The trickest or most difficult thing you've ever tried to grow?

[Ickabog]

Currently trying to grow a lemon tree from seed. It's now several months in and it's very very very slow going, as expected. I'm not a natural gardener, and it's by far the most difficult thing i've ever tried to grow.

I'd love to hear what others have found difficult so I can actively avoid them

Also helpful tips and advice on caring for a lemon tree would be great.

Hopeless cases? Too many to recall. I had a hydrangea Miss Saori, it was about 6" high when I bought it and about 1ft when I finally binned it about 4 years later. I've tried growing Gaura many times, every plant disappears without trace. I've got a reluctant wisteria, no flowers, loads of leaves. I watched a YouTube on how to prune but it didn't seem to help. However, it's not all doom & gloom, other things thrive & look fantastic. Good luck with the lemon tree.

Asparagus. Tried 3 times.

My aim in my gardening life is to grow a Himalayan blue poppy - I killed one once. To be fair they like cool mountainous regions and I'm on the Somerset levels so it's not looking good for the next one when I get the courage together for another try. But look how beautiful they are! Maybe if I trained a fan on it and built it a small hill?

A date palm that I grew from a seed out of a date I ate one Christmas. It took a year to germinate and then took several more years to get to about 6 inches high. I gave it to a friend with a conservatory and she killed it

giletrouge that's a beautiful flower, I hope you get one to take. How about moving to Scotland ?

Avocado. I just can't seem to make them grow.
Chillis as well.
Hopefully when I get my greenhouse I will have better success.

My sister ( who is a gardener by trade) was super excited about her successful Himalayan Blue Poppy after years of trying. She’s on a hillside in mid Wales though.

Cycads from wild collected seed.

I’ve never been successful with Red Hot Pokers. Carrots trouble me too....always tiny.

Moving to Scotland huh? Well given (cough) Brexit and how much I hate it and if I moved to Scotland I'd become a fervent SNP supporter, that's maybe not a bad idea...
Or a Welsh hillside sounds nice too - fewer midges...

Makes a note to never try to grow a Himalayan blue poppy, although they're gorgeous. If you succeed and find yourself overrun with them will you send me one giletrouge?

The other replies have also been very informative. Although it's never nice to hear about people's failures, at least I don't feel quite so alone in my unsuccessful garden endeavors.

If I'm ever successful with Himalayan Blue Poppies I shall retire on a cloud of bliss and float off into the ether, a legend in my own lunchtime, so to speak...
Yes I'll send you one Ickabog!
And the whole world will be a lovely blue place.

Growing successfully depends on three things - the plant itself, the conditions you have available to grow it in, and your skill level. Only one of those things is down to you.

Himalayan Blue Poppy (Mecanopsis)are notoriously difficult, but this is largely about their requirements, moist but not waterlogged soil in dappled shade, which most gardens struggle to supply. The related yellow Welsh Poppy (Mecanopsis cambrica) is more tolerant and many of us have it naturalised in our gardens.

I'm not overwhelmingly successful with radishes, which are often advertised as easy things for children to grow.

I think one difference between novice and experienced gardeners is that novice gardeners say "I can't grow..." whereas experienced gardeners say "It's not a good go-er in my garden..."

Martin Rickard always said that you cannot be certain a plant will not survive in your garden till you've killed it three times.

Understanding soil and light and climate needs takes time.

I've been in this house over 20 years and I'm still experimenting

Try as I have, I can’t grow Auriculas from seed, despite following various instructions. Although, I do have a collection that I’ve divided from one parent plant.
I’d love to grow my own.

I can’t grow Auriculas from seed, I grew my first lot from seed, and found it very easy. But now, 20 years down the line, I need to inject some more colours, and I can't get the things to germinate!

Mint
'leave it to do its thing and you'll get loads' 'keep it in a pot otherwise it'll take over'
'it's a bit of a thug'

Does it heck, I've tried at least a dozen times and it's died everytime no matter where I plant it.

@CatBatCat Buy supermarket mint plant and plant in a shady and overlooked corner of the garden, preferably surrounded by invasive bamboo from next door and broken paving slabs. One day you'll wake up to a sprawling 3ft wide plant, just like I did, except I didn't even buy the plant in the first bloody place.

@giletrouge

My aim in my gardening life is to grow a Himalayan blue poppy - I killed one once. To be fair they like cool mountainous regions and I'm on the Somerset levels so it's not looking good for the next one when I get the courage together for another try. But look how beautiful they are! Maybe if I trained a fan on it and built it a small hill?

Just build a rockery?

I'm OK with robust plants but I just need to look at an Orchid and it withers

I've found my mumsnet home .

I fail with mint year after year, I immediately killed every orchid ever given to me (but at least I got some nice ceramic pots), I've just started some lemon pips off & I have Martin Rickard's book on ferns (& successfully followed his method with spores).

Puts feet up with long sigh, & relaaaaaxes.

I have also tried and failed to grow (from seed) the Himalayan blue poppy, despite nurturing it in my fridge for ages. It’s so beautiful, I really lust after it.

@giletrouge How about a blue-ish anemone? Mine are fading now but at their peak they were much bluer.

@LittleWingSoul that's not a bad idea. I've never grown anemones, and that is very pretty. Did you grow it from a bulb or plant? They are bulbs, aren't they?

They are, yes. Well, little tubers that look like stones. They make lovely cut flowers too!

I like blue things :)