In addition to the veggies and herbs I'm growing, I've also got flowers in pots and planters on my front porch.
My marigolds are filling out like crazy and buds are appearing. I was advised not to thin them out as they grow like weeds, which seems to be the case in these pots. The only issue with them is that I see some leaf borer activity. I'm currently looking for a spray that will kill the pests but not harm bees and beneficial insects. Neem oil is recommended by many. Pyrethrin is organic, but it appears it has to be applied very carefully to avoid hurting pollinators. Does anybody have any thoughts?
My Shasta Daisies are finally coming along. My main question: do these need to be thinned out? I understand that these are larger plants, and the instructions seem to be that a lot this size should have no more than two or three.
I've got two planters like this with Zinnias. They're largely thriving, and the larger plants have buds. However, one side of the pantry above has plants that have leaves that have wilted or dead light brown parts. I don't see any pests. What's going wrong here? The other end of the same planter has some of my strongest of these flowers, so I'm really confused. Also, do these need to be thinned out?
Finally, I've planted some marigolds in my back bed, but they're struggling. The ones from seed are stuck at about an inch tall and turning purple on the leaves. The full grown plants I transplanted are turning purple, too. What gives? (Sorry, no pictures of these right now.)
I appreciate any guidance.
Do I need to pull these out of the bed and into pots, or just start over?
Transplant them "as is" into pots, if there's no other way to get them into a spot that is sunny for most of the day. No need to start over. You could also provide them with more light where they sit now, by pruning back any tree branches or taller plants that are adding shade, etc.
That's one of the fundamental issues with my bed. It's shaded by massive oak trees in the morning. From noon until dusk, it should be getting a lot of sun, though. I'm thinking it's shadier than I thought. The tomatoes and cucumbers are okay, if small, as are my herbs, but I guess the marigolds are just not getting enough. Could it be a need for fertilizer, though, or maybe too much or not enough water?
Morning sun is also critical for all the plants you mentioned. They're sun addicts.
It's kind of frustrating to me. I've got plants just a few feet away that seem to be getting enough light. My best tomato is in that spot and putting on a lot of fruit and it's about four feet tall. It's the same situation, roughly, but I guess that they're getting just enough more direct sun to thrive.
I'm thinking I need to go to more shade tolerant stuff for the bed next year, and I need to put anything that needs more sun in that one spot a few feet away that seems to get enough light.
Of course, what I do have in the bed now is largely healthy, especially the mint and the rosemary. The tomatoes are healthy, if small and slow to grow. However, I've also been thinking the shade may be a benefit when the southern sun gets harsh and extremely hot this summer.