I know. This is why I.. ah forget it :03:

Which altitude is that?

600m sea level.

When summer hits it's nice and hot. It's preparing them before that presents a problem.
We live in a very old house and windows are small and the only south facing one is blocked by balcony cover so I'm limited to my east facing room window that is just not enough.

The LED light growbox did the trick this year.

Just for you, Steed...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npi3BDLmEIQ



<O>

So what advice would you give to a serial killer of plants who has to replace the majority of his perennials every year?

No wisecracks if you'd be so kind.

I'd tell you if I knew the details.
Overwatering, underwatering, over feeding, starving...

Don't water until you can push your finger in soil and is dry,
water in the morning, if you water in the evening the dampness might cause molding,
keep water away from leaves but water the entire plant on a sunny day once in a while to wash the dust off,
protect the plant in late autumn so wind doesn't chill it during winter
keep the dog away, dog urine burns the plants


The list can go on and on

Need more data.
Which plants do you have exactly, and what are the conditions: Soil, rain, sun, shadow, half shadow etc.. Usually you use the southside of the house for this, and the north for that a.s.o.
Since it can get already warm in England/Ireland in march due to the gulf stream, the weather should be a bit milder than the continental weather (?)

Jim contact the Met Office and NASA while you are at it. :)

Appreciate that and regarding the latter two....

All the plants I purchase are rated as hardy enough to withstand a British winter, which is just as well because the wife would hardly warm to seeing thirty of the buggas in the conservatory.

The pots are all taller than the height the dog can lift his leg.

I could make a list but that would entail reading all the labels.

Best if I generalise in saying they are all or mostly supposed to be hardy perennials (with a few exceptions) planted in pots of varying shapes and sizes (I'll add a picture or three shortly after the rain stops) containing general purpose compost for soil.

The property is south facing so they don't get an awful lot of direct sunlight until the afternoon.

I water approx. twice a week and feed liquid moracle-gro via a hose attachment once a fortnight.

Pots you say :hmmm:

Do the pots have holes on the bottom ??
Without good drainage all that English rain and water cause root rot.

Before the plants start dying, to they yellow their older, lower leaves and the yellowing works upwards :hmmm:

And check the pH levels. Fertilizer may make the soil acidic for a base loving plant and vice versa. Every apothecary should have pH tests and then just google what pH the plant thrives in and compare your findngs.

Yep, all pots have drain holes and no, the yellowing does not occur but I did fail to 'cut back' the stems etc. prior to the last winter.

As for PH....I've never committed to that level of detail since I stopped breeding Malawi Cichlids :o

Anyhoo....here are a few iPhone shots taken shortly after the rain sibsided, not the best quality but they should give a clue to the trained eye as to what some of the plants are.

http://i.imgur.com/tetu30r.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/aKVZEtv.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tBKSs0X.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/FRJ9r9n.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/N2M1dnD.jpg

We still don't know how they die.

During winter, during summer, just whittle away, start rotting somehwere ??

Looks nice anyway :)

All of our plants (almost) root in the ground, not in pots.. and the soil is very sandy here, so we cannot plant all without proper substrate, or fertilizer :hmmm:

Pottted plants always suffer from either not enough/too much nutrients and too much water.

And keep them pruned, too much growth can stress the plant already strugling with limited root space.

Jim that's the kind of garden I like, low maintenance. :)

From what I can tell mostly weeds and wild flowers!!:hmmm:
But they look nice.:yep: