Name that plant, part 2

[kake]

Further to my previous post, I have another batch of plants that I hope someone will be able to help me identify.

[IMAGE: A plant (no flowers) in a pot with long green leaves. Some of the leaves towards the top are a pale reddish colour, while others are yellowed and dead at the ends. There is moss growing on the stones that have been used to cover the soil in the pot.]

Bonus questions! Should I worry about the reddish leaves? Should I take the yellowing ones off? Are the reddish ones in fact on their way to becoming yellow ones? Should I get rid of the moss, or will the plant happily coexist with it?

[IMAGE: A sparsely-leaved plant growing in a pot and climbing up a trellis. The soil in the pot had been covered with flat stones. There is A TRAIN A TRAIN A TRAIN YAY A TRAIN in the background beyond the fence.]

I also have a closeup of the leaves.

[IMAGE: A shrubby sort of plant in a brown pot on some decking. Many of the leaves seem to be dead.]

Are the dead bits normal for this time of year? Should I take them off or just leave them?

[IMAGE: A plant in a blue pot with pinkish purplish flowers.]

Is this another dianthus?

Does anyone recognise any of these? As previously mentioned, I live in London, UK, if that helps. I would really appreciate any advice!

Comments

[rainbow]

the first looks like a lily of the valley tree to me; they often have that distinctive red new growth.

2nd the vines and leaves look a bit like honeysuckle.

3rd maybe a juniper? i don't know prickly plants well.

4th looks like sweet william to me.

[kake]

Thank you! Is lily of the valley tree the same as pieris japonica/andromeda? Googling suggests it is, but I thought I'd best check...

I will be very excited if the second one does turn out to be honeysuckle! My parents' garden has a pile of honeysuckle growing all over one wall and the back gate, and when it's in bloom, every time you open the gate it brushes the flowers and you get a brilliant smell. I would love to have honeysuckle of my own.

[rainbow]

yes, they're the same plant.

we've got honeysuckle in front clambering over the deck (along iwth some wisteria), and it's glorious in bloom.

[dantesspirit]

First one, if you were in the US, I'd say was a Redtip. It's a bush that does have pale cream/white flowers in the spring.
If so, the reddish leaves are fine, the yellowing ones and moss may mean the soil is too heavy/wet for it. But as you're not in the US, I'm not sure, as I'm not sure Redtips grow there.}:P

The second one, need a closer pic of the leaves to id it, sorry.

Third is a juniper, prickly things that they are. It's not happy, which means it may need repotting. The dead branches can be removed.

Fourth is a Dianthus/Sweet William. Pick off the dead flowers/stalks and it should start perking back up.

[kake]

Thank you! Re the second one, here's an even closer close-up:



[IMAGE: A wide leaf with a point on the end, variegated in green and brown.]

Does the juniper need repotting because the pot is too small, or for some other reason?

I have just picked off all the dead bits on both my dianthuses — I hope for more flowers! Are these perennials? Wikipedia says most dianthuses are, but not all.

[dantesspirit]

Hmm, I'm going to have to agree that the vine is a variety of honeysuckle.

The juniper is either too dry (needs watering) or if the soil is damp, then rootbound. So check the soil first, if it's fine, then you may need to repot it.

The dianthus , if placed in a well protected area over witntrer, should come back just fine the next spring. Most here, if well protected, will come back.}:)

[kake]

Thank you!

I have been watering the juniper every couple of days since I moved in two weeks ago, though maybe I haven't been giving it enough (I've been worried about overwatering things).

[primsong]

I concur with the juniper and sweet william/dianthus - do you have any closer pics of the leaves on the climber?

The first one may be a pieris japonica (also called andromeda) - it's exactly like two I have in my yard, our climate is very like the UK. If so, the colored leaves are decorative, it likes moss and will give you cream, white or pinkish flowers in the spring.

[liana]

I agree with pieris/andromeda. I have a couple in my yard as well. IIRC, new leaves start out red.

Also agree with juniper and dianthus. No idea on your climber, sorry.

[kake]

Thank you!

[kake]

I have just put an even closer close-up of the leaves on the second one in a comment above.

Thank you for the info on the pieris japonica! What does the moss do to make the plant like it?

[teapot_rabbit]

Don't remove the red leaves from the first plant! They're new growth. Many plants have new growth that's a different color from the mature leaves.

[kake]

OK! Thanks :)

[chalcopyrite]

A third "I think so" for pieris for the first one; new growth can be reddish or yellowish. Yours looks happy.

The climber is a honeysuckle; it could be a lot more leafy. Where's the pot relative to sunshine, wind, etc? It might benefit from a bit of feed.

As others have said, third is a juniper, fourth is another dianthus (and you can pull/trim the dead flowers off, though it's probably about done flowering anyway).

[kake]

Thank you! So I don't need to worry about the yellow/half-dead leaves on the pieris japonica? There are only a few of them, near the bottom.

The honeysuckle gets plenty of sun. I'm not sure there's anywhere I could move it to where it would get less wind, without it also getting less sun.

I am a bit confused about plant-feeding — there seem to be so many options and I'm not sure how to decide between them.

[chalcopyrite]

Don't worry about a few half-dead leaves; you can take them off in the spring, if they're still clinging on after the winter.

Plant feeding: I realised wait, it's August already (and how did that happen???), so you don't want to feed them now -- you don't want plants to have tender new growth going in to the winter, and a slow-release feed would be wasted in winter while the plant is dormant.

So! A thing you could do first, as feuer_flammenlos said, is check what the soil is like under those stones. If it's grey, hard, sandy, rocky -- the honeysuckle would probably benefit from being taken out of the pot, having as much of the old soil as (easily) possible removed/shaken gently out of the roots, and being re-planted in new compost. That is IF it is easy enough to wrangle the plant. If not, you can dig out the top couple inches of soil (as much as you can without taking the plant out of the pot, and without damaging roots too much), and replacing those with new compost. Compost as sold has plant food in it; that lasts about 6 months or so.

Come spring, when things start growing again, you can add some slow-release plant food to the top layer of soil. J. Arthur Bower is a good reliable brand, or really any would do; what you want is a slow-release fertiliser for containers or pots (it will have less nitrogen; you don't want plants in pots to be growing vigorously). A garden centre or a home-improvement store like B&Q ought to be able to help you. It doesn't take much, and you just sort of mix it a little into the top of the soil.

The big problem for container plants is water; I don't know if you've been having the dry weather we've been getting, but if there isn't a good soaking rain, plants need more water than you'd ever think. One way to make sure the roots get water, rather than it just running off the top, is to take a 2l water/soda bottle, cut the bottom off and make some slits around the top, then (with the cap on) bury it maybe halfway in the pot, open end up. Fill that with water, and it'll leach out slowly, down where the roots can get it.

One more thing is, if you can get a peep at the bottom of the container and there are lots of roots coming out the bottom drainage holes, the plant is potbound and needs a larger pot. Alas, because the big pots start getting pricey.

I hope these do well for you! Don't beat yourself up if there are some setbacks!

[kake]

We've had some rain, but less so in the past week. I plan to buy a moisture meter at some point because I'm having trouble working out whether I'm underwatering or overwatering things.

The soil in the honeysuckle pot looks awful! It's grey and stony and absolutely chock-full of tiny roots. There aren't any roots coming out of the drainage holes though.

[chalcopyrite]

grey and stony and absolutely chock-full of tiny roots

Yuck! Sounds like repotting the honeysuckle is a good place to start, then. It'll do much better in soil with more anything in it!

[feuer_flammenlos]

I agree with the "it's a honeysuckle" ID for the climber - given that you live in the UK, it's unlikely to go feral and take up your garden, so you might want to change the soil and offer a better (less windy and more sunny) position.

Juniper should NOT have those dead branches - transplant is needed soon! You might also want to check the soil consistence: mine is wild (therefore naturally selected for survival against all odds) and growing in about three spoons of dead-leaves-humus over a rocky ground.

[kake]

Thank you! I'm not sure there is a less windy and more sunny place in my garden, unfortunately.

Is changing the soil functionally equivalent to feeding it, as chalcopyrite suggested I do? Or are you concerned about pathogens rather than nutrients?

I will repot the juniper as soon as I can get something to repot it in.