Phormium RE-planted into large 'trough' Not happy!

[caroline]

Hello and good day to all you forum-ers (I am a virgin forum-er and also very new to gardening, so please go easy on me - no big scary gardening words or phrases please!!!)

We have recently (about 2/3 weeks ago) moved a phormium tenax growing in our garden from a cramped bit of soil (used to be next to a pond, but had to be removed ages ago as was deep and we have a small child), into a fairly large trough my husband made, in order to make a feature of it.

However, it looks rather poorly now - I'd approximate that almost 50% of the leaves have now turned very yellow...

It has more room in the trough than it had before, but somebody we know said that firstly we may have over-watered it when re-planting (surely it would have dried out a little now though, since we stopped??) and that also, as it's the flowering season, it may be going through some changes and not have liked being up-rooted? It hasn't flowered since we've lived here (2 years now), but even so, may have been 'going through the motions' so to speak - apparently?

Can anyone suggest anything we could do to make it happier? Or should we just wait and cross our fingers?

Looking fwd to some help!

C.

[Jess]

Hello and good day to all you forum-ers (I am a virgin forum-er and also very new to gardening, so please go easy on me - no big scary gardening words or phrases please!!!) .

Haha! Oh go on let me please....

Hi Caroline and welcome to the forum.
First off I too have a Phormium tenax and have had it for at least 5/6 years but no flower as yet so don't worry about that point. I doubt yours intends to flower any time soon as it must still be quite young.
Yellowing leaves does sound like overwatering. How good is the drainage in the trough? It may be a case of it sitting in wet at the bottom. They do like to be moist but not wet. The only way you can know for sure is to dig down the side and see how wet it feels.
The only other thing that could be causing problems is the soil you have used. Peat based multi can look bone dry on top and be sopping wet underneath. If it doesn't look any better soon it might be worth changing the compost to a mixture of peat free multi and composted manure. a far better medium for it to grow in as it will be moisture retentive but free draining.

[caroline]

We don't use any peat, just multi compost and topsoil, and there is a thick layer of ballast/gravel in the base, plus a layer of clay soil in between that and the compost and topsoil mixture, so should be plenty of drainage...

I really do think we over-watered it now - my husband is a little (impatient!) shall we say, and when he wants something done, he does it! Great for the fact that we have an enormous amount of work to be done around here, but not great when he doesn't give me a chance to do the research on our next gardening project!!! He went with the tip that when re-planting something, you should water it in really well, but I think that in this case, it wasn't such a great idea. Am hoping 'Mr Tenax' will make a recovery at some point if we leave him for a bit without extra watering.
(Sorry, but I have a sad problem with naming things, it makes them more friendly and I can remember their names better!)

C.

[Jess]

No! Now I will have to name mine too. In fact I have green and a purple Phormium so they will both have to have names lol!

Most multi-purpose composts are peat based. Unless you specifically purchased a peat free multipurpose then it has mainly peat in it.
This holds too much water rather like a sponge but can look dry on the top. This causes a lot of people to overwater as it is difficult to tell (unless you stick your finger in all the time) if the compost has dried out or not.
If possible mix the clay, topsoil and the multi together. It will make your Mr Tenax a lot happier.

[cheshirekat]

I name some of my plants. Sally La Salvia is the salvia I rescued from a metal clearance shelf at Walmart. She's so gorgeous now and I gave her a family. The Salvias are happy being out of pots and in the ground. Their nearby neighbors are the Clevelands - Cleveland sage.

[caroline]

Well, I must say, I'm very happy to hear that you are willing to consider naming your plants, or are already doing so. They say you should talk to them too, but perhaps that's a step too far for some??!!

Thanks for the info and advice. My husband assures me that he always buys the specifically peat-free variety, but just to make sure, I shall be having a root-around (excuse the pun!) in Mr Tenax's undergrowth (it's Ok, he's a 60's throw-back and quite open to people having a rummage in his soil...), to check if it seems too wet or not. I'm not too pleased with the rain for once - could probably do without it right now, so that he has a chance to recover if he is too waterlogged, but hey, the other plants are all loving the current weather conditions!

Thanks again - a very friendly forum!

C.

[cheshirekat]

I talk to my plants too. Some days I get a good long talk with them while I'm watering. Other days, I conserve most of my energy to get through the heat.

The girls are doing well, all the Ana Heim's. The Big Boy family are all kind of snobby males always talking about workouts. Ana's are not impressed and they like to tease the Jose Jalapeños mercilessly. The Roma family all are quite nice but keep to themselves, real ladies they are. They are often annoyed by the teenage giggles of the Ana's. The Holy Mole's are devout Catholics, ready with a prayer and burdened with guilt at all times. They appreciate the hot summer days as it allows them to do penance for their spicy sins.

I haven't come up with good names and stories for my spaghetti squash and watermelon yet. I usually come up with those after a good rain when all the plants are perky while I do my walkabout. But the eggplants and okra stories have already started in my head. Gotta listen to the voices.

[caroline]

Cheshirekat, you should write a book!

[cheshirekat]

Ah, The Wacky Wag's Woeful Gardening Tales and Wangles?

[Jess]

Ah, The Wacky Wag's Woeful Gardening Tales and Wangles?

You should write that book cheshire!