Part of loving summer is being able to decorate the outdoor landscape with beautiful plants and flowers. For many of us, this means long warm days spent weeding our gardens and filling up window boxes but for others who are looking for another way to enjoy seasonal flowers, you might want to consider hanging baskets. Hanging baskets are a wonderful investment although many people shy away from this type of floral design because of the intimidation of care. For some reason, flowering, cascading plants can look as though their maintenance might be overwhelming but in reality, they’re really quite simple as gardening tasks go. You don’t have to have a green thumb to enjoy these stunning presentations! All you need to learn is this hanging plant care guide to get you on your way to displaying a decadent and bold array of color on the outside of your home.
Care Guide Instructions
- One of the best reasons to grab a few hanging baskets is that they will last all summer long as apposed to perennials which make their entrance in spring and then slowly exit before the end of summer. You can color coordinate with the paint on your house or even choose an eclectic palette that showcases many different colors. Tell yourflorist or garden center the climate of your living space as well (Do you live by the beach? Do you live in the city?), because these differences may affect the variety of species in your basket. Some varieties do better in the salt air as other types do better inside steamier humid conditions.
- Before you go out and buy a hanging planter, find an area that you’ll be able to install a sturdy piece of hardware to hold it intact (some hangers are very heavy) and a place where there is a lot of sunlight. Most people like to display them right outside their front doors but if there isn’t a lot of sunlight, you might want to rethink your decision. Flowers need light to thrive and survive so the position of the planter is going to make a huge difference on how the flowers perform throughout the summer.
- WATER!!!!!!! Yes, watering is the single most important thing to do when you hang a planter because they are constantly seeking moisture since there is no saucer to contain it. Take a pitcher of water and dump it directly into the soil and if the dirt feels extra dry? Water it again! The single most cause for the death amongst flowering hangers is dehydration so make sure it is done daily.
- A little nip and tuck of the dead blooms ensures that the flowers keep blooming throughout the entire season. Don’t worry if you’ve trimmed back the plant slightly too much because I assure you, they love “haircuts” that keep its system healthy and continuously producing blossoms.