Tips for improving and keeping your potted summer planters looking good into the fall:
- Cut back trailing and leggy plants. This will encourage new growth and give the plants a fresh look.
- Feed your potting plants with a slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote. Slow release fertilizers will feed your plants over time as you water them every day. The slow release fertilizers are better than liquid alternatives because they often wash out of the soil quickly when daily watering is required, wasting valuable nutrients.
- Watering daily is usually required for proper plant care. Some plants may need twice daily watering due to pot size, plant variety or weather conditions.
- If plants are too overgrown, either re-potting them or adding fresh soil may be required. Some plants may have to be removed entirely and replaced with fresh, smaller plants. Smaller, younger plants will grow rapidly during the warmer summer months and extend the growing season well into the fall.
- Plant a perennial garden or add such plants to an existing one. Early spring and fall are good times to plant perennials, as they’re typically far hardier than annuals and can benefit from longer growing seasons. We stock many such perennials through the summer and well into the fall. By planting them this year, you will be able to enjoy beautifully established plants in your garden next spring.
Some of your plants may have fungal or mildew problems. Cutting them back, feeding them and applying fungicides will help strengthen the plants, especially perennials and rose bushes. Keep ahead of fungal problems in your flower beds by fertilizing and watering regularly. Doing so will help enable most plants to fight such problems naturally to an extent as they do occur and enhance the effectiveness of active fungal remedies. Sprays are often quite effective in preventing the spread of fungal diseases to uninfected plants – timing and quick action is often everything in combating such issues when they occur.
There is still a lot of growing time left this season, so don’t ignore your gardens. If you’re not sure what to use or what may be needed for your planting projects, be sure to stop into the garden center – employees will be happy to guide you and find the best tools and products for the job!
The information above cannot be reproduced without written consent from Robert Jacobson, Grove Garden Center
