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Author Topic: Dionysia flowers  (Read 1283 times)

Alex

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Dionysia flowers
« on: April 10, 2019, 09:27:51 PM »
A quick question from a Dionysia newbie - I'm trying to grow some in pots in the alpine house plunge bed this year. They are coming to the end of their flowering now, and of course many have wilted flowers on them. So far, these don't seem to come off easily so I've left them, but what is the proper procedure here? Do they need to be removed? Do they dry and fall off in time? Grateful for guidance from those with experience!

Thank you,

Alex

Dionysia

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Re: Dionysia flowers
« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2019, 11:05:34 PM »
Hi Alex
In general, in our climate it is important to remove the flowers as soon as they go over as the corolla tube becomes damp as it dies which is a primary source of damp getting into the centre of the rosettes thereby leading to damping, rot and if not checked, death. In practice the ease of removing flowers varies considerably from species/hybrid to species/hybrid. Some such as Monika can be removed in bunches, its possible to strip a 30cm plant in less than an hour. With others however like afghanica you need to be very delicate and pull the flowers very gently (with tweezers usually) or you risk pulling the centre out of the rosette. Others have very brittle tubes which can break no matter how gentle you are. In such cases don't leave the base of the tube on the plant as this is enough to lead to rot. You need to pull the last few  millimetres out of the rosette. Experience will give you greater ability to know which plants need more delicate treatment. Obviously people who try and set seed have to leave some flowers on in which case its safer to leave them nearer the edge so that if the rosette starts to rot, removing it might not be such an issue. Growers with a more continental climate are on the whole better able to leave flowers in situ as the drier atmosphere is less likely to lead to problems.
Paul
Paul
 in Chippenham

Alex

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Re: Dionysia flowers
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2019, 08:47:06 PM »
Dear Paul,

Thank you very much for that comprehensive reply. I can only imagine how much time you must spend on this task over your large and wonderful collection around this time of year! But worth it. I will do as you suggest, trying not to damage rosettes as you say. I also grow quite a few Juno Irises, which are possibly the very worst plants for suffering fatal rots from flower remnants, so I know how these things can be.

Thanks again and best wishes,

Alex

 


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