meconopsis quintuplinervia cultural conditions

[robsorchids]

i recentley acquired a lovely plant of meconopsis quintuplinervia, i potted it in a mix of ericaceous compost, lots of sand and perlite.
i placed a sheet of glass over the foliage (not directley on the foliage) to keep of excess rain, i think this was the right thing to do.
i decided to keep it in a shady place with other woodlanders and the lingholm kindly sent to me by sue, which is doing very well

just wanted to know what else i can do to help grow this plant and if im doing anything wrong?
i potted the plant in a large pot as recomended for meconopsis

thanks
rob

[Susan Band]

Rob,
This meconopsis likes to run around and gradually moves across the garden. You will find it puts out runners along the inside of the pot. I would suggest once you are happy that it is growing well that you try it out in the open with loads of leafy compost around it so that it can spread about. For anyone else that grows this, cuttings can be taken from the newly emerging sprouts, mum used to take the knife across the plants about now and root them as normal cuttings.

[Lesley Cox]

In my warm dry garden I find it far from easy Rob. I doubt if Essex would be the place it would choose if asked, either. Follow Susan's advice to the letter and NEVER let it become too dry, but on the other hand, it can rot easily if over watered in a confined space.

I also find it's very hard to keep the leaves a strong green colour. They are usually yellowish toward the edges and between the veins. I have 3 plants at present - not wandering yet - and it's only by keeping them in dense shade for the last year that they've begun to look really healthy. Susan, do you feed yours and if so, what with? I've had no flowers yet but am hopeful for the next spring.

[Susan Band]

Lesley,
I don't feed it apart from top dressing with leaf mold. It doesn't stay in the same place, dieing out in the middle and flowering at the edges so really you want to make sure the the soil around it is good and soft to encourage it to run.