hi im thinking of filling my planter with heathers ,
at the minute it just has pure grey colouerd topsoil ,so was wondering what would be best to add
should i mix ericaous compost with the soil or just dig a bigger hole then the pot when planting
also is the anything i can cover it with to help the heathers after wards (mulch etc ) cheers

coykiesaol wrote:
I love white geraiums and last year I had some pure white plants from
a supermarket. I liked them so much I decided to take 10 cuttings last
September over winter them in my glass verander and plant them out
this year. All 10 cuttings survived ok and I have planted them into
my garden expecting them to be pure white as last year. They have
flowered a very pale pink, can anyone explain this?

I don't know about geraniums specifically but the colour of plant leaves and
flowers can change with the environment. Two factors that I know of are
colour changes due to different soil pH and different lighting, there may be
other factors I am not aware of.

One funny case I know of was a coleus that was grown in a pot in an office,
it sat on top of a filing cabinet under a fluorescent light and prospered,
it looked great having remarkable bright lime green leaves. This plant was
greatly admired and so one worker asked the owner if they could take
cuttings. The cuttings were taken and struck in small pots and then planted
out in the garden. The folliage was varigated dark green and purple, that
same as many common varieties and not at all remarkable.

David

On Jun 2, 7:44*am, "David Hare-Scott" wrote:
coykiesaol wrote:
I love white geraiums and last year I had some pure white plants from
a supermarket. I liked them so much I decided to take 10 cuttings last
September over winter them in my glass verander and plant them out
this year. All 10 cuttings survived ok and I have planted them into
my garden expecting them to be pure white as last year. They have
flowered a very pale pink, can anyone explain this?

I don't know about geraniums specifically but the colour of plant leaves and
flowers can change with the environment. *Two factors that I know of are
colour changes due to different soil pH and different lighting, there may be
other factors I am not aware of.

One funny case I know of was a coleus that was grown in a pot in an office,
it sat on top of a filing cabinet under a fluorescent light and prospered,
it looked great having remarkable bright lime green leaves. *This plant was
greatly admired and so one worker asked the owner if they could take
cuttings. *The cuttings were taken and struck in small pots and then planted
out in the garden. *The folliage was varigated dark green and purple, that
same as many common varieties and not at all remarkable.

David

I go with pH too. Don't know about geraniums but pH does effect
hydrangea color.

Hi coykiesaol, Heathers fall basically into 2 groups, there are the summer flowering and the winter flowering ! As a rough guide for soil, summer flowering varieties need an ericacous soil but winter flowering varieties will grow well in both acid and alkaline soil ?
Both types will respond well from having compost or even peat added when planted, it will help establish them much better ! I would also mulch with peat, this will not only help the heathers grow better and encourage them to root into the mulch as they grow but it will look much nicer and inhibit weeds growing from your 'grey top soil'.
Now this is the most important bit, ANY heather will look alot better if trimmed after flowering, remove the flower stems to encourage a nice compact habit and personally I think it will look alot nicer if you plant in groups of the same variety, rather than too many single plants which to me looks 'bitty'
In planters, I'd be inclined to use some foliage shrubs as well, to give a bit more interest, something like variegated dwarf Pieris, or Euonymous 'Emerald and Gold' or E. Gaiety or even some very slow growing conifers !
Lannerman