Hi Izzy,

You were one of the first people to respond to me (thx!)..and I'm going to give you an amateur reply...lol!....

Since it is a woodland plant, I would put it in the ground...cos...woodland plants do better there.

My neighbour, in Scotland, had one (and I was really jealous!)....it was in the ground, behind a small wall....and it came back every year....

Yes, Karen, I know I really should do so! I put them in largish tubs because I thought we might have moved fairly soon. It's not looking very likely, however! Market is dreadful!:-((

Maybe that is what I'll have to do though. I wonder if it's wise to move them at this stage of growth though? Maybe someone else will answer THAT question!

Thank you, Karen, for your quick response. I know my father had them in the ground in Scotland throughout my childhood...he always favoured the annuals though. I expect it was the perfume!

Hello izzy, yes agree with karen, possbly you could leave them be for the time being and put them in the ground at the back end just in csae they sulk, have encounted this before, i presume you mean powdery mildew, i made sure they were well watered and they perked up and they did flower ok in the end, julien.

Lol, Julien...I just looked again...and there was your response!

I did wonder if the powdery mildew was due to too much watering...or is it just one of those things? I have watered them rather a lot because of the long, dry spell and obviously because they are in pots.

Maybe I'll take my chances! Is it still possible to move them at 3' tall though? I'd rather not, I think!

Thanks, Julien. :-))

Aye!, I agree with Julien,.... as my grandad would say, leave them til the back end.

I hope you keep them, they're lovely....

Have you got quite a few of them in pots, if so you could try moving one of them just as an experiment and see how they compare through the season, if they both do equally well then if you intend to move at some point then you could leave them in the tubs and take them with you, julien.

I was also going to suggest planting some of them and leaving the rest, and then you should win one way or the other. But moving them at that height will be a bit dodgy so try to take a good ball of soil on the roots, and cut the flowers off the ones you move. Dig a good sized planting hole before you dig them up and (puddle" plant them, ie fill the hole with water when the plant is in, before you backfill, leaving drier soil on the surface so it doesn't set hard. If your weather is still very dry you might sprinkle a very few gel crystals in the hole and mix them with the soil before you put the plant in.

Thanks both...I think I might try that later today. They are very intertwined and bushy...not looking forward to that one! We still have windy conditions....dry and sunny...so will attempt this weekend to move some of them.

My advice is to leave them alone - just keep the mildew spray handy in case it recurs, and if you want to replant in the ground in autumn, do so then.