Ornamental Peanut Plant Very Sparse

Question

Hello. I planted ornatmental peanut from plants I puchased a the local nursery. It’s been almost 1 year and the plants are still very sparse. It’s an area of about 6ft x 10ft. I planted about 20 plants from 1 gallon pots. There is no foot traffic on the plants and they are in full sun. I live in South Florida in the Ft. Lauderdale area. I fertilized using palm fertilizer. I have ordered seeds and hope that this may also help. My municipality has planted many of them on street medians and they are thick and thriving. I doubt that they are getting much care. Can you please give me some ideas on how to get them to thickly cover the area? Thank you.

Answer 1

Peanuts, being legumes, will not appreciate extra fertilization. Soil that is too rich will not be conducive to good growth of legumes. Likely, there is too much nitrogen in your soil for them to do well. They will tolerate rich compost, but will not tolerate feeding with extra nitrogen.

Here are some articles that will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/fertilizer-burn-in-gardens.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/peanuts/growing-peanuts.htm