Why are my scarlet bee balm plants falling over?
Question:what can i do to stop them from doing this?
Answers:
They have shallow roots and if they are planted in a large group it will help to keep them up (they support each other). Your best bet is to support them and now you can buy metal supports that have a curl on the top to loop around plants to solve the problem or just bamboo stakes with twine will work. You can reuse the metal ones after the bee balm are done for the season and move them on to other plants. Most garden centers have them now... I got mine in K-mart and Lowe's.
I DONT know
Use some bamboo stakes and garden twine to stake them up. Works for me.
Danielle,
Bee balm can get leggy if you have a lot of rain early in the season, such as we have had here. Another reason they might be "flopping" is if they're not in full sun; they'll "reach" out towards the brightest light, and flop in the process.
No worries. You can purchase hoops for plants that have a grid through them, so that the individual stalks are evenly held in place; I got mine from the Gardener's Supply catalogue and they work like a charm. They're painted dark green and, with the plant growing up through them, they are darn near invisible.
Are they falling over because of their height, or does it look like the stems are breaking off just at soil level? If they are breaking off you could have cutworms. If it's due to height, just provide them with support.
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