How to save your struggling hanging baskets and bring them back to life. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
By Gardens by Design/Shutterstock
There are 2 simple methods to get your plants blooming again. The first and best option to bring your hanging basket back to life is to replant it into a larger vessel.
Unfortunately, most commercial hanging baskets are sold with 10 to 12″ pots as their growing container. To make it through an entire growing season, baskets should be at minimum 14 to 16″ in size. Select a new basket or container with at least 1/4 more growing space. The more room the better. This gives plenty of space for roots to expand out and bring in nutrients quickly.
Next, fill the bottom of the basket with a high quality potting soil. Before sitting the root ball into the new basket, be sure to loosen the tightly wound roots. Gently break apart the bottom of the roots, taking care to keep them intact to the root ball.This allows the plant to breath and grow into the new soil. And as it does so, it will be able to soak in the nutrients and water it needs to thrive once again. Finish by filling the remainder of the pot with potting soil, and then giving the plant a good watering along with a dose of liquid fertilizer. This boost of nutrients will help the plant to re-flourish quickly.
Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.