don't feed - obviously very, very wrong! :( We've put some Miracle-Gro on for now (last Sunday) and will see what happens.

 

I took this today when the sun came out. We share a love for this beautiful flower.



In answer to your question I think that Passion flowers would put a lot of strain on the water and nutrients in the soil of a pot. I grow passion flowers in the ground with a good qualtity compost and chicken manure but I have also grown them in large oak barrels. I think that like most plants/trees de-foliating or de-budding is a reflection of the plants ability to bloom in the conditions it is growing. Top dressing the pot with a peat based compost plus chicken pellets and then regular liquid tomato food would get you those other 7 buds to open. I also find that unless you mix in the JInnes 3 with a decent compost the soil sets like concrete and does not allow roots to prosper in pots. In fact they tend to rot off when they get wet again.

BM

 

Wow! Gorgeous - I'll try and take a pic to add to the site too. Just heard from the friend on whose terrace the plant is growing and she says that the feed we gave it has already made it perk up! To think we nearly starved the poor thing! :eek: BM, the JI is 'aerated' by the addition of perlite, so it doesn't set hard. I'd rather not use peat-based compost, thanks - trying to do my planet-saving bit! Am buying tomato fertilizer on the way home tonight. Moral: Ignore plant labels, ask this chatroom instead.

 

Thank you. No, no, thank YOU! No, no, no, THANK YOU! Thank you, jervis for your moral comments ... we all do what we can to help each other. :rolleyes:

 

Loving the website LoL :D

http://casadinho.planetaclix.pt

BM

 

Just joined & my dropping bud problem differs as my plant is in soil & has happily produced lots of flowers in recent years but this year buds are all dropping. Remedy?

 

Too dry maybe, or possibly making buds too early, I find they come into their own in this month, august, so still time.