My Black Magic that I grow in the ground does pretty well but the ones that I keep potted always look puny if not on the verge of death. Why or why cant I have potted ones that look good.
charlotte
Black Magic in a pot !
My best guess is that the one in the ground gets more even moisture and probably more of it. If you were to put some silica crystals in the potted ones or sink the pots, I would bet they would do almost as well. They don't seem to do as well when they dry out often. I also think they are better rooted in the ground where they do not blow around so much ripping and kinking the smaller roots
.
When I removed mine from the GH they were starting to take off but not getting very tall and I was loosing a leaf about everytime I would get a couple new one. Now that they are in the ground they are really coming on. I planted them by the air conditioner and the compensations drains right on them keeping them moist all the time. They still get watered daily. This is the same place I had them last year and they got over 6 feet tall and beautiful leaves.
Linda
Thats a good thought but I've even tried putting them in a saucer of water..
Charlotte, I had good luck with some in containers a couple of years ago, but they were the whiskey barrels cut in half (about a 25 gallon container). I punch small drainage holes in them and put gravel in the bottom, so they drain, but slowly, and tend to hold moisture well. I only have to water them in late summer unless we're having a particularly dry spell. I also used plenty of slow release fertilizer.
Hope that offers some help. Good luck,
Neal
Are these guys heavy feeders... ? I'm thinking that I may not be fertilzing them enough.