Did I go overboard on the compost & fertilizer and make the soil too rich?

==>>> i dont know... what did you add???...

any chance at a pic ...

and yes.. compost PLUS fert.. could be double dipping.. in favor of vegetative growth.. which means.. too much nitro ... which might be an element of compost that wasnt fully finished ... especially if it was in a flavor of manure ...

ken

I really appreciate your help Ken!

I used our household compost - all vegetative matter & coffee grounds go into it. I treated the top level of soil with it in early spring. Then a month later I used Organic Plant Magic, which is diluted in water. We had a real rainy spring and things were looking pretty leafy so i used some Flower Tone in late May.

I had to reduce the photo so its kind of fuzzy. You can just about see the stake that's holding the plant up. I can play with the photo more to try and get a better photo.

cheers
katie

Were your seeds purchased or did you receive them in a trade? If they were traded seeds, they may have been open pollinated and your plants may be reverting back to the species Blanket Flower which is pretty tall.

I purchased a Goblin plant this spring from Bluestone Perennials and it is blooming and well under a foot tall right now.

That being said, I also have a several year old plant of Arizona Sun (purchased) and it has been getting taller and taller every year. Right now, it is a good 18 inches high and it should only be less than a foot tall. At least it was only that tall the first couple of years. Now I'm wondering what has happened to this clump of AS. It's mulched in and maybe fed once a season, so it's not over-fertilized by any means.

Maybe if we can solve your problem, we can solve mine too.

Linda

It may just be exceptionally happy though due to the excellent conditions you are providing. I got one from the beach last year that was only 6" or so tall and this year, living in ideal conditions, it is nearly 2 feet tall. Also, they will grow taller than advertised if they are competing for sun with taller plants.

They really do not need compost/fertilizer though.

No competition for sun for either katie's or mine. Both hers and mine are at the front of the border.

I think there is just differences in the plants, even from seed. I guess they are like children. I grew several Arizona Apricots from seed, and all are shorter than 12 in. Two are about the same diameter clumps. One died altogether, and one is about 6 in. in diameter. They are planted in a row, so its not like they have different growing conditions. One bloomed earIier, one is blooming now, and one is yet to bloom. I don't fertilize my xeric plants, unless I see significant yellowing. I grew Arizona Sun at my other house, and it did get bigger over time, and it did reseed. The plants didn't last forever, but the seedlings that I had weren't ever really tall, not more than 18 in. They got about an inch of water every month, including rain. Here is AZ Apricot in its second year here: