Loyal to men requires only moderate care, such as regular watering and fertilizing. A complicated pruning is not necessary. Of course you should cut off the wilted ones, they just look prettier. A pruning before wintering is also useful.
Loyal to a Man is poisonous, so using gloves when cutting is recommended
Cut back for a second bloom
Occasionally, in the middle of summer, the men's faithful will slow down a little with the flowering. Then cut it back to about half or a third of its previous size. This stimulates it to bloom again, this time well into autumn. After the first frosty nights, one-year-old males can be disposed of. With perennial plants, you can definitely try overwintering.
Cut back in case of disease or pest infestation
Although faithful to men is not very susceptible to illnesses, it does affect him sometimes. Mistakes in care are often to blame, for example watering too much or too little. You can hardly do anything against root or stem rot, the plant may recover if you change the soil and water it more correctly in the future.
Fungal infestation is indicated by a white fuzz on the soil, which should then be replaced completely, or by round spots on the leaves. In this case, cut off affected parts of the plant. As a precaution, you can treat the rest of the plant with a fungicide.
However, men's loyalty is more frequently attacked by tospoviruses, which are transmitted by thrips (thrips). When infested, the leaves turn purple, sometimes they also get white spots. If left untreated, the plant may die. Therefore, be sure to cut off affected parts of the plant. With a glue board you can prevent the disease by setting a trap for the culprit.
The essentials in brief:
- Pruning in summer encourages a second flowering
- cut back to about a third to half
- Pruning recommended before overwintering
- Immediately cut off diseased parts of the plant
tips and tricks
Blue lobelia will flower again if you prune the plant by half to two-thirds when flowering stops.