Make winter baskets last
Keep them healthy and well protected
Positioned by the front door, winter hanging baskets are an ideal way to bring colour into your garden – and you’ll see them every day.
Choose a selection of winter-hardy pansies and violas, cyclamen, heathers, primroses and polyanthus with evergreen thymes and trailing ivies.
Fill your basket with fresh multipurpose compost or loam-based John Innes (which won’t dry out as quickly). Add your plants, trimming off any yellowing leaves and spent flowers, and fill with compost, firming around their roots.
Site winter baskets carefully – ideally in a sheltered, sunny spot. If you’ve a pair or series of baskets along your house, rotate them occasionally to encourage even growth.
In long periods of bad weather, bring baskets into the greenhouse or cover with fleece or a reusable hanging basket cosie that protects plants down to -6C (21F), (£3.99 from Waitrose Garden, 01344 578811; www.waitrose.com).
Water once a week and keep deadheading and removing spent foliage and debris to improve air circulation around plants. This helps prevent fungal diseases, such as grey mould, from taking hold.
Give an occasional feed of organic plant food such as Eco Wormpro 1L Organic Pots & Hanging Basket Liquid Feed (£6.99 from The Old Railway Line, 01497 847055; www.oldrailwaylinegc.co.uk).