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Hanging Basket care

Hanging Basket care

In spring many of us buy beautiful, blooming hanging baskets. They look great for a few weeks and then slowly start to  fade; no longer looking like the ones we bought a month ago. Here are few hints to keep that hanging basket looking good all summer long.

hanging bskt super petunia

Fertilize
Keep in mind that growers fertilize the baskets every time they water. This helps maintain healthy, vigorous growth. A grower recommended fertilizing once a week with a formula with a ratio of 1:2:1 (10-20-10) with micro nutrients such as iron, copper, manganese to satisfy the heavy feeding requirements for hanging baskets. There are some specially formulated fertilizers available for container growing on the market. It is the moderate steady supply of fertilizer that will sustain and maintain the plant in a vigorous growing state. A research study in Michigan State compared 3 flowering baskets: one with soluble fertilizer, one with a time-release fertilizer incorporated into the soil and the one with both soluble and time-release fertilizer. The third basket with both soluble and time-release fertilizer preformed the best.

Watering
Many of us find that by the time we get home from work, our poor hanging basket is drooping from the heat of the day and lack of water. So we immediately get the watering can and pour lots of water on the plant to rehydrate it. This practice causes lots of stress to the plant. In addition, leaving soaking wet roots overnight (when its cooler) can invite root rot and other diseases.  Water just enough to revive the plant in the evening  and then water again in the morning using a wand or watering can and pouring directly onto the soil avoiding wet leaves. To make sure all the roots get wet, water  until it runs out of the bottom of the container.  In hot weather, you may have to water twice a day. If  the soil has completely dried out, to the point where it separates from the side of the basket, then you may have to soak the basket in a tub of water to slowly re-hydrate the soil.  This may take a couple of  hours.  Do not leave the soaking basket for a prolonged period of time or overnight, this can cause root rot.

When feeding your plants, water first with unfertilized water and drain; then re-water with a fertilizer solution. This will keep soluble salt accumulation to a minimum and avoid fertilizer burn to the roots.  A moisture retaining polymer can also be added to the soil to keep your plant hydrated longer.

Exposure
Check the label for sun exposure- place your hanging basket in the right spot – too much sun can be as bad as not enough. If you basket shows signs of scorching, brown edges and faded or bleached leaves if may be getting too much sun, therefore move it to a shadier spot. Spindly, leggy plants with lack of flowers can indicate not enough sun. Plants facing west in the summer will require more water and need to tolerate hotter temperatures

For continual bloom deadhead hanging baskets with larger flowers such as geraniums, lantana, petunia and verbena. 

Hopefully, some of these suggestions will reward with summer long blossoms.

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July 11th, 2009 | Category: GARDENING BASICS, Garden Review, hanging baskets | 28 comments
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28 comments to Hanging Basket care

  • LARRY PEOPLES
    June 7th, 2005 at 5:29 am · Reply

    I HEARD DISH DETERGENT AND WATER MIXED WOULD HELP CONTROL INSECTS FROM EATING THE LEAVES,WILL IT?

    It can help with certain insects like aphids, spider mites and whitefly but not eliminate them. You’ll have to be diligent (once a week) about washing (spraying) your plants.

  • Laurie
    July 1st, 2005 at 6:24 am · Reply

    I have hanging baskets that were once beautiful, but are now looking horrible. I have watered faithfully and fertilized. It appears that the plants have stopped taking in water. What can I do?

    Laurie,
    It’s hard to determine what could be happening. Perhaps too much of a good thing -too much water w/o letting the plant dry can lead to root rot causing the plant to stop growing. When the roots are damaged, they cannot utililze any fertilizer or water.

  • susan micek
    July 8th, 2005 at 2:01 pm · Reply

    Straw Flowers in a hanging basket, how do I water it ? and do I keep it in full sun? please help

    Helichrysum bracteanum like at least 6 hrs of direct sun (full sun) and well-drained soil. Keep the plant slightly moist and don’t let it dry out too much between watering- tend to produce less flowers. Don’t allow it to wilt and be careful not to over water. Deadheading flowers will keep it blooming all summer long. If you want to save the flowers for dried arrangement pinch off mature flowers(just before the centers show) and dry. You can add a wire stem when the flower is still fresh to use in bouquets.

  • telegirl2001
    May 10th, 2006 at 2:30 pm · Reply

    I would like to know what type of plants etc are the best ones to grow in hanging baskets, need lotsa ideas, first time planter here. thanks

    There are many plants that grow successfully in a hanging basket. Some favorites are geranium, petunia, reiger begonia, impatients, verbena and the list goes on. When you pick out your basket you need to be aware of where you are going to hang it- sun or shade and what its requirements are. A shade basket placed in the sun will scorch and discolor conversely a sun loving plant will not produce many flowers in the shade.

  • MJ
    January 25th, 2007 at 9:57 am · Reply

    I accidentally froze my hanging plant overnight in the car! Don’t know what kind it is. What do I do now? Thanks.

    OOPS!! There is probably nothing you can do. If it is a tropical houseplant, chances are most of the top growth will turn transparent and mushy. The optimist in me says cut away all dead material and see if anything sprouts from the roots. If you don’t see anything in a month give up and start over.

  • Tammi
    May 10th, 2007 at 5:21 pm · Reply

    I bought a big, wonderful Fuchsia to hang on my porch which gets shade all day. It was doing fine till the last couple days when the weather got to the 80’s. It is going to get hotter, what can I do , the plant is never in the sun?

    Fuchsias like cool days and cool nights. They are more suited to weather in the Pacific Northwest or highlands of Hawaii. They cannot tolerate hot weather which will cause them to wilt and drop their flowers. Keep it in the shade and out of the wind until it cools down a bit. If it stops blooming, cut the plant back to a node and it should give off new growth within a month and rebloom on new growth. When in bloom, feed it every two weeks with a 1/2 dose of a balanced fertilizer.

  • Julie
    May 28th, 2007 at 6:33 pm · Reply

    How do I keep the birds from building nests in my hanging baskets?

    You can put some obstacles in their way such as strips of mylar, shiny plastic (pinwheels) or foil in the area where the are building nests. Rubber snakes or shiny globes with eyes painted on them can also work. Netting on the basket can also be effective but then what’s the point of having a decorative hanging basket?

  • Mary
    May 31st, 2007 at 1:56 pm · Reply

    Yellowing leaves

    Barring insect infestation, yellowing older leaves can be a response to stress, such as overwatering, lack of fertilizer(nitrogen) or the plant is just shedding some of its old leaves. Yellowing new leaves can indicate chlorosis (yellowing between the veins) a lack of iron. When hanging baskets are grown in the green house they are fed on a regular schedule and once it goes to market that feeding stops. Your basket might need a dose of a balanced fertilizer to replace the nutrients that get washed away with regular watering.

  • Christine
    July 1st, 2007 at 11:59 am · Reply

    I have made over forty baskets and containers and have a couple of baskets and my moss baskets seemed to have gone hydrophobic, what is the best method to help this

    I would fill a bucket with water and soak the basket until it has absorbed the water and is rehydrated(may take a few hours) then hang it to drain out the water. Once the moss dries out it takes longer to rehydrate it. A rewetting agent (Soax-not sure if its available for cosumer) would work or mix water retaining polymers into the soil to keep it moist longer. The moss baskets will do better if hanging in a North or East location so they don’t dry out as quickly in the summer and you won’t have to water them as often.

  • Mary
    July 12th, 2007 at 8:12 am · Reply

    I have a hanging baskets of trailing lobelia. How do I deadhead all those tiny flowers? I still have many new blossoms, but also many dried and dead blossoms that make the baskets look dull and dried out. Should I cut the entire plant back?

    Pick off the dull dried out parts which will take some time or you can cut the plant back. If you haven’t fertilized feed it with some Miracle grow or a balanced fertilizer to give it a fresh boost. It should regrow and bloom within a few weeks. To maintain a healthy looking basket, pick off the dead flowers as they turn brown.

  • Jay Bessley
    January 12th, 2008 at 5:25 am · Reply

    I live in Portland, OR and have a fuchsia hanging basket (called First Love, semi-double trailing corolla) that I’ve just brought inside since it’s in the mid 30’s outside most of the time. The leaves have turned mostly yellow and dropped off. I’ve placed it near a window and watered it once
    a week. Should I prune the branches now or later in the spring? The temp. inside the room is about 62 degrees or so. Or could I bring it in the garage where there is
    less light and the temp. about 40 degrees?
    Thank you for any advice you can give me.

    Hi Jay
    Fuchsia will yellow and drop their leaves in lower light and colder temperatures. You can prune the branches now down to 3 to 6″ stubs. Store the plant in the garage at 45-50F degrees for the winter. Water the container sparingly, just enough to keep the soil from drying out completely. It will remain dormant until the weather warms up. In the spring, place the plant in bright filtered light and start watering, when you see signs of new growth, repot the plant in fresh soil in the same container or a slightly larger one.

  • Tom Brown
    March 9th, 2008 at 7:07 am · Reply

    I have a 15″ hanging basket and would like to plant Impatiens Summer Waterfall how many plants should I plant in it to create a full show?

    I would plant 8-10 plants depending on how large your plants are. If you are using 4.5″ pot plants then half the amount would suffice.

  • Kerry G
    April 29th, 2008 at 5:18 am · Reply

    Help. I live in Michigan and have an area for hanging baskets on the north side of my home. It is windy and does not get a lot of sun. I would like a lot of color. Any suggestions?

    The north exposure will require plants that tolerate part shade to shade. There are more colorful sun loving plants but here are a few suggestions for shade color to try: Impatients, Fuchsia, New Guinea impatients (PS) Torenia, tuberous begonia(my fav), wax begonia and coleus. Your garden centers will usually indicate which plants or combination of plants are a good choice for the shade.

  • Linda
    June 8th, 2008 at 8:55 am · Reply

    Hanging Basket care
    I need to know how to get my sweet williams to bloom all summer. If I cut of the previous bloom like pods will it bloom again each time?

    Yes, you should deadhead the flowers to keep it blooming . When blooming stops in midsummer, cut the plant back up to 1/2 to get a new flush of growth and bloom.

  • Valerie
    July 23rd, 2008 at 11:13 am · Reply

    I live in the Chicago area, and right about this time (mid-July), my hanging baskets of petunias and verbena tend to get thin on top and too long over the sides. Should I be regularly cutting them back to keep the shape full? Do you have any hints for the best way to maintain hanging plants, other than fertilizing/watering/deadheading, to help with this problem of simply overgrowing? Thank you very much!

    Hi Valerie
    Deadheading and trimming will help to keep the plant in better shape. What happens to many annual baskets is that they are fed heavy doses of fertilizer to force the plant to bloom prolifically and after a few months they “burn out” and quit blooming to rest. Once they do that, cut the leggy growth back to encourage a flush of new growth.

  • Valerie
    July 29th, 2008 at 1:23 pm · Reply

    Thank you very much for your reply; it was very helpful!

    You’re welcome!

  • Robyn
    November 13th, 2008 at 3:31 pm · Reply

    i have a hanging basket of impatiens x hybrida. Its snowing here now and I’ve turned the basket into a house plant for the winter. We live at 5000′ and endure a 7 month winter. How can I keep it alive and well? Cut it back? I continue to water in several times a week. Our house is heated with wood and varies from 50-80s. Help.

    HI Robyn
    It might be a challenge to keep your Impatiensbasket growing thru winter. One way is to cut the plant down to 4-6 inches and keep it on the dry side letting it go “dormant” for the winter. In late winter /early spring put it back in sunlight and resume watering. Root the cuttings and make new plants. Another option is to keep it growing in the sunniest part of the house . The growth will be spindly and weak and should be cut back in the spring for new healthier growth. The whole idea is to keep the plant and roots alive thru the winter.

  • Linda
    November 15th, 2008 at 1:11 pm · Reply

    I need winter care for six hanging baskets of prolific geraniums. They were huge, with abundant blossoms all season and $25 each, so I’d love to save and renew their magnificence in spring. Thanks for your help.

    Hi Linda
    Mine is still blooming so I keep it in a bright window. There are several ways to winterover geraniums to you can try.

  • Mary Carol Blauser
    December 8th, 2008 at 6:36 am · Reply

    Bud drop

    Each year when my Christmas Cactus enters the blossom phase, I lose over one half the unopened blossoms. They just drop. How can I prevent this?

    Hi Mary
    Don’t expose your Christmas cactus to direct heat, cold drafts, sudden changes in temperatures or move the plant around as that can cause the flower buds to drop. They will also drop bud if f they produce too many. In additon, keeping the plant in warm temperatures (above 90″F) will cause bud drop. Provide added humidity and keep the soil evenly moist (not wet) during bloom.

  • admin
    February 9th, 2009 at 1:32 pm · Reply

    Should I add iron sulphate to my hanging wave petunia. New leaves are small and very pale green.

    It’s best to feed your petunia with a well-balanced fertilizer (20-20-20) or slow release fertilizer. Chances are that a lot of nutrients have been depleted during the watering process and they can use additional nutrients besides iron sulphate. Plants growing in bright light need a constant supply of nutrients to keep blooming. If your plants are getting too long and leggy, late June and July is the time to pinch back unattractive growth by 1/2-1 inch or even up to 1/2 of the stem length up to a good set of leaves.. It will delay blooming for a few weeks but you will get a fuller burst of color later in the season.

  • Valerie
    April 30th, 2009 at 2:33 pm · Reply

    Re-using old potting soil
    Hello, me again!
    I’m getting ready to make this year’s hanging baskets. I kept last year’s through the winter (after cutting off the vegetation above the soil). Can I dump out the soil, remove the roots, and re-use the soil for this year, or would that possibly result in diseases or other problems? If I do need to use new soil, do I also need to wash the plastic baskets before re-using them? I do wish to at least re-use the baskets, since they are the Gardener’s Supply baskets that require less frequent watering due to a water reservoir and wicking system inside the plastic basket.
    Thank you.

    Hi Valerie
    It’s a debate on re using potting soil. Most sources say: Potting soil is good for 1 year at best 2 and then it should not be re-used in containers. Soil is not just to hold up plants but also to feed them. When plants are grown in containers much of the nutrients are washed out from watering, so obviously old soil will provide less nutrition to the plant. It also depends on what kind of soil you used. Some of the soilless mixes have little nutritional value other than the fertilizer added. What I do is mix some of the old soil with new soil about 1/2 to 1/2 or 1/3 to 2/3, you can also add some compost to your mix to enrich the soil and a time release fertilizer. I do this for large containers, for smaller pots, I start with mostly fresh soil. You want the soil to be fluffy and loose for good drainage and root growth. If you don’t want to mess around, dump the old soil into your garden or flower bed and start with fresh soil. By the end of a growing season a hanging basket can be full of roots and little soil left to re-use.
    The old soil can retain some of the diseases & pests from last year but there’s no telling if yours has. Some people will try to sterilize(by heat) the soil to get rid of the pathogens.
    I wash the baskets with soapy water and re-use them. We’re all about recycling.
    I think we should make this a post(article) and see what other people are doing with their old soil.

  • Lisa Lee
    May 21st, 2009 at 3:02 pm · Reply

    I would love to put a hanging basket at the foot of my husbands grave. I have one of those iron stands with a round basket now with artifical flowers in it. I would love to put a live plant in the basket. The grave is in partial sun ( mainly morning and evening )but mostly lies shaded beneath a huge oak tree. What would be the best kind of plant to use. I would really like to find something blue to match the silk ones on his headstone. Thanks for your help.

    Try a lobelia basket or Torenia, they tolerate shaded conditions.

  • Jennifer
    June 17th, 2009 at 10:09 am · Reply

    When is the best time dead head a petunia? When the flower is wilted or when it turns brown? or does it matter? Thank you

    Hi Jennifer
    Doesn’t matter-when the flower is wilted will keep you ahead of the game. Some petunias(wave) don’t need to be deadheaded. The flowers just fall of by themselves. Best not to deadhead when the plant is wet as that can spread disease.

  • J.Roberg
    June 21st, 2009 at 6:44 pm · Reply

    Can i transplant my tired (already) hanging baskets to improve them

    What kind of a basket do you have? Do you fertilize? Sometimes trimming them back will also give them a new lease on life.

  • Candice Ford
    June 22nd, 2009 at 9:19 am · Reply

    Can you recommend a name brand of fertilizer to use for petunia hanging baskets? is just regular old miracle grow okay? I need to know exactly what kind to buy. I see other people have hanging baskets of petunias that are so full and perfectly rounded! i want that! thank you.

    Hi Candice
    A well balanced 10-10-10 should work. For continued bloom try a bloom boost fertilizer (one with a higher middle #).

  • admin
    July 22nd, 2009 at 6:32 am · Reply

    Hi, I bought 12 hanging baskets with geraniums, blue moon, and verbena. They were brought up to my sons future wife’s grandmothers house in West Virginia to take care of them until July 25th the day of the wedding. There are flying bugs all over them, what can I tell her to do? I am in a panic.

    HI Bill
    Are the flying buds white? Do they “swarm” when disturbed? If so, you could have white fly on your plants. Click here for white fly info. If the small flies are grayish, then you may have fungus gnats .

  • Robin
    July 26th, 2009 at 12:42 pm · Reply

    Refurbish petunia baskets
    HI,
    I have some hanging baskets, petunias and milion bells,that as you said look great when I bought them. Now they are sparse, and the leaves under side seem to turn brown and dry up. I water every morning and only a little at night if needed. They are in direct sunlight almost all day. I am in Zone 5, Northern In. I admit I have only been feeding them every few weeks. Would it be better to feed more often And if I cut them back will they regrow, with so much dead stems underneath?

    Hi Robin
    Petunias seem to look pretty sad this time in the season. They are such vigorous growers and can fill up a container full of roots in no time which will require them to be watered more often. They are also heavy feeders and need to be fed more often when vigorously growing. My local nursery feeds them 2-3 times a week with an all purpose fertilizer (10-10-10 or 20-20-20) or every other day. You can also trim back the plant to a node. It should respond with new growth within a week.

  • care for garden
    August 7th, 2009 at 6:14 am · Reply

    Interesting topic. I like hanging pots, coz i like to redesign everything surrounding – include plants at least once each week .
    Thanks to the expert who have given their valuable comments here. I am learning lot of things from here.

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