Gadenin日本語Get the appWhat to expect and when
Godetia blooms from late spring into early summer, which is exactly why one of its common names is farewell-to-spring. The flowers are open cups with a distinctive satin sheen, carried in clusters toward the top of the stems, in red, rose, pink, salmon, lilac, purple and white, often with a darker blotch or a contrasting edge. Plants range from about 6 inches (15 cm) for the dwarf types to around 36 inches (90 cm) for tall cutting strains.
Autumn-sown plants in mild climates flower first and longest. Spring-sown plants in colder areas start a few weeks later and are usually a little shorter, but the timing still lands in that gap between the first flush of spring bulbs and the high summer annuals, which is where godetia is most useful in a border.
| Type | Height | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Dwarf strains such as Dwarf Gem | About 8 in (20 cm) | Very compact, edging and small pots |
| Satin series | Compact, roughly 8 to 12 in (20 to 30 cm) | Pots and containers, flowers about 2 in (5 cm) across |
| Tall cutting strains | 16 to 24 in (40 to 60 cm) and more | Branch from the base, many flowers clustered at each stem tip |
Why it stops in summer
Godetia tolerates cold reasonably well but does not tolerate heat. Once days turn consistently hot, the plants set seed, the foliage yellows from the bottom up and flowering ends within a week or two. There is no pruning or feeding trick that carries it through a hot summer; it is simply finishing its annual cycle, as it does in the wild when the hills dry out.
What you can do is shift the flowering earlier and keep the plants cool at the root. Sow at the right time for your climate, plant in full sun but in soil that stays moderately moist below the surface, and a light mulch of gravel or fine bark once the soil has warmed helps. In regions with a long, cool spring the display runs for many weeks; where spring jumps straight to summer, expect a shorter, more concentrated show.
More flowers from the same plants
The main levers are sun, lean soil and a single early pinch. Plants in full sun with modest nitrogen set many more buds than those in rich soil or partial shade. A pinch on young plants adds branches, and each branch ends in a cluster of buds. Keeping the plants spaced and aired also keeps disease away from the stems at the very point they come into bloom.
Each flower lasts only a few days, but the buds on a stem open in sequence over several weeks. Picking the spent flowers or cutting whole stems for the house encourages the plant to keep pushing buds rather than switching entirely to seed. Leave some of the last stems to ripen if you want to save seed.
- Pinch once, early Take the tip out of young plants a few weeks after planting to multiply flowering stems. Skip it on dwarf or naturally bushy types.
- Keep nitrogen modest A lean bed and a single light feed give more flowers than rich soil and repeated high nitrogen feeding.
- Cut and deadhead Remove faded flowers or cut stems for the vase every few days while the plants are in full bloom.
- Let the last flush set seed When the heat arrives and flowering slows, stop cutting and let a few strong stems ripen their pods.
Godetia as a cut flower
Godetia is a far better cut flower than its reputation as a bedding annual suggests. Cut stems last well in water, and the buds higher up the stem continue to open over a week or more, so an arrangement keeps changing rather than fading. Tall cutting strains that branch from the base give several long stems per plant.
Cut in the cool of the morning when the first one or two flowers on a stem are open and the rest are in color bud. Strip the leaves that would sit below the waterline, recut the stems under water and change the water every couple of days. Remove the spent flowers from the stem as the higher buds open to keep the arrangement looking fresh.
Tight green buds rarely open in the vase. Wait until the lowest flower on the stem is open before cutting.
Using it in the garden
Dwarf and compact types make a neat edging or a single-color pot on a sunny step, and their satin flowers catch the light well at close range. Taller strains work in drifts in the middle of a border, among other hardy annuals such as cornflower, nigella and California poppy that share the same cool season and the same dislike of rich soil.
Because godetia finishes as summer heat arrives, plan what comes after it. Heat-loving annuals such as zinnias or cosmos can be planted into the gaps once the godetia is pulled, so the bed does not sit empty through the hottest months.