THE MAGIC OF GARDENING
B Y T O N Y G L OV E R
Why Do My Hanging Baskets Look So Bad? One of the late summertime questions I hear from gardeners is why they can’t have beautiful full hanging baskets like they see in public gardens and even many downtown streets they visit? My response is, you can, but you have to plan. The hanging baskets found at most retail stores are designed for a couple things. They must be inexpensive, and they must be small enough to transport well and look full at the garden center. If the plant looks beautiful and full when you purchase it, then it most likely will not last the summer in that container. I will get back to this point later. The first step to success is to choose the right plants for our summer heat and for the light level they will be exposed. For example, Boston ferns are beautiful, but can’t tolerate too much sun and the wind wreaks havoc on their delicate foliage. Some good choices for those sunny, hot porches include hybrid trailing type petunias, million bells, portulaca, lantana, bougainvillea, dragon wing begonia, Sunpatiens and scaevola (my favorite).
Now back to the main reason for failure of even these tough heat-loving flowers – the pot size. I suggest you invest in well-made reusable containers of at least 12 inches in diameter and larger is even better. Most of the garden center plants (especially from the big box stores) will be 10 inches or even smaller containers. It is fine and much more economical to purchase smaller plants, and they need not even be in a hanging basket. However, as soon as you get them home, repot them in the larger containers. Use a good-quality potting medium and not the cheap potting soil to fill the new container. Make sure to moisten the soil before planting and then again afterward. These smaller plants will quickly fill the larger containers if you water and fertilize them properly. One advantage of the larger pots is they hold more water, but they still need daily attention. So at least check to see if they need water because peat moss is hard to rewet when it dries out and it is better to keep it constantly moist but not sopping wet. In addition, you August 2020
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