Senetti are a very distinctive looking flower and come in a variety of shades including purple, blue, indigo, violet, pink, white and magenta. Their bright vibrant colours make them stand out in the flowers bed. They stand out even more when planted alongside red salvia or orange African marigolds, the colour contrast will be quite breath taking!

Senetti also greatly help with pollination, and will attract both bees and butterflies to your garden. If you don’t have a garden, no worries as they are hugely successful in patio or balcony planters. They are quite hardy and can withstand low temperatures {not frost,} and with a little care, will bloom all Summer long.

senetti-pink

Top 5 Tips for Best Care:

  1. Get them in the sun: Senetti love plenty of sun and plenty of water. Plant in a peat based compost and you will be rewarded with a mass of beautiful vibrant flowers all Summer long.
  2. Regular check-ins: Deadheading weekly will prolong your Senetti’s flowering ability greatly throughout the summer, as well as lengthen the overall life of the plant.
  3. Make sure they eat well: Feed Senetti with liquid potash based food. This promotes healthy leaf, stem and flowers, and will ensure re-flowering again and again. Remember Senetti are hungry plants and should be fed every couple of weeks. A tomato fertilizer is perfect as Senetti have a fantastic ability to re-bloom, so if you feel your Senetti has finished its blooming you can cut it right back to about 25cm. This should trigger another blooming frenzy within about 3-4 weeks.
  4. Give them a bath: Senetti have soft foliage and flowers which aphids {green & black fly } love, spraying every couple of weeks with a drop of washing up liquid in a pint of water will be of great help with this issue.
  5. No Garden? No problem: You can plant them in containers, if you don’t have a garden, just remember that they must be watered regularly. However, don’t over-water, as this could lead to the pot being water logged, which will cause root rot and the whole plant will collapse. Senetti are perennial by nature, but as they need to be taken in for winter ,most people just replant annually.

My friend has an aunt called Betty {wonderful lady} every year he gives her a Senetti and takes great joy in inquiring: “How’s your Senetti Betty?”. I’m not sure if she gets quite the same enjoyment from the inquiry, however she adores the flowers!