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Sat, May 5, 12 at 22:54
| I've just made the mistake (yesterday) of planting root bound Impatients without loosening the root ball. Should I dig them back up or hope they grow as they are? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| It depends on how badly your plant is rootbound. If your inner voice is hollering at you, it might be worth it to pull them up so that you can rearrange their roots a bit. |
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- Posted by dowlinggram 3 (My Page) on Sun, May 6, 12 at 3:26
| When a plant is root bound the roots at the bottom of the pot go round and round and get tangled up. The plant can't take in the nutrients it needs to grow and flower. If you plant a root bound plant without loosening the roots the roots will continue to circle the bottom of the plant and the roots won't spread out like they should. If you are sure it was root bound I think you should dig it up and loosen the roots or the plant won't do well. |
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| When you just made the error yesterday and you know it today, sure you can correct it now, and I would do that. Al |
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- Posted by Handsome54 6a (My Page) on Sun, May 6, 12 at 9:45
| Thanks Al & Co! I'll dig em up! Don't know what I was thinking.......... |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, May 6, 12 at 9:46
| i would take a knife.. dig them up.. and flail them.. i used to call it butterfly them.. knife right thru.. drag down.. turn 90 degrees do the same.. and then splay them like a shrimp .... or a pork chop ... insure damp soil for 2 weeks ... it will seem to be a massacre .. but it wont be .. have little or no fear ... ken |
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- Posted by Handsome54 6a (My Page) on Sun, May 6, 12 at 17:18
| Done, & it didn't take long to dig up 6 flats........ It's been 90+ degrees, with a dew point of 70+ here in NE Kansas all week, & I think I was focused on getting them in the ground quickly, the first time. Visions of a cold Heineken & A/C had started to cloud my thinking.... ;) |
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- Posted by Handsome54 6a (My Page) on Fri, May 25, 12 at 20:21
| OP here....... Well here it is 3 weeks later & the impatients are slowly being ate by the rats with furry tails (ie damn squirrels). The drier it get the more they consume.... Pretty disheartening....... |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, May 25, 12 at 21:24
| then put the overhead watering on in the middle of the yard ... or put water out there for them ... birdbath.. sled ... etc ... lure them away ... ken |
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- Posted by dowlinggram 3 (My Page) on Sat, May 26, 12 at 4:24
| Get a motion detector sprinkler. When the furry rats come around they'll get wet. You are right they belong to the same family as rats but I've never had them go after flowers--strange. |
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- Posted by Handsome54 6a (My Page) on Sat, May 26, 12 at 16:48
| One of the issues with this impatient bed is it's location (250' from the house). It sits at the entrance to my home, adjacent to timber & a creek, so the rats have isolation working for them..... This bed is new this year & I was afraid this was going to be a problem... No the rats don't actually eat the flowers, they either dig them up or chew them off at the ground. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, May 27, 12 at 14:32
| and you are ruling out deer or rabbits?? impatiens are very high water users ... they may not have been the best choice for abandonment out there ... you might want to go get an assortment of plants.. and see what will live out there with the benign neglect ... sedum might work.. they enjoy dry ... ken |
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- Posted by Handsome54 6a (My Page) on Sun, May 27, 12 at 19:52
| Not ruling out anything, but the plants aren't being eaten just dug up or chewed off at the ground.......... |
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