Here are a few tips to enjoy months of continuous flower color at home:

1.  Site Correctly - Select a planted container to match your home environment and desired level of care. Happy plants need the right amount of light, water, fertilizer, and care to thrive.

2.  Water appropriately

  Water in the early morning. Spot water as needed later in afternoon

• • • Put your plants to bed dry
    • Try to water potting medium, not plant foliage
  • Smaller, frequent watering is more desirable than a single drenching
  • Avoid wilting if possible.

3.  Weekly Care

o   Fertilize with water soluble fertilizer. You can also use slow release granules or spikes once early in season instead.

o   Deadhead spent flowers to promote increased flowering. Remove entire flower stem back to closest leaf, not just the actual bloom.

o   General tidiness – trim branches for consistent shape, cut stem just below leaves.

o   Do proactive ‘wellness health check’ – check for any insect damage or discoloration of leaves.

4.  As needed care when issues arise

o   Hot/windy conditions –take down your flowering basket to prevent damaged stems and excessive drying out on hot windy days.

o   Bugs! A few bugs are normal on a container planter. However, when foliage turns yellow and undersides of leaves have eggs, there is a problem. Homemade and commercial insecticide soap is least invasive and work well. Otherwise, we do offer more aggressive insecticide products for purchase.

o   Plants are going crazy and running out of room! It is normal by end of summer that plants may become root bound in their original containers limiting growth. Here are some simple ways to remedy this situation:

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    • Add aeration – take a stick or down and push ‘holes’ into container. This allows air and water to the existing roots
    • Time for a summer buzz cut – aggressively cut back plants that have taken over pot. This will give remaining plants opportunity to fill in and for you to control future growth of aggressive plant species.
    • Do selective surgery – take a spade shovel and remove all or part of plant that has become too aggressive or is under performing in container. Some of the more cold tolerant flowers fizzle out by midsummer and can be simply removed and replaced with a different plant.
    • Upsize container - carefully lift entire plant mass out of original container and replant in a larger container.   It is advisable to try to separate or cut slits in roots when doing this and prune back stems of plant approximately one third to lesson degree of transplant shock.

o   Vacation care - it’s best to have a neighbor ‘plant sit’, but if that is not possible, move containers to shaded /sheltered place. Soil moist vacation mats are a great option that manufacturer boasts will slowly release water into plants for up to three weeks! Otherwise, water spickot timers teamed up with soaker hose from the local hardware store work well for flower beds and mass plantings.

o   When in doubt, ask us!