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sjpaddy

hibiscus, crape myrtle, angel trumpet, and sweet potato vine(?)

sjpaddy
19 years ago

Since i have questions about several different plants, I figured this was easier than going to each individual forum. So, here goes...............

(1) I cut my hibiscus back in early spring to make it fuller and it has only bloomed two flowers since I did this. It is much fuller, but no flowers. (?)

(2) how do you make crape myrtles bloom profusely? i see some that have so many flowers that the limbs are sagging, i want mine like that. (??)

(3) I have an angel trumpet that is about 4 ft. high but has yet to bloom. my neighbor got one from the same batch, at the same time and her's have already bloomed quite a bit. Any ideas? (???)

(4) i have sweet potato vine both in a container and in the ground. the ones in the container seem to be constantly droopy, whereas the ones in the ground almost always look good. I thought these were supposed to be great container plants. Ideas again? (????)

I seem to be having quite a few blooming problems, huh? Thought maybe someone might have some answers. Thanks in advance. (:

Comments (9)

  • live_oak_lady
    19 years ago

    The hibiscus just needs a little more time to get its blooming act together since it was cut back.
    Depending on what variety of crape myrtle you have depends on the size of the bloom.
    Angel trumpet has gotten a bad name in the New Orleans area recently so I cut mine down. Teens are making tea out of the blooms and are dying and/or hallucinating.
    The sweet potato vine in the pot needs lots of water. And, if it is in hot sun all day, it will wilt until it cools down at night. But, you cannot let it go dry at all. Mine do beautifully in pots with caladiums and purple elephant ears, but you must keep them well watered.

  • soundgarden
    19 years ago

    Hibiscus - You may have cut off the buds and ust need to be patient.
    Crape Myrtle - Depends on the type. The ones that seem to be overflowing with blooms are the bright fuschia colored ones, but the light pink, white and purple ones all have less flowers.
    Angel Trumpet - Have you fertilized it? Keep in mind that even though you bought plants from the same batch, you're growing them in 2 totally different situations. AT like plenty of sun. My brother lives 2 doors down from me. His AT is puney and gets one flower here and there and it's been in the ground for 2 years. Mines been in the ground for 9 months and it's huge and blooms like mad. What's the difference? Mine gets more sun and nutrients.

    Ditto the SPV - If you're having trouble keeping it moist, put it in a bigger pot and use a soil based potting mix rather than a peat mix.

  • bigeasyjock
    19 years ago

    I'll add a comment on the brug. It depends on what part of the plant the cutting was taken. You will not get strong blooms from a tip cutting like you will with a cutting from with a piece of limb along with trunk, atleast at first. Branching is very impotant to blooming of a brug. I have one that has reached atleast 6 feet tall with no blooms, but it has no limbs yet so I'm not expecting any.
    Mike

  • EvaV
    18 years ago

    I am not sure sun is that important. I had mine in full sun to start with but I don't think I could water them enough - they suffered. Now, I have mine in mostly shade - little morning sun (but I am right at zone 9 so it's plenty hot) and mine are already about 6 feet tall this year and will top out by the end of the season at around 12 - 15 feet. Lots of water seem to be the key - at least that seemed to make a difference with mine. by the way, if you have problems with bugs try Bayer's Rose and Flower Care. I had problems with sider mites and that took care of it. I don't cover mine in the winter after they die back and they've come back every year so far.

  • tamivileine
    18 years ago

    1) Try a fertilizer with a higher middle-number

    2) Same as 1), also prune in spring right before budding so it will branch

    3) Fertilise, fertilise, fertilise. I give my brugs Osmocote, and once every week to two weeks I water-fert with Peters triple-20. I'm not sure you can overfertilise a brugmansia.

    4) Water them frequently - I have several sweet potato varieties, all in the ground, and the ones in the sun will wilt much faster.

    EVERYTHING in my garden gets Osmocote. I'll throw it into the beds every here-and-there. Well-fed plants can take stress.

    good luck with it
    tami

  • jmoore79
    18 years ago

    How often do you guys put osmocote out? I kind of just throw it out over everything like chicken feed but how often should I be doing this?

  • sjpaddy
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I too am curious about the frequency of Osmocote feeding. Also, can you buy that in large bags or anything? All I've ever seen is the small containers. Wouldn't it take quite a few of these containers to feed your entire yard?
    By the way, thanks for the info. on all of the other questions that I had.

  • tamivileine
    18 years ago

    You can get Osmocote in large bags, usually at the hardware chains.

    I cast it like described 'chicken-feed', generally, with exception of particularly hungry plants, which get a handful at their bases.

    Osmocote lasts about 3 months.

  • greenelbows1
    18 years ago

    Actually I think there are several formulations of Osmocote with different lengths of time they're supposed to be good for--three months, six months, and nine months if I remember, but I wouldn't swear to it. And I think some have differnt n-p-k numbers. I'm curious--I heard, but I'm not a chemist and don't know this to be true--that the coating on Osmocote is temperature-sensitive and at temps over something like 85 or 90 all the fertilizer is released at once. Of course if you apply it with a light hand it probably wouldn't hurt, but if you used it in a pot and were generous, since they can't send their roots out in the world, you might get them burned. Seems to me Louis Miller is once of the people who said that. There are other time-release fertilizers that don't do that, so I use one of those. Used to swear by Osmocote, but I didn't want to risk it.

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