How to Care For Your Hanging Baskets
Here are a few tips to help you enjoy your basket for the whole summer. This is a skill, once learnt, never forgotten
The success of your basket depends on
The compost in your basket from Ton Nursery, contains a slow release fertilizer and a wetting agent.
Considerations of watering.
Roots take up water from the soil and it is expired through the leaves. When you receive your basket from the end of May, it will still be developing. I will reach its full potential by the end of July ad August and it will be twice as large. This means by the end of July, your basket will need twice as much watering as it did in May. Great care must be taken not to over water while it is still young.
How to Water.
When to water.
Most important, enjoy your basket and pat yourself on the back for all your efforts.
The success of your basket depends on
- Weather – strong winds can strip the foliage off the plants, constant rain, lack of sun and the cold will reduce the flowering potential and severe hot summers will dry the basket out. During these conditions, find a sheltered spot until the adverse weather subsides.
- Watering – over watering a young basket will cause the compost to become waterlogged and the roots to rot.
- Feeding – despite the slow release fertiliser, a weekly liquid feed is beneficial.
The compost in your basket from Ton Nursery, contains a slow release fertilizer and a wetting agent.
Considerations of watering.
Roots take up water from the soil and it is expired through the leaves. When you receive your basket from the end of May, it will still be developing. I will reach its full potential by the end of July ad August and it will be twice as large. This means by the end of July, your basket will need twice as much watering as it did in May. Great care must be taken not to over water while it is still young.
How to Water.
- Water the compost, not the canopy.
- Take the rose off the watering an and dribble the water, slowly, directly onto the soil.
- If the water rolls off the top of the basket, it is not penetrating the soil. Continue the dribble until the water seeps through the sides of the basket, about 3\4 of the way down.
- If you have several baskets, I suggest you water them all, then go back to the first and water again.
When to water.
- Humidity- your basket will need more watering during periods of low humidity than during periods of high humidity. Having said that, the rain will not water your basket. If it is dry and then it rains, you still need to water. If it has just been watered and then it rains, the humidity is high, so you will not need to water again.
- Time of day-When the conditions are still cool in May/June, it is best not to water in the evening when the plant will be sitting in cold compost overnight, Water on the leaves can be scorched by the hot sun. especially on begonias is mid-day watering on a hot day is best avoided. Otherwise water to suit your lifestyle and when you can spare 5 minutes for each basket.
- Test the weight- If it feels heavy and the bottom is wet, it does not need to be watered. This is especially important when the basket is young. if the basket feels light and the bottom is dry, you need to water. If you have missed a watering and the basket is completely dry, you will need to soak it in a wheelbarrow of water, as watering by hand will not be sufficient. Don’t wait until the leaves wilt. I may be too late.
- Wilting - A young basket may wilt, in the hot run, despite sufficient watering, this is because it in not yet hardened off sufficiently. Find a sheltered spot and it will recover.
Most important, enjoy your basket and pat yourself on the back for all your efforts.