It’s the most wonderful time of the year, West Coast Gardeners…time for you to bring home our much anticipated moss hanging baskets! Fresh and full, bursting with potential, our baskets are hand grown just for you. Your own personal basket of joy. Sort of like a puppy, but much less work.
As each one of our new handcrafted moss baskets leaves our garden centre, I know it will grow into a full and beautiful planter for your home, becoming part of the family. (You can even give it a name if you want…although I wouldn’t try teaching it to roll-over.)
Caring for Your Newest Addition - Watering Routines
Just like a new puppy, our baskets do need some love and care. First and foremost they must be watered. Once the summer heat hits they will be constantly begging for a drink and can be watered daily.
During the cooler spring months I recommend testing them first before watering, to make sure they are actually thirsty. Try the one handed test by lifting your basket slightly from underneath with the flat of your hand. You’ll be able to tell by it’s weight whether it really needs water. (Good thing plants can’t give you cute puppy-dog eyes or you’d be watering all the time!)
If your basket is dry, go ahead and give it a really good long drink, until the water flows out the drain holes in the bottom. Bury the hose nozzle, or watering-can tip, right into the basket and as close to the soil as you can.
There is no need to shower the plants from above (unlike a puppy, your plants probably didn’t roll in that mud) and doing so can actually cause rotting blooms or heavy leaves. Remember: More plants die from overwatering than under-watering!
Aim for early morning waterings before the sun gets too hot, however, you can also water in the late afternoon if you need your sleep. Luckily our hanging baskets are guaranteed not to wake you up with barking or jump on you in bed, we promise.
Make sure you avoid watering your hanging baskets in the evening, as they hate going to bed with wet roots. (Imagine putting your puppy to bed with wet fur…chilly and smelly!)
Don’t Forget the Treats!
Your new basket of blooms will need to keep it’s strength up and you can easily replace the nutrients in it’s soil regularly with hanging basket fertilizer. I recommend 1-3 times a week at full strength, or use it for every watering at half strength.
A Bit of Grooming Required
Once your flower basket gets bigger (they grow up so fast!) and blooms for the summertime, you can keep it beautiful with some quick deadheading and pruning. Simply use your fingers to break off blooms that have expired, close to the stem. This will encourage your plants to produce new flowers!
If you find your foliage is a bit long and lanky, you can do the same thing with the leaf stems. Break stems off at the length you prefer and your plants will grow thicker and fuller, producing more foliage.
Enjoy having an eye-catching and breath-taking basket of blooms hanging outside your home all spring and summer, with just these few care tips. If all goes well you can try for the puppy next year!
Watch this quick hanging basket care video and let Jason tell you his secret to keeping hanging baskets beautiful all summer long.