Spectacular Hanging Baskets All Summer Long!

Baskets or planters starting to look a bit peaked in all this heat?

Here are some tips to help you keep your hanging baskets, moss baskets and planters looking fine now and all summer long.

Water well, till the water is liberally dripping from the bottom of the basket or planter.

Start by watering slowly in the centre, then water all around the inside edges of the basket.

Spray down the moss and thoroughly shower the foliage and flowers, too. This will help to wash off any bugs should you have some, plus help hydrate the basket/flowers.

Wash down all the foliage, flowers and moss, too

each time you water!

When you have watered all your baskets and planters till they are dripping, start from the beginning and do it all over again!

I might even do it a third time, especially if it starts to flow out the bottom much quicker than you think it should be.

Place into basin full of water to re-hydrate if your basket has dried out.

When peat based potting soil dries out, it shrinks up into a tight ball that the water is unable to easily penetrate. The water simply runs down the sides of the dry soil ball and out the bottom.

If your basket/planter has missed a watering or three and you now have that dry soil ball, you can re-hydrate it by placing it into a bucket or sink full of water for 3 to 12 hours.  

Most plants will pop back after a good long soak. If you have some liquid seaweed at home, add some to the water. Remove any plants that did not pop back, replace or leave that space and the others will soon fill it in.  

    This pic is in early summer this year (June 15th, 2015) ...

I fully expect them to be as good or better than the ones last year

by end summer. 

 

Keep in mind... The smaller your basket, the more often you are watering. Depending on the size, you may be watering every second day, every day, or it may even be twice a day!

These baskets here are 16" wide, so they are big ...  My general rule of thumb is to water every second day in spring, once a day on an average summer day, and twice a day, both morning and night if it is a 30 C day!  

This pic is last year, in early September 2014.

To keep your basket blooming, watering is not enough. Feed once a week with a bloom boosting fertiliser (higher middle number like a 15-30-15).

Never fertilise dry soil, always water your plant first. 

Spring 2015

Summer 2014