'Bowles's Mauve' going downhill

[Marb67]

Well, my catalogue of plants going downhill after buying (different places) continues with this seemingly simple plant, the Erysimum Linifolium 'Bowles's Mauve' I potted it on in good nursery professional plant compost (Irish Moss) and all flowers have died and the plant is now reduced to a pathetic stump. I have snipped the tops off to try and encourage more growth.

Is there any way I can revive this plant ?

[Thelma Sanders]

They prefer a quite sunny position, mine get sun from lunchtime onwards, yours looks very wet - unless you had just watered it?

They finished flowering a couple of weeks ago, so I trimmed it back just as you have done. Within a few weeks it was back to being bushy. It won't flower again until next year, though.
Irish Moss - isn't that just 100% peat, rather than potting compost? If it is just peat, then wallflowers won't like it at all.

[Marb67]

I just watered it and it's in full sun in the afternoon. don't think it just Moss, it has moss in it. Would potting it in loamy soil from the garden be ok ?

[bearded bloke]

Pop it straight into the garden Marb,it'll come back, wallflowers are 'tough as old boots', best I ever had grew at the base of a latlandi hedge self seeded & came back year after year with no care from me at all.

[Marb67]

Well i re-potted with garden soil, in full sun and it's pretty terrible.

[roitelet]

It needs to be in the ground not a pot.

[bearded bloke]

Would potting it in loamy soil from the garden be ok ?

Pop it straight into the garden Marb

Well i re-potted with garden soil

It needs to be in the ground not a pot.

Salient points selected from previous posts

[Marb67]

No room in my small garden to plant. Same soil, in a pot. What's going to be different ?

[veggiechicken]

In general, a plant in a pot has its roots restricted, needs careful attention to watering, overwatering or drying out, the pot itself overheating.
Wallflowers in the wild grow in cracks in walls, hence the name and send their roots down wherever there is a space, searching out moisture. They are tough plants. Don't need much watering or mollycoddling..
Also Wallflowers are brassicas. If you have problems growing cabbages, you will with wallflowers.

[rary]

if you are using compost, or soil, in a pot make sure you mix plenty of grit into it to prevent it getting waterlogged

[Marb67]

Well taking it out the pot the roots are still the size of the old pot I purchased it so I can't see it needing more space in the soil. Nevertheless I have planted it in the garden but I don't hold up much hope. Just another casualty on the list of a bought plant going downhill.

[roitelet]

Did you loosen the root ball before planting? It sounds as if it might be pot bound and if so the roots won't get out of the tight root ball.

[rary]

Just what I was going to ask roitelet, if I am reporting I always loosen and straighten out the roots, if they are starting to go round in the shape of the pot they will stay that way even when reported into a larger pot, have a look at the roots of your plant Marb even if it was just purchased this year it still could be pot bound

[Marb67]

The roots are going round the shape of the old pot yes. Would putting the microysal fungus on them help?

[roitelet]

It might but you should tease the old roots from around the root ball first.