Q.Sad Lobelia Plant
I potted all of the annuals I use for my patio this weekend and they’re all doing GREAT except this poor little blue lobelia plant. I put him in a small wrought iron, ‘wire’ square container with a coconut fiber liner and put it on a white plastic table. I’ve done exactly the same thing the last few years and have never had a problem (provided I water it daily and twice a day in August). The table is in full sun for about 5-6 hours a day. My poor little guy isn’t looking so happy today. The soil is plenty moist but he’s all limp and wilted and sad looking. The squirrels always go nuts checking out my new pots for the first week or so, so at first I thought it was just squirrels running through the pot and causing damage, but it’s not that. The stems aren’t broken and they won’t stand back up when I lift them up. They just fall back over like they’re made of spaghetti. Any suggestions?
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
You can try trimming them back some. It does sound like the plant may be getting a bit too much water, and with the intense sunlight, it may simply be suffering from a bit of shock. Make sure to only water when the soil is dry to the touch on top but not dry all the way through and try moving it to a shadier location for now and gradually increase the light.
