My Sweet William are Dying
Brian
Doug says
That Sweet Williams don't like coming back to New York, they prefer the west coast and Key West for the winter. But seriously folks....
This member of the Dianthus family is a biennial and won't make an appearance after flowering. Those mother plants are toast and die off after setting a great bloom.
Sweet William Blooming
In order to get a biennial such as Sweet William to bloom year after year, you have to allow the plant to set seed and have that seed grow for a year. In its second year of life, it will bloom and then die. So grow leaves in year one and bloom in year two; then die.
I've always recommended sowing seed in the fall of any biennial and do this several years in a row. This sown seed will get you started and then the plant will produce its own seed.
The deal here though is that if you grow with mulches, a deep mulch will stop the seed from germinating and you won't be able to grow biennials. This is a problem I have with my usual method of weed control.
So put this plant in the full sun or part shade in a well-drained spot and sow seed every fall for a year or two until you see you have ongoing blooms. Then it's yours. :-).
Do you have a question about Sweet William?
Custom Search