Gardening in Fuerteventura

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

A general and flower update today.

The hibiscus are responding really well to their haircuts:


self-seeded lavender under the banana - which means it is getting mega water, totally against what I thought lavender liked!


the Drago has split into three clear segments
 

the 'jungle' in general is growing well
 I wish I had more garden with these protected conditions.

The adeniums are blooming well
 

Peru purple chilli coming back to life


Parsley and purple basil doing well
 

Honeysuckle starting to bloom


Bottlebrush putting on a good show


Wisteria Tree just starting to bloom!


Geraniums are really doing well
  

  

[GMT]

This year I've kept many patches of weeds like these          and lots of bees and other beneficial insects seem to have enjoyed them             

       

[Lesley Garyga]

Hi, I´m trying to grow sunflowers but have failed 4 times. they get to about an inch tall and then die ( go black ). Has anyone had the same experience or could give me some idea of what I´m doing wrong. Thank you

[Cotillo_Tom]

Can't help with sunflowers, but just can't resist the opportunity to post my flowering cactus.  The Queen of the Night.  It flowers overnight, gives these wonderful flowers for a whole day, that are dead by the following morning.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Hi, I´m trying to grow sunflowers but have failed 4 times. they get to about an inch tall and then die ( go black ). Has anyone had the same experience or could give me some idea of what I´m doing wrong. Thank you

Hi Lesley
I'll try to help but I need some more info from you please.

Where did you get the seed? Country and/or pic of packet if appropriate.
How old is the seed?
Where are you planting the seed? Ground/pot etc
If pot, what size?
What medium are you using? Soil/compost etc
Is the ground in the shade or the pot placed in the shade?
How are you watering? Over the top or from the bottom. How often? How dry the does the medium get in between waterings?
What are you watering with? Tap water/bottled water/depuradora water.
Are you very close to the coast? ie is your breeze very salty?

[Perrypower1]

Hi, we have this plant that has lovely purple flowers.  They are constantly coming out and last for a day.  Can you offer any pruning advise please.
The smaller photo is from March and larger if from today
regards, Perry & Yvonne

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Hi Perry
What you have is a Mexican Petunia.
I have several clumps in my garden as well.
They are an invasive weed here!
I have several clumps that have become very large and are drowning out other plants. I wish I had kept them all separate from other plants like you seem to have done. Trying to dig them out is a waste of time - the tiniest bit of root starts a new plant    And they seem able to spread roots through the hardest of ground - stuff that is like concrete!
If you want to keep them (and I don't blame you cos they are gorgeous) you can prune them almost to the ground, the whole thing, and you should get nice healthy new growth quite quickly. Any time of year!

[Perrypower1]

Thank you Tamara. I think we will be keeping it as it was bought from the garden centre.😂

[Lesley Garyga]

Hi, I´m trying to grow sunflowers but have failed 4 times. they get to about an inch tall and then die ( go black ). Has anyone had the same experience or could give me some idea of what I´m doing wrong. Thank you

Hi Lesley
I'll try to help but I need some more info from you please.

Where did you get the seed? Country and/or pic of packet if appropriate.
How old is the seed?
Where are you planting the seed? Ground/pot etc
If pot, what size?
What medium are you using? Soil/compost etc
Is the ground in the shade or the pot placed in the shade?
How are you watering? Over the top or from the bottom. How often? How dry the does the medium get in between waterings?
What are you watering with? Tap water/bottled water/depuradora water.
Are you very close to the coast? ie is your breeze very salty?

Hi. The seeds are from the UK and less than 1 year old. They are Teddy Bear sunflowers. Planted in a small pot with Lidl compost. The pot is in full sun and watered with tap water via irrigation system once a day, drips for 5mins at 5am. We are about a kilimeter from the coast and don´t think we have salty air.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

OK, my take on it, and I could be totally wrong:

Small pot, daily watering, Lidl compost, full sun = wet medium in which the roots boil and rot.

Bought compost is not renowned for draining well - it would help to mix some well washed gritty sand (not the fine stuff from Dunes beach!) or 'molida' (Ground lava rock) into the compost and try to find a way to keep the pot itself in the shade to keep the roots cooler. Maybe bury the pot in the ground?

I'm not familiar with that variety of sunflower but do be aware that some plants/individual varieties just will not grow here. They might grow like weeds in the UK but take one look at our sun and tap water and say 'no way'!

Good luck!