My plants are turning yellow at the bottom and some are drying out on top yet I am watering them daily. Help!?

Question

These are new flower beds. Dalhias, Day Lillies, Aisian Lillies, Miniature Hollihocks. Even some of my potted plants aren't quite as full as last year. I thought it might be the water, but, my house plants are doing fine. I put in bags of black dirt and cow manure before planting( one bag of manure for about a 5ftx5ftx5ft bed) The Hollihock was doing great until one day it started to wilt. I tried to dig it up to put it elsewhere and it didn't have a dirt ball at the roots but the roots looked good(no bugs) the Lillies all grew to about 5to6 inches and stopped growing. They didn't die, just quit growing. I am at a loss. Can anyone give me any ideas?

Answer 1

even though they look like they are drying at the top, there is too much water. plants need to be able to look for water, or to reach for it, if you're watering them daily, the roots are constantly getting water, and are not thirsty and searching for water. water them a little less and see how that works, good luck!

Answer 2

I would have to say over watering, too. You shouldn't have to water every day. A good soaking with the hose running directly into the bed under the leaves a couple times a week is best. The Dahlias should continue to bloom until frost--make sure you cut off the spent blooms. Hollihocks like it hot and dry in full sun. Plain old ordinary Day Lillies and Asian Lillie's only bloom once and the foliage does begin to fade and dry up. You should cut off the seed pods all the way to the bottom of the stems. If you have Stella Dora day lillies, if you keep the seed pods cut way back and the plants well watered, they should bloom again. Just keep digging in the dirt, don't give up, do some research into the environment each plant prefers. All of yours listed here do well in full sun. You might add some organic fertilizer to your beds next year when you plant--like Flowertone or Gardentone.

Answer 3

My dear, the very simple answer is that your plants are gearing down for the fall. Dahlias and day lillies are bulbs and rhizomes. They are simply dying off for the year. Wait until they are dried up before you remove the dead foliage. The root reabsorbs the nutients from the foliage in order to over-winter, and sprout in the spring. Your hollyhocks are a perrenial. They are also slowing down for the fall. Cut them all the way down to about two inches from the ground. They will restart, but probably won't have time to flower again. Leave the new foliage on them over the winter. In the spring when they sprout new leaves, you can remove the old growth. Cut down on the water a bit (but don't stop watering them altogether!) and give them a dose of triple 16 fertilizer.

I don't know how "new" your flower beds are, but if you planted them recently, the lillies didn't have time to flower. Also, the varieties you mentioned often don't flower in their first year. Next year you should have lots of blooms. Both those varieties are very hardy and trouble free.

Answer 4

Dont water it everyday, that causes the yellowness. Try watering like 3 times a week. Maybe change the location also to change the amount of sunlight the plants recieve. Also aerate the soil if the plants stop growing, you can do this by rotating the soil or digging small holes in the soil to allow oxygen to go through into the ground and also to move the nutrients from above the ground to the below to reach the roots
good luck

Answer 5

Sounds like you need to cull the beds, the area is probably too small for all the root systems. Then, again, you could have a rodent or insect problem depending on where you live, the situation of the garden, what the drainage is, etc.

Your dahlias and lillies all produce bulbs, etc. under ground... look at this first. Like house plants, garden beds can get root bound.

Answer 6

You don't say how long you are watering. Everyone jumps to the conclusion that you are overwatering. If you are watering for example 5 minutes every day, that is not enough water to do any good. Water goes in a couple inches and then evaporates. Plants need a good soaking every few days in summer. For example, water for 20 minutes every 3 or 4 days. That way the roots will go down to get that water that has soaked in between waterings therefor making the plant more drought tolerant.

Good luck :-)

Answer 7

Sounds as though you are drowning them. Too much water can be as bad as too little water. Plus the soil may not be draining. Slow up on the watering a little and check to see if the water is standing for more than 24 hrs after you water them. That means the drainage is bad.