With the weather warming up, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about watering, especially about hanging baskets, so I thought I would share a couple of tips …
- When watering containers, hanging baskets especially, water until the basket feels heavy with water weight and water runs freely from the drainage hole. If water comes out right away, then the basket is more than likely so dry that the soil has pulled away from the sides of pot and has created a tunnel where the water runs through immediately. In this case, you should water well but then return to water again, deeply and thoroughly, after about ten minutes. In that time the soil will have expanded and be able to absorb the water, which then will feed the roots.
- It’s best to water in the morning, when it’s still cool.
- Be sure to try to water only the soil, not the leaves. Wet leaves invite sun damage and disease.
Water just enough. Over watering is a bad thing, but so is under watering. Never let your plants dry out to the point they wilt. If you do, they’ll take weeks to rebound. That might mean watering more than once a day during hot spells, particularly if the basket is small or in a windy or sunny spot.
