This week is Mother's Day, and one of the most popular gifts for Mom is a hanging basket. So let's talk about how to care for them.
How do you keep this hanging basket looking that good all through spring and summer? Well, it depends on what kind of plant you've got in it, but most hanging baskets need at least half a day of light, with most preferring full sun. So it's important that they get a lot of light.
The other factor in growing healthy hanging baskets is water, and that's where most people make a mistake: They don't give them enough water.
Hanging baskets need water every day, and they need enough water that it flows all the way through the basket and out the bottom.
We recommend you check them every morning and water, water, water. You may even need to water twice a day, especially once it gets into the hotter summer temperatures.
Lastly, to keep the blooms going, you'll need to fertilize. There's two ways to do that. You can use Osmocote fertilizer, which is a slow-release fertilizer that you sprinkle into the top of the hanging basket. Then, each time you water, it slowly releases fertilizer. This is a great option if you have a hard time remembering to mix fertilizer every time you water.
However, the plant will respond the best if you'll go ahead and mix up something like Miracle-Gro or another liquid fertilizer into your water. That’s because liquid fertilizer is instantly available to the plant and it will respond quicker than with the Osmocote.
If you'll do those three things:
Then you'll keep your hanging basket looking full and healthy all the way through spring and deep into summer. Good luck in the garden!
