How to Keep Your Patio Garden
Beautiful until Frost - Maintenance Tips for Container Plantings
Watering is most important!
Flowerpots should be kept moist, not wet. They may dry out after just one hot day but may be all right in dry soil until the next morning’s watering. If plants can't make it for 24 hours without water you'll need to water them in the evening as well. Smaller containers will dry out faster than larger ones . . .(obviously) and terracotta dries out faster than glazed ceramic and plastic. Consider getting a deck irrigation kit with a small, battery operated water timer attached at your faucet. These kits are inexpensive and really easy to install. You'd be amazed at how lush your container plantings can be with proper watering.
Fertilizing
Fertilize the plants with liquid 10-15-10 or 20-20-20, or similar
every 2-3 weeks. If you don't mind a little bit of a fishy seaweed
smell and want to stay organic, use a mix of liquid seaweed and fish
emulsion. Not wanting that smell lingering around your deck or patio?
Then use a liquid fertilizer like Peter's. Wet soil with plain water
before watering with fertilizer mix. Don’t fertilize plants in
hot sun. Always use recommended amount or less.
Trimming
Consistent removal of spent flower blossoms and seed heads keeps the
your annuals and perennials flowering continuously. If and when the
plants get too long and spindly, as petunias and million bells often
do, trim the stems back to the edge of the pot and lightly fertilize so
that they will produce fresh growth and more flowers. This may take a
couple of weeks. If you can't wait that long, replace the spent plants
with new fresh plants.
Notes
Impatiens don’t need to be trimmed or deadheaded. Trim foliage
plants like Coleus and Licorice to control size.
Don’t be worried if there is some yellowing and dropping of leaves as
the plants become accustomed to their new environment.
Many of these plants will flower right up until first frost or snow as
long as they are maintained and watered. Remember that containers
under a porch roof of under a roof overhang or even a densely leafed
tree will not receive much if any rain water so you need to water them
yourself most of the time.
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