Martyn Cox’s potted wonders
Container displays offer awesome bang for your buck – but ONLY if you’re on top of these critical tasks
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a hanging basket dripping with colourful annuals or a patio planter housing tender perennials, a well-planted container filled with seasonal gems has the potential to earn its keep for months. Normally bursting into life in late spring, they’ll continue to turn heads into early autumn with a little care.
Yet ignore summer containers at your own risk. Not bothering to feed plants or turning a blind eye to fading blooms will result in a floral feast coming to an end before its time. Even worse, failing to spot an invasion of aphids might mean a display comes to a premature halt after just a few weeks.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be this way. Regular and correct watering, feeding and deadheading will keep plants in great shape all summer long, while spending a few minutes checking on the welfare of your charges every day will enable you to deal with problems before they get out of hand.
Good watering is critical to extending the life expectancy of containers. Most summer-flowering container subjects are thirsty things that might need watering twice a day to prevent them flagging – check whether compost needs wetting by pushing your finger down a few inches to see if it’s damp.
As a rule, it’s best to water first thing in the morning or early evening, giving plants plenty of time to soak up moisture with minimal wastage. Use a long spouted watering can or a watering lance attached to a hosepipe to deliver water accurately. Avoid applying from distance as you will dislodge compost.
Don’t panic if a container completely dries out. It’s possible to revive parched plants by standing the entire thing in a bucket filled with water.
Once the compost is completely moist, remove and allow excess water to drain.
Replace dead plants and trim back damaged growth, if necessary.
Unless you mixed some controlled release fertiliser granules into the compost when potting containers, regular watering will quickly flush out any goodness that’s naturally held by compost.
So, in order to ensure strong growth and a succession of flowers, it’s important to feed plants often during the growing season.
Give plants a weekly – or even twice weekly – pick-me-up with a general purpose fertiliser, such as Miracle-Gro, Flower Power or Phostrogen.
In late summer, switch to feeding them with liquid tomato food or another fertiliser that’s high in potash, ensuring buds continue to develop for as long as possible.
In order to keep plants floriferous, pinch off spent flowers at the base of their stalks with your thumb and forefinger, or cut them off using a pair of plant snips.
Very little other pruning should be required to keep plants in shape, other than the removal of tatty leaves and the occasional docking of wayward stems.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s good practice to inspect plants on a daily basis. Look out for pests, diseases and weeds, and get to grips with them immediately so there’s little or no check to growth.
If there are other problems, such as poor growth due to lack of light or overwatering, then these can be remedied, too.