Some of the Scabious that were cut back in week 33 have started to shoot again but some are very slow to recover. It will be a few more weeks before we know if the “hard” cut to the ground or the “soft” cut leaving about 50cms of foliage is the most successful.
As stated in earlier posts the excessively hot weather has meant that we have not really got any meaningful results from the Fusarium variety trial. However the fact that not a single Lisiathus plant has been lost to the disease does conclusively demonstrate the species specificity of Fusarium oxysporum (see phots below).
The late planted stocks are developing well although only the Japanese varieties have fully budded up. We will hopefully hold a small Open Evening in week 36 for growers to view them in full flower.
