I started 3 Eccremocarpus scaber (Chilean Glory Flower) from seed 3 years ago. They grew up about 4 feet and produced little bundles of foliage that flowered, then stopped. All the foliage along the long (single) stems crisped and fell off. I expected them to die over the winter, but they came back last year and this year, so they're at least hardy for my zone, but they're pitiful, scraggly little things. The long brown stems didn't fill out; all that happened -- both last year and this -- is that the little fist-sized bundles of foliage at the very top (one for each plant) got green, produced about 5 flowers and then went to seed. I tried pinching some new growth last year to encourage branching, but they just sat there -- one small ball of green foliage for each plant.

They're in full sun on a south-facing wooden fence, with netting as support. They get the same water and fertilizer as everything else (which is admittedly sparse, as far as fertilizer is concerned; I tend to leave plants pretty much to their own devices when it comes to nutrients -- I fertilize maybe twice a season). Their soil is excellent.

I'll be ripping my current plants out because I can't stand the lollipop effect of a single stem with a ball of foliage on top. I'll be starting new plants from seed I collect this year, and I'm looking for advice on how to make next year's seedlings happier. Is it really just a matter of more fertilizer? I've deliberately filled my garden with a lot of plants that need very little extra in the way of nutrients, and even resent it if it's provided, so I tend to treat them all the same.

Am I starving my Glory Flowers? Are they getting too much sun and reflected heat? Do they need cool feet? Are they just naturally wispy, pitiful-looking plants that need mass plantings to look good? Any advice is appreciated!