Caring For Your Hanging Basket

Do you have a friend or neighbor with a stunning hanging basket in their yard every summer, with lush, healthy plants covered in flowers? It makes the house look so fresh and inviting! Maybe you have purchased a basket in the past, but it never looks quite as good as you imagined it would. Or maybe you think you would never be able to keep one looking that good, so you never buy them. It is not hard, we promise. Follow these tips, and you will do fine.

• Buy a basket from a reputable grower. At Pleasant Prairie Greenhouse, we select the very best and hardiest plants, create thoughtful and unique combinations to delight your senses, and with great care we pinch back each plant to ensure it has the maximum number of shoots resulting in fuller, healthier, better looking baskets. We pay strict attention to the number of plants in each basket. Too many plants in a basket will provide instant beauty. Unfortunately, an overcrowded basket may only last a few short weeks after your purchase, leaving you wondering what you did wrong. If that has happened to you, it is likely it is because the basket was designed to be at its peak at the time it was for sale to entice you to buy it. Our baskets are carefully designed to grow more beautiful as the season progresses.

• Water in the morning or evening when it is cooler so the water soaks in, rather than evaporating too quickly under the hot mid-day sun.
• Smaller pots will need more frequent watering than large ones. Test the moisture of your basket (or any potted plant) by either poking your finger 1 inch into the soil or checking the weight of the basket. Heavy baskets have moisture while light weight ones are dry. If it is dry, it is time to water!
• Add water until it runs through the drain-age holes in the bottom of the basket.
• If your basket accidentally dries out completely and your plants have wilted, just soak the hanging basket for about 10 minutes in standing water to allow the soil to rehydrate fully. Once hydrated, remove to allow proper drainage once more.
• Use a slow release or controlled fertilizer, available at our stores, when you purchase your basket. Apply it right after purchasing the basket. By mid-summer you may wish to add a water-soluble fertilizer once every 1 or 2 weeks
• Hanging baskets, or any plants, need the right amount of sun to thrive. Full sun plants require 6 or more hours of sun each day. Part shade baskets require 4-6 hours of sun, and shade baskets should have 4 or less hours of sun each day. Plants will grow long and spindly without enough sunlight, while those who get too much sun may burn and die.
• Hanging baskets should be rotated to keep the plants symmetrical as they grow.
• Most plants benefit from deadheading, or pinching off, faded blooms. Preventing the flowers from going to seed encourages new blooms to develop.
• Depending on the look you prefer, you may want to give your hanging basket a trim. Cutting off one or two inches will encourage new growth to keep your basket looking full and healthy.
We hope these suggestions help you to enjoy your hanging basket all season long. And who knows, maybe you’ll have the prettiest basket in the neighborhood this summer!