[Blackpool rocket]

Hi all, I grew some Mesembryanthemums from seed, only a few managed to reach maturity, ~20, mainly due to neglect I think.
I did find them diffficult to transplant, they were grown in modules, should I sow them directly into the soil next year?
The surviving plants are very healthy looking with plenty of lush foliage.

The main problem is, there are no flowers at all on any plants and no sign of any buds.
They are in a West facing bed that gets full sun from about 11.00 to 20.00.
They have been regularly watered.

What has gone wrong?

Thanks

Br.

[Fairy Plotmother]

Last year I had a lovely display. I sowed them directly into the border and thinned them out as they grew.

[robinahood]

Perhaps it's soil type? Mine is poor and sandy, I also grew them in modules, although they looked a bit unhappy when first planted in the ground, they then picked up and I have plenty of flowers.

[Gardener and Rabbit]

I grow them every year for some early colour in the bedding, and my soil is poor/sandy.

I start them off in modules, and try to sow fairly thinly.  They don't seem to like having their roots disturbed, so if 3 or 4 plants grow in the module I don't try to split them, I just plant them out as a clump.

If you can be bothered to dead-head them you'll get a lot more flowers, but they still seem to have exhausted themselves by the end of July, so I replace them then with lobelias from a late sowing.

[mumofstig]

Flowers only open when there's enough sunlight, what has your weather been like?

[Goosegirl]

If the foliage looks really lush and you haven't even got any buds forming, then I think it because of too much nitrogen. Try using some liquid tomato feed and see if that helps.

[Blackpool rocket]

Thanks for the replies.

The site is in full sun from 11.00 to 20.00. North Hampshire, the weather has been as poor as everywhere else. Pretty cold really and very little rain but they do get watered regularly.

Dead-heading will be an option if I get any flowers, until then, there is nothing to dead-head.

The soil is very poor & sandy. I might have sprinkled some growmore before planting, I can't remember though.

I probably had 200 germinate but they were very fragile & I tried my best to handle them when about 1/2" across the first leaves. Most didn't make it.

I'll give the tomato feed a go.

With such a high germination rate, next year I'll either sow them directly or sow just 3 or 4 seeds per module & lift that "en masse" and plant.

Br.

[New shoot]

I wouldn't start feeding them tbh.  They thrive in well drained, poor soils and neglect is fine in a good season. 

The late start to the season and gloomy days will have affected them.  If the plants look lush, leave them to it and they will start to flower.  A bit of stress from lack of water and food may even help to kick them out of their growing phase into a flowering phase 

They will do better sown in modules, then planted out, so your plan for next year of sowing a few seeds per module and planting as a clump sounds a good way to go 

[Blackpool rocket]

I think we scared them!

[New shoot]

 

They look like good plants, so hopefully lots more flowers to come