Hi All! I am new to perennial gardening and I seem to be having trouble with my flower bed. I planted Black-Eyed Susans, Lavender, Garden Phlox, Catmint Walker's Low and Dusty Miller about a month ago(give or take a week). From left to right my flower bed seems to be growing at different speeds. The far left seems to not be growing at all, but slightly gets larger moving towards the right. It's something wrong with the soil on the left? I am not sure what is wrong. Please help!
Thanks!!!
-
Jbrown4412
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 7:36 pm
-
applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30565
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Typical factors that affect growth rate are:
-- Amount of Sun exposure including reflected light
-- Availability of water (too much, too little, just right)
-- Fertilizer concentration
-- Quality of soil
If any of these are not equal, you are likely to see different growth rates
Another factor that may affect growth is elements in the microclimate that affects soil temperature: Heat of the sun bouncing off masonry, brick/stone/concrete paths, driveway, parked car, dryer exhaust, etc.
or fence, shrubbery, tree, etc. blocking cold wind and providing protection....
Does any of these factors match the conditions in your garden?
-- Amount of Sun exposure including reflected light
-- Availability of water (too much, too little, just right)
-- Fertilizer concentration
-- Quality of soil
If any of these are not equal, you are likely to see different growth rates
Another factor that may affect growth is elements in the microclimate that affects soil temperature: Heat of the sun bouncing off masonry, brick/stone/concrete paths, driveway, parked car, dryer exhaust, etc.
or fence, shrubbery, tree, etc. blocking cold wind and providing protection....
Does any of these factors match the conditions in your garden?
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Where I used to live we had two identical smoke bushes, planted one on each side of the walkway leading towards the house. But the way the sun came up from behind the house, it hit one of them a couple hours before the other. The one with the extra hours of sun was way bigger than the other. So I decided to prune it back, so they would match. It LOVED being pruned and just took off. By the end of the season, it was almost back to where it was. That was years ago. No one has pruned since and the early sun bush is now about three times as big as the other one, with no other difference except the sun (and of course now that it is huge, it is helping shade the small one out).
I have two identical flower beds in my front yard with some of the same flowers planted in them. One of them gets some shade from our big old lilac bush, the other doesn't. The stuff in the shadier bed is probably 50% smaller and blooms a week or two later than the same stuff in the sunnier bed.
The point being small differences in the angle of the sun, amount of shade, (or things like drainage, etc) can make a big difference in results.
I have two identical flower beds in my front yard with some of the same flowers planted in them. One of them gets some shade from our big old lilac bush, the other doesn't. The stuff in the shadier bed is probably 50% smaller and blooms a week or two later than the same stuff in the sunnier bed.
The point being small differences in the angle of the sun, amount of shade, (or things like drainage, etc) can make a big difference in results.