You’ve planted or received a beautiful planter or hanging basket…how do you keep it looking as nice as it is now? We all know that summer weather can be hard on container gardens. Here are some basic tips and guidelines for maintaining fabulous planter combinations.
Light –
Choose the best light for your planter. Intense light can be hard on some plants. Move anything that seems to be suffering into dappled light. If plants are stretching within a couple weeks, these plants are not receiving enough sunlight.
Avoid the extremes. If we have dramatic weather changes, such as blistering hot temps after cloudy weather, consider moving your planter to a protected, partially shaded spot for a few days while it acclimates. Missouri is known for it’s brutal weather changes. Since we can move these containers, give them a break for a few days.
Watering –
This is the most crucial activity for the health of your container planting. Too little or too late can have devastating results. Get in the habit of checking the planters daily.
During the first few weeks after planting – The roots are settling in during this time and should be thoroughly watered but only as needed. The soil should get quite dry between waterings but not to the point of wilting. As the roots become estabilished and plants start to grow, frequency of watering starts to increase.
Always water heavily so that the entire root ball is moist,
but do not water again until the soil is very dry.
Watering once established and later on in summer – As roots fill the pot and temperatures rise, sufficient moisture becomes critical. A quick drink isn’t going to hold the plant all day. Follow the “Water 3 Times” rule, using as much water each time as the pot can easily hold:
- Water each time with a few minutes between waterings. The first dose is to “wake-up” the soil.
- The second time moves the water through the soil part way.
- The third watering is the crucial one, penetrating the entire pot and all soil particles. Water should be dripping out of the pot a few seconds or minutes after the third watering. If not, water a 4th time.
Thorough Watering – To understand what “thorough watering” really means, we did an experiment measuring how much water a dry pot actually used. We used a 12″ hanging basket combo that was wilting but not to the point of “hard wilt”. We added a cup of water to the basket every few minutes allowing for all the water to be absorbed by the soil. About 30 minutes later, the basket was saturated and actually dripping out the bottom. We had added 1.5 gallons of water!!! Most people add just a quart of water and wonder why their basket dries out so fast! That soil held a lot more water than we could imagine, but because it was added slowly, the soil particles could soak it all up. As expected, that basket did not dry out the next day as fast as others nearby. The lesson here is to water slowly in order to water thoroughly.
Over-watering – Conversely, if containers are continually watered without the soil drying out, roots can’t breathe, and then start to suffer and rot. Once root rot has begun (noted by wilting foliage when roots are moist), the effect is seldom reversed and the plant usually dies.
Overwatering seldom happens once plants are well-established and growing well, but it always needs to be kept in mind. Long spells of cloudy weather, excessive rains, poorly draining soils, and poor watering habits are the main culprits of overwatering.
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Fertilizing
Certain plants need more fertilizer than others, especially those known to be heavy bloomers.
At a minimum, use a slow-release fertilizer monthly and a liquid fertilizer weekly. These fertilizers are designed for combo planters.
Pinching, Pruning, and Dead-Heading
In order to keep a plant within bounds and “playing friendly with others”, a little corrective pruning may be necessary.
Pinching – Removing young tips or softer plant tissue is called pinching and is usually done with fingertips. It may be done to keep a faster growing stem in-bounds while the other stems catch up.
Petunias are notorious for getting leggy and “seedy” looking. Pinch 1/4 of the new growth tips every 2 – 4 weeks, starting at the initial planting. Pinching, in this case, refers to removing the 3/8″ growth tip next to the last visible flower bud. Efforts begin right away to send out multiple shoots from that one pinch with many flowers to follow. By removing these tips on a regular basis will keep the plant more compact and full of flowers.
Pruning – Pruning removes more of a plant, therefore it is more drastic and may require pruners or scissors. Always cut just above a branch or stem. New growth will appear at the closest joint (or node) and possibly from other nodes nearby.
Pruning can be harder for plants to recover but allows for correction before it’s too late. If corrective pruning isn’t done as needed, stems can become old and unproductive. Once this happens, the plants may need to be cut back drastically and wait weeks for new growth or flowers.
Older stems of hanging plants will eventually produce fewer flowers as younger growth crowds them out. Lift the new healthy stems and cut off the old stems underneath. When the new stems are laid back down, the planter looks refreshed, like a “new hair-cut”.
Dead-Heading – Removing old or spent flowers is just a matter of grooming and can transform any planter from a weedy mess to being a show-off. Dead-heading used to be an important task to keep annuals blooming, but most varieties today don’t require that. Now, removing old flowers is simply a matter of aesthetics.
Dead-heading is just what it says it is…removing old flowers in order to keep plants looking fresh.
Sometimes corrective pruning can be done while dead-heading. For example: while removing old canna flowers, it may be obvious that the entire stem should be removed to allow a side branch to grow. This allows the plant to be kept shorter, which will then be stockier, and it will produce more branches.
