This hanging basket guide will help you ensure your hanging basket displays continue to thrive for as long as possible throughout the summer and even into autumn when possible. Hanging baskets are a great way to brighten up small or large spaces and look especially good hanging by a front door, around a patio or somewhere you will walk by and admire them. If you do have a small space, hanging baskets mean you can make good use of vertical space to fill with more plants! So if you are wondering how to keep them in good shape, here’s some tips:
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Watering
There is nothing more important than remembering to water your hanging baskets. Hanging baskets dry out quickly because there's relatively little compost in a basket and they're more exposed to the sun and breeze than planters or borders for example. And of course, if the compost remains dry, the plants can't access the feed they need either.
We recommend watering in the mornings so the plants can absorb the moisture ready for the day ahead and again in the evening if required, especially if it has been a hot, sunny or windy day. Water into the basket if you can rather than over the plants, so the water goes straight to the roots.
Occasionally your basket might become so dry that the water runs straight through without dampening the soil. Try to avoid this with regular watering, but if it does happen, it's important to properly rehydrate the basket. Simply add small amounts of water every few minutes until it stops running through and starts to be absorbed by the compost. Continue adding small amounts of water until the basket is thoroughly rehydrated.
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Feeding schedule
It’s easy to forget that the plants in your baskets have a very limited source of nutrition - especially when there are so many other jobs to be done in the garden! We recommend feeding once a week throughout spring and summer. If you have used a slow-release fertiliser when you planted the basket, weekly feeding can be delayed until you notice the growth slowing down. Slow release fertilisers are a fantastic base feed in the basket, but with so many plants competing for the available food, you may need additional liquid feed when watering when the plants are growing so rapidly in summer.
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Other care tips
Regular deadheading generally encourages flowering to continue for longer. Dead flowers will also encourage disease so it's good to regularly deadhead - just do it whilst you're watering! Dead, damaged or diseased plant material must be removed to maintain a healthy basket - it's so easy for disease to spread when your plants are close together. Finally, Aphids are likely to be out in force during the summer, so look closely and take action if spotted.
If you need any more help and advice about getting the best from your hanging basket, just pop in and have a chat with the plant team at Merryhatton - they're always delighted to help you get the best from your gardening.
