Hanging baskets: A sure sign of spring, summer

MOSES LAKE — This is the time of year when porches and balconies blossom with hanging baskets full of flowers.

Some people buy hanging baskets ready-made, some people plant their own. Either way, there are things people should think about when buying or planting to ensure the baskets are blooming all summer long.

The first thing to remember is the basket gets dry, hanging there in the air, and should be watered daily at least. The website The Garden Glove said baskets may need water twice a day on really hot days.

Gardeners will get used to knowing how heavy the basket is when it’s properly watered, the website said, and can tell by lifting up the planter when it needs more water.

For people planting their own, Lisa Villegas, owner of the Seed Cupboard Nursery in Royal City, recommended starting with potting soil that provides some drainage, since the roots shouldn’t be too wet, either. There are products gardeners can add, like moisture beads, that help retain the proper balance of water.

But diligent watering can lead to another problem. Villegas said the required watering will wash nutrients out of the soil. And since hanging baskets have a lot of flowers, they also have a lot of roots competing for the available soil and the available nutrients.

So hanging baskets need to be fed on a regular basis. Villegas said people should avoid nitrogen-only fertilizers. Using strictly nitrogen can reduce the bloom, she said. The Garden Glove website suggested slow-release fertilizers added during planting, and a liquid fertilizer at half-strength once a week.

Some flowers are bred for hanging baskets, Villegas said, like the mini-petunias of the calibrachoa family.

“There are so many choices,” she said.

People need to choose flowers that can take a beating, since baskets will be out on windy days, hot days, and hot and windy days.

“(Choose) flowers that are hardy, that will take the extremes of our area,” Villegas said.

The Moses Lake FFA chapter filled the school greenhouse with hanging baskets as part of the annual plant sale. And there’s a technique to plant a hanging basket used by the students. A basket starts with three anchor plants, and the MLHS students usually start with petunias, one light and two dark, for the anchor. Selecting the anchor requires some forethought, since the colors must compliment each other. Students add two non-petunias as side pieces.

The Garden Glove website suggests trailing plants for the sides of the basket, and upright plants for the center.