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Busy Lizzies


Judith
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Presumably this / these are potted plants.

In the heat that you and we get down here, they don't do well in full sun - the flimsy petals just fry, so a shady spot is best. They'll flower outside till late Autumn.

Ours are in raised beds and are pretty drought tolerant (i.e, we water them twice a week-ish), but if they're potted, a daily drink wouldn't harm. 

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They like the shade here  (there used to be lots in the ground in the shade of the trees in the Plateau des Poètes in Béziers.

Useful if you have an inside courtyard that doesn't get a lot of sun.

I found them quite thirsty....but they were in pots in trays on window ledges and balcony

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There are two types of Buzy Liz - the New Guinea Busy Lizzy is usually more of a pot plant I think - looks like this:

http://www.allinone.co.uk/ecommerce/search/new-guinea-busy-lizzy.aspx

Then the ones seen in gardens that are such good value - information here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/4230754/How-to-look-after-your-Busy-Lizzies.html

 

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I've always found in UK that Busy Lizzies need lots of water when planted out in big tubs. They seem to have a very large water content. I used to grow them from seed for my own garden and various good causes, and often pulled short stems off and put them in jam jars filled with water until roots grew - a good way to increase stock of particular colours if some are in short supply.

I no longer grow Busy Lizzies, due to slugs, which I take every precaution against known to gardeners - and a few more! [:(] Several years ago I was so upset about it that I came into the house, scrawled 'No more Busy Lizzies' on some paper and pinned it on my cork board; no Busy Lizzie has crossed my garden gate since then! nor mesembryanthemums, which I love, but slugs love them more!

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Thanks all...

It was presented in a pot, ( a gift) but no instructions - it's got red flowers, but looks like the pot plant in the illustration .... it does seem thirsty and also  fragile - the  flowers drop very easily, so suspect its an indoor one,,,

Ah well, any plant I have has to be indomitable, I forget to water, I don't have much choice of location .... even inside it has lots of light ...so I'll see what happens.....would happily plant it out and let it look after itself, but I suspect it won't ....and if it likes shade I have very little of that in the garden ....

Shame,  I'd much prefer cut flowers, but here it seems always to be plants....

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I'm no good with pot plants either - always manage to kill them! Unfortunately cut flowers over here seem incredibly expensive.

We have an old pig boiler that I plant up every year with something different - this year it happens to be Busy Lizzies![:)]

[IMG]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i312/Bouillaguet/Garden%20and%20Nature/BusyLizzies.jpg[/IMG]

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Thank you. I try and do it most evenings, but often forget so it's usually about 4 times a week. I mixed together donkey manure (which I have plenty of!), earth from the garden (which is basically a clay soil) and bought potting compost before planting them. There is a load of polystyrene (old trays from supermarket meat) in the bottom of the pot to help fill the space so it isn't all soil.
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RR

Thanks,  we do have some containers which have "very" dead stuff in them (we inherited them last year and never did anything with them), but watering every night could be a problem, the sun is pretty ferocious at the mo.... but maybe think about that... if it survives my 4 days away for a long weekend coming soon.

Most grateful.... polystyrene, good idea .... our soil is like rock once it dries ....!!

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There was an item on Radio 2 this afternoon about the fungus affecting BL in the UK. The guy that was interviewed was from the Royal Horticultural Society and he reckoned that the fungus is airborne and had more or less wiped out BLs here this year. He recommended growing from seed next year in the hope that will eradicate the fungus.
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Thanks again, and sorry to be slow saying this, been offline (away for a few days) so just catching up now...

whilst I've been away ( put it in a coolish place and left it standing in water) most of its flowers seem to have died and whilst there are new buds there is not much colour to it at the mo .... is this normal?

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