Xtremehorticulture

Xtremehorticulture of the Desert

Oleanders Will Grow in Containers

Leave a Comment / container, no flowers, oleander /

Q. I have two pink dwarf oleanders planted in 18 inch clay pots which have very healthy looking foliage but very few blossoms. One of my “expert” gardener friends says simply that “oleanders don’t like pots”. Another “expert” says that I’m watering too much. Are either of these guys right or do you have any suggestions that might get some me some blossoms? Dwarf oleander A. We have dwarf oleanders at the Research Center in containers and they bloom just fine. Thge dwarf oleander might be a better selection for containers. There might be a couple of things you could try. If the container is small you might have to water more often to compensate for the small soil volume. Plants in containers need to be repotted every two or three years. Very small containers, every year. Large containers might make it up to five years. Dwarf oleander pink flowers. Oleanders that are not getting enough water will look normal but have a very open canopy and not bloom well. Oleanders are high water users and love fertilizer. They do not like to be watered daily but will not do their best if the soil starts drying too much between waterings. You can try using a soil moisture meter sold for houseplants that you can buy from the nursery for about $7. Water when the dial is about half way between wet and dry, do not let it get totally dry. Next, use a fertilizer like Miracle Gro and water it into the soil about once every six to eight weeks. Cover the soil in the container with mulch to help keep the soil moist. About three inches would be enough. If oleanders are young, or if they are pruned with a hedge shears, flowers will be delayed or produce very few. Don’t prune with a hedge shears if possible. They should be pruned with pruning shears but not hedged or gimbaled.

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Vitex Water Management Affects Blooms and Growth

14 Comments / drought, lack of water, no flowers, thin canopy, too much water, vitex /

Q. I have a Chaste tree that has been growing in my backyard for about seven years.  The branches have always been full of leaves and I would get an abundance of beautiful purple blooms. Last spring, I noticed there were not as many leaves and I would only get purple flowers here and there. This spring again the leaves are sparse and the branches are mostly bare. Should I be doing something extra to bring back the lushness of my Chaste tree? A. Vitex, or chaste tree, is relatively pest free. It originates from the Mediterranean region where the summers are usually hot and dry and the winters cool to cold and wet. Vitex in winter             The only real problems the plant has are if the roots remain too wet or the plant doesn’t get enough water. So my reaction to your question was concern about your irrigation practices; either watering it too often or not giving it enough water when you do irrigate.             Both could cause similar problems. If the roots stay too wet, root rots develop and you might see a thinning of the canopy and branches dying back. Watering too often results in poor growth or worse. If overwatering continues, you would probably see dieback in the tree and eventual death from root rots.             If the plant does not receive enough water, the plant canopy will begin to thin out and along with that a reduction in blooms.  If you feel like this tree does not get much water then try flooding the area around the tree once a week in conjunction with your irrigations. If the problem is not enough water, you should see a reaction to additional applied water in 3 to 4 weeks. Vitex in bloom             It also will do best with irrigations similar to other most of your landscape or fruit trees. This means regular deep irrigations.             Avoid daily irrigations. Water about twice a week during the hot summer months. In the spring and fall months, water deeply and thoroughly once in a week. As temperatures cool towards winter, you would probably irrigate deeply every 10 to 14 days.

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Iris Not Blooming Any More

1 Comment / dividing iris, no flowers, overcrowding, when to divide /

They bloomed for many years but the last two years they had no blooms. Is there anything I should be doing? Q. I planted several bulbs of iris in my yard about 7 years ago. They bloomed for many years but the last two years they had no blooms. Is there anything I should be doing?  I clean out all the dead leaves between bulbs and have removed a couple of bulbs. They are watered same as other plants according to the time of year for 25 minutes. A. The usual problem when iris is not blooming when they were when they were younger is not dividing them.             They must be dug up, the rhizomes severed, dusted with a fungicide and left to heal for a day or two in the shade, spaced appropriately and replanted. Throw out damaged or rhizomes that are too small unless you want to baby the small ones until they get enough size to bloom.             Distances apart depend on the size of the iris; smaller ones closer together and larger ones further apart. Taller ones toward the back and shorter ones near the front.             Replant them with compost and a starter fertilizer mixed in such as bone meal. Fertilize once a month lightly with a good quality flower fertilizer.             But overcrowding will cause them to stop blooming. They are in the same spot so I am figuring the light is the same unless some trees got bigger and limited sunlight to them.             For watering a large iris bed I would use low pressure, in-line drip emitters in half inch poly pipe such as Jain or Netafim brands preferably. Space the pipe about 12 inches apart parallel to each other throughout the bed. They can be laid on top of the soil, just under mulch.

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