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I am in a quandry this morning. Do I murder a plant that got out of control or leave it and see if there is any way to make it look pretty again. Daisies are the problem in this equation. I love them but they can be so unruly. This one was not supposed to 'flop'. Yeah, right.
Not only did it flop, there are 5 of them in the island bed and they all flopped. We have had some uncharacteristic heavy rain for the last two weeks in this part of Idaho. Although I am thankful for the precipitation, I am furious with the these dang flowers. Stupid flowers. There, I feel better. I actually planted these pencil sized starts last fall and look what they did. They grew like they were on something. I think they like the soil here and the rain. But now they are all laying down and squashing some plants next to them. I just don't know what to do, so for today I will leave them. It is supposed to be 81 degrees today and we will see if they perk up at all. I am not, I repeat, not.... holding my breath. I may yard them out of here this weekend.
This bee balm is new to me too! Same thing, I ordered them as pencil sized starts on ebay and they really took off. Which really is amazing as I planted them in the heat of the summer. Silly me. It was cold this morning so everything is heavy with dew. This plant is 3+ ft. tall already and so far it doesn't look like it is slowing down yet. I can't wait to see what color it is. I ordered some double bloom varieties and I hope those survived. It will be another nice surprise.
This is yard art in my flower bed. This chair was being thrown out and I "borrowed" it out if the dump pile. I think it turned out to be the perfect thing to add some whimsy to this bed. The flowers in the pot loved the rain too!
As you can see the final cuff has been taken out of the potato bags and each pot is now full to the brim with compost. These things are growing like weeds. OK, like daisies, but who minces words this early in the morning? They are really going crazy and I sure hope (fingers crossed, here) that the cloth pots are chalk full of baby potatoes. I have a funny way of growing great greenery with no reward, so we will have to wait and see.
Shasta daisies are characterisitically big floppers. Nothing you could do. These are probably Alaska, an old variety. Sometimes if you plant them close to other plants, the other plants will hold them up. I have mine by daylilies and yarrow and it helps. There are newer varieties that are reputed not to flop, like Becky, but most do. You could cage them by putting a short tight cage at the base of them that will hold them tight too.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if I've heard of people pinching their daisies to keep them shorter, but of course, I could very well be wrong. As Tina, above comment, we grow ours among other plants.
ReplyDeleteThey know what they're talking about so are probably right. I was going to say what I'd do (like you not knowing) is cut them all off and let them start over. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI always had to tie up the daisies. It is annoying but that seems to be the only way to keep them standing. Can't wait to see what the bee balm looks like.
ReplyDeleteStopping by to check out your blog! It's wonderful and full of fun stuff. I'd love for you to visit mine sometime. I'm putting myself down as a follower of your blog.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Heather. The yard art in your bed is so nice. Another mans trash is someone elses treasure and you found you one.
ReplyDeleteI love the pot of flowers you have. It is so colorful.
I can't wait to see your bee balm. It will stand up on its own....or atleast mine does. I have daisies that look similar, but are much shorter and they stand up on their own. Call me crazy, but if you are going to grow in my garden you better stand up on your own and not depend on another plant to hold you up. Now don't get me wrong I do stake some plants like my dahlias and glads. But this is because they are heavy and need to be staked, but a daisy....c'mon.....it is FAR from being too heavy to stand up
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dirt Princess...stand up or die.
ReplyDeleteMy mother puts a bamboo stake next to the daisies and then corrals them by tying a piece of twine around them and attaching to the stake. It's not the loveliest solution but she just grows them to cut them for arrangements anyway....
ReplyDeleteWhen my daisies do that I just cut them back, sometimes they bloom again, sometimes not. My bee balm is 4 to 5 feet tall. Some of the stems fell over and then arch up. When the quite blooming they get a "prune up" too!
ReplyDeleteI would try maybe cutting the back in half and seeing if the will rebloom. Caging might be an option like Tina recommended if you can find a way to do it without drawing attention to the cage.
ReplyDeleteThe daisies are an easy, easy fix...once finished blooming, dig it up, and divide it. You will probably have to saw it to get through the roots. I would recommend quartering it. You will need to do it periodically...
ReplyDeleteI am all for cutting things back when they give me trouble. A few moments with the clippers, and we know who's in charge, don't we??
ReplyDeleteIt all looks very pretty.
I've been away for a few days so I'm just now catching up on reading. Your garden looks great! You'll love the bee balm. I've grown it every year and the butterflies and hummingbirds love it. The color I have is read but I don't know the variety. Sadly this year I've had a really bad problem with slugs and they've just about destroyed all my bee balm. I've got four little springs trying to grow back. We've had so much it's been like a slug feast around where I live. -Jackie
ReplyDeleteSorry typo... I meant the color I have is "red" not "read"... jeez it's late and time for bed for me! LOL
ReplyDeleteHi Heather~~ I been faced with the floppy dilemma for many years. Fortunately the Dollar Store had the green, powder coated round plant supports. I know I shouldn't support Chinese slavery and I rarely do but I couldn't pass these up. So far they're working great. Another fun idea is to take round tomato cages, flip them over and bend the straight ends into curly-cues. Of course all this needs to be done in, like, March when the plants are small.
ReplyDeleteAny plant that I am unhappy with gets cut. I'm ruthless.
Cut them back once faded, to 6", they will come back again this season. Mine do. And I like the way they look, just the pretty green foliage.
ReplyDeleteYes a bit of a quandery but such a shame to chop it whilst it is flowering.
ReplyDeleteThese small daisies grow all around my a/c unit and I consider them a weed as I did not plant them but they ARE pretty in bloom so when they're done, out they come, as they do look kind of unruly. Your beebalms can be pinched back if they get too leggy...they'll just bloom a little later. I love your little chair planter brimming with color :)
ReplyDeleteLynn