Heliotrope Plant Care
Heliotropes take their name from their habit of turning their leaves toward the sun; "helios" is Greek for "sun." These lovely traditional flowers also produce a remarkable sweet scent, especially notable at dawn and dusk. Does this Spark an idea?
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Sun
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As you might expect from a plant with "sun" in its name, heliotrope thrives best in a sunny spot, at least through the morning. It needs some shady relief in the afternoon, especially in warmer climates.
Water
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Give heliotropes plenty of water, particularly in hot weather. A light watering at dusk will enhance the plant's aroma.
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Feeding
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Rich, well-fertilized soil encourages blooming. Cheryll Greenwood Kinsley, writing for the Washington State University Whatcom County Extension, recommends a 10-60-10 fertilizer formulation for container plants; in general, heliotrope tolerates fertilizer well, according to the Michigan State University Extension.
Pruning
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Like many flowering plants, heliotrope blooms more abundantly when you pinch back the new growth; "pinch away," Kinsley recommends, to avoid plants' becoming too spindly. If you are growing heliotropes as a perennial shrub--rather than an annual--prune more aggressively in early spring.
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