Is Your Hanging Basket in the Right Spot?
Place your plant in its proper light requirement and heat tolerant area for best results.
- Geraniums, petunias, and moss rose are some plants that will tolerate a full sun location.
- Impatiens and begonias love the shade.
- Verbena and bacopa like partial shade.
Check the tag on your hanging baskets and container garden for proper location of your plants.
Keep Your Plants Clean
With proper watering and fertilizing, your hanging baskets and container gardens will flower well and provide you with a great looking plant all season. Container plants may also need pinching, this is different than dead heading flowers. Pinching involves removing the growing tips of the plants to promote fuller growth. A couple of examples are petunias and pansies. Removal of old flowers and seed pods will keep plants blooming nonstop.
Vacation Survival
Don’t forget about your plants when you go for that well deserved vacation. If you can’t get a “plant sitter” to water them while you are gone, move them to a spot on the ground in the shade. Make sure to soak them thoroughly before you leave. If your plants are large or over grown, you may want to trim them back so there isn’t as much plant growth to support. Within a few weeks the plants will be blooming again.
Maintaining Quality Depends on You
Platt Hill Nursery goes to great lengths to supply you with quality hanging baskets and container gardens. By following these guidelines, you will keep them beautiful and healthy – and get the most from your investment. Take time to learn how to care for and enjoy your plants.
Water Before Wilting
Don’t wait for wilting as your cue to water! Flowering plants do best if you never allow them to wilt. Take extra care with watering since hanging baskets and container gardens dry out faster than garden plants, because they’re exposed to more wind and warmer temperatures. The best way to check your plants for water is to check the weight of the pot. Simply lift up the hanging basket or container garden to see if it is heavy or not. When heavy, there is plenty of water. When light, you need to water. Be sure to water thoroughly. When the container dries out the soil shrinks, like a sponge. And like a sponge, multiple waterings may be needed to soak the soil up completely. Even if water comes out of the bottom of your pot, the soil most likely hasn’t absorbed enough water. Don’t stop watering until the container feels heavy, or the roots will dry out and the plant will start looking bad. Remember to check your hanging baskets and container gardens daily, especially in the hot months, as twice a day watering may be needed.
Your Plants are Hungry
To keep your plants blooming and growing well, you will need to fertilize them regularly. The best fertilizer for your blooming plants is Jack’s Blossom Booster. This fertilizer has the highest phosphate level we carry and that is the most important food for continuous blooming. We recommend feeding every third watering. Also available is Osmocote, a slow release food, that feeds your plants every time you water. Although the phosphate level is lower than Jack’s Blossom Booster it will still supply your plants with enough nutrients to keep them growing and blooming. And Osmocote is great for the busy gardener. You can give your flowers a “boost” with Jack’s Blossom Booster every couple of weeks on top of the Osmocote. Keep in mind that too much fertilizer can burn roots and damage plants so follow the directions on the container.