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Hanging Basket Maintenance

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Your flowering hanging baskets can bloom and thrive for many months – with a little help. Follow these easy guidelines to keep your plants healthy and beautiful throughout the season.

Light Requirements
Most flowering hanging baskets can tolerate a wide range of light conditions, though some will balk at extreme conditions like heat and all-day sunlight or dim all-day shade. Match your plant with its light location for best results.

  1. Ivy and Zonal Geraniums tolerate the brightest conditions + an occasional drying out.
  2. Petunias also do well in sunny locations.
  3. Impatiens and Begonias do best in shade.
  4. Fuchsia does best in a spot that gets some shade during the middle of the day.

Water Regularly 
Don’t wait for wilting as your cue to water! Flowering plants do best if you never allow them to wilt. Be vigilant about watering since hanging plants dry out faster than in-ground garden plants because they’re more exposed to environmental elements. Under average conditions, flowering plants in 10-inch diameter hanging baskets use about 16 to 32 fluid ounces of water per day. With proper watering, plants should last 2 to 4 days between waterings (dependent on weather conditions). When you water, be sure to water thoroughly. If the basket dries out, the soil may shrink and allow the water to quickly run out the drain hole fooling you into thinking it’s thoroughly watered when, if fact, the water is bypassing the roots. Make sure the basket becomes heavy with water, about 7 to 9 pounds. You may need to re-water the basket again in 15 minutes, or simply soak it in a bucket of water for 5 to 10 minutes to thoroughly moisten the soil.

Fertilize Well
Even if you’ve never allowed them to wilt, your plants may develop yellow leaves and flower poorly which can indicate a need for fertilizer. Our favorite water-soluble fertilizer is the Garden Elements Bud & Bloom. Use 1 - 2 teaspoons of fertilizer per gallon of water. Mix in a watering can and apply every two weeks. With this care, your baskets should stay a healthy green and blooming for a long time. 

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Garden Elements Bud & Bloom Water Soluble Plant Food, 1.5Lb.
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You can also use plastic-coated slow-release fertilizer beads. Osmocote Smart Release Plant Food is a great example of this type of fertilizer. Apply one to two tablespoons to the soil surface at the start of the summer to last all season long.

 

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Osmocote Smart-Release Flower & Vegetable Plant Food, 2lb.
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Keep in mind that if a little fertilizer is good, a lot is NOT better. Too much fertilizer can burn roots and damage plants. Always be sure to use a fertilize as directed in the label. Some need to be applied more frequently than others or are more concentrated and need to be diluted in more water before application.     

Cleaning and Maintenance
With proper watering and fertilizing, your basket plants will flower so much that you may need to remove dead flowers and seed pods. This helps keep the plant looking its best and can be a nice way to relax after a long day, which is what gardening is all about.

Vacation Survival
Don’t forget your flowering hangers when you go on vacation. If you can’t get a “plant-sitter” to water them for you while you are gone, take them down from their hangers and set them on the ground in the shade. With a thorough watering before you leave, most plants will last a week on the ground in a well-shaded location. Flowering may be reduced when you first rehang your plants, but they will soon return to their summer glory. If your plants get large and overgrown, right before you go on vacation is a good time to trim them back and remove some of the extra growth.

 

Info provided by Michigan State University with the help of the Western Michigan Bedding Plant Association, Bedding Plants Foundation, the American Floral Endowment, and the Professional Plant Growers Association.