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Hanging baskets
My hanging basket flowers haven't lasted as long as last years,they are already dying off- the leaves on some of the flowers are yellowing and the flowers are not growing, some of the buds have dried up so will not be reproducing so I'm wondering what I have done wrong this year. I added water retention gel and plant food in the soil when I made the baskets so I'm surprised that they haven't lasted longer. Any ideas? Is it too late to resurrect them?
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Many thanks T I will certainly give this a try - nothing to lose now. DD
Everyone keeps saying to me we have had a cold wet summer, well, I live in a village just outside Eastbourne, it has been very hot and dry, we also have the wind drying out stuff. I have had to re-pot some baskets. Mind you I always plant up my baskets at Easter, so they are nice and full when they got out at the end of May, they are always nearly done by now, next year I am going to plant half up at Easter, the rest in June. The chaps a few doors down have gorgeous petunias in massive blue pots, out front which is south facing. How do the pubs always keep their baskets looking so good?. I have tried water retaining stuff, never found it made any difference. We both have a long commute to work, so Hubby forgets to water the front and doesnt dead head, I come back after a couple of days, soak the baskets in a bucket of water, for several hours, give the dead stuff a haircut, it helps a little, then I cheat and add a couple of new plants!
Thank you for your reply NB I was wondering the same thing about the pub and council street hanging baskets - those on the streets outside my workplace are still looking fresh and fabulous and they were planted way before mine were! I haven't thought about adding new plants-I thought it would be too late but that's a cheat i'm willing to try. Thanks
I used to make up then look after twenty or so hanging baskets and tubs at a pub I worked in. I never used gel but watered every other day and every fifth watering I used high nitrogen fertiliser via a hose attachment. They were a sight to behold, but I do admit that due to lack of space and facilities most of the plants were bought in.
Thanks M I was wondering whether to add extra feed even though the slow release feed I put in is supposed to last six months - I will give that a try too. I'm also wondering whether an infestation could be partly to blame as I have now noticed black dot like insects on some of the leaves.
Our baskets always had a tea plate size piece of plastic, towards the bottom of the basket to act as a reservoir, does a good job of retaining moisture, mind the winds are as bad as sun if not worse at drying out hanging baskets.
I always feed mine with tomato feed, I thought nitrogen just made lots of green at thenexpense of the flowers.
Thanks I'll try nitrogen in one basket and tomato feed in the other and compare the results.
I use slow release fertiliser when I first plant baskets, tubs etc, then after about 6 weeks, as the baskets fill out I use a liquid feed, phostrogen, or similar, weekly. The most important thing is that you don't let them dry out, I water daily, don't rely on rainfall, and dead head regularly. Also consider the type of plants you use.I find that trailing lobelia doesn't do well in my baskets. We live in the east and usually have dry summers. This year has been very dry!
I think that not feeding with plant food regularly could be part of it as I thought the slow release fertiliser would last through the season but at least now I'll know next time. When you deadhead do you just take the dead flowers off or cut further down? Thanks