4 Tips for Maintaining Beautiful Hanging Baskets & Pots...All summer long!
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With proper care, hanging baskets can last all summer long.
Here are our top tips for easy, long lasting baskets: 1. Know What You're Getting Into When Buying the Plants. Because different annuals require different levels of maintenance to look their best, it's helpful to know what you're buying in the first place. Maintenance can include "deadheading" (removing spent flowers), pinching back leggy leaves, extra watering, extra fertilizing, or scouting for common pests (aphids usually). |
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By far, the lowest maintenance plants are those grown primarily for their leaves or foliage rather than flowers (creeping charlie, creeping jenny, wire vine, coleus, dracaena, ornamental grasses, succulents and so on.) Low maintenance flowering annuals include begonias, trailing zinnia, marigolds, some petunias, geraniums, and euphorbia.
Certain plants really need extra care to look their best. These include lobelia, petunias (some), and fuchsia. Lobelia and petunias benefit from some shearing (about 1/3 of their growth) just as they are starting to look like they are past their peak. A light shearing will revive the plants to keep them looking fresh and healthy. Most plants fall somewhere in the middle, requiring only occasional upkeep. However, as many gardeners know, deadheading can become a somewhat addictive habit. It can even be a therapeutic ritual, giving you an opportunity to spend time admiring your beautiful plants. 2. Avoid Drying Out Your Plants. If your planters are subjected to severe dry-outs, this often causes the opened flowers to dry up and turn brown. Consequently, they will require more maintenance. |
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You can avoid dry-out damage by planting in bigger pots, checking your plants 2 times daily, and planting drought-tolerant plants.
3. Use a Slow-release Fertilizer At Planting Time.
Add slow-release fertilizer to the soil at planting time will encourage vigorous growth and more flowers.
4. Supplement the Slow-Release Fertilizer with 20-20-20 Water-Soluble Fertilizer.
Every couple of weeks, water your plants with 20-20-20 or something designed for container grown annuals. This gives them a quick nutrient boost. Often, you can see the benefits of fertilization in a matter of days.
If you have any specific questions regarding plant care, don't hesitate to contact us.
3. Use a Slow-release Fertilizer At Planting Time.
Add slow-release fertilizer to the soil at planting time will encourage vigorous growth and more flowers.
4. Supplement the Slow-Release Fertilizer with 20-20-20 Water-Soluble Fertilizer.
Every couple of weeks, water your plants with 20-20-20 or something designed for container grown annuals. This gives them a quick nutrient boost. Often, you can see the benefits of fertilization in a matter of days.
If you have any specific questions regarding plant care, don't hesitate to contact us.