How to water your hanging basket!
- Posted on
- By Jonn 'J-Dogg' Karsseboom
- 4
Ever hear the phrase "Water regularly."? What does that mean and what does that look like for your hanging basket? Here, I go over the nitty gritty details of what proper watering looks like. It's step one of four and it's the least amount of effort to get the greatest results.
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What about watering in ground plants. Last year we hooked up soaker hoses to a timer and watered everyday for 30-60 minutes. I was wondering if that was too much and we should just do every other day for 30 minutes.
Thank you for all the tips! The watering ones were so meaningful & educational. It’s a shame to put all the time, effort & love into a basket, & then not practice good watering habits , which I can also use to the fullest in C. Oregon. Look forward to next week’s news & hints.
I just enjoyed my weekly email on watering your basket and thought about what I do for watering when we go away for a few days and can’t water.
We have 12 cedar boxes that each hold
Boxwoods. They are connected with seating runs so I water well before we leave the I fill an old wine bottle with water and turn inside down in one corner of the box. It seems to give them enough moisture until we return.
I’m guessing that this could work with all containers that don’t have a drip system. Maybe a smaller glass bottle.
Linda you have such an amazing memory. You brought up a good point about baskets and containers in the shade and you are correct. The shade does buy us some time and forgiveness by not drying out as quickly. Great point!
I still remember you telling a story about when you were young (a few years ago) and took on the task of watering for a neighbor or friend while she was away and switched the times you watered and the plants suffered. Sticks in my mind and keeps me behaving and doing it at the same time each day. It’s hard at this time of year to imagine watering ANYTHING. The yard is so marshy the frogs and ducks mistaken it for a wetland. At some point we’ll hopefully balance wet a bit better but good to know we should water even when it rains. Does it make a difference in the amount of watering if the plant has less sun than more? Seems to me the sun plants would dry out faster and need more TLC than the ones in the shade who get less direct sun. Maybe not. I was laughing when you did the timer. I can remember standing and doing my 1 minute (that was my time) each time like a timer. You also mentioned one of my favorite things especially on feeding days (I’m sure that’s coming soon!) to put a 3-5 gallon bucket under the baskets to catch all that good stuff and share it with others. Doesn’t feel so wasteful especially with Flower Power in it. Good lesson! Rebel On!
Hi Carla!
Excellent question! Drip is solid good but often times fellow gardeners forget about the quantity of water. That’s why I urged a measurement of water. While it’s gentle and seemingly hitting just the foliage if the amount is correct (3gallons for small and 5 gallons for large) the water will indeed soak into the rootball. Garden On!
Great tips again, Jon. But I have a question about the drip irrigation: do the overhead drips supply enough water to the root ball? Looks like it is watering mostly the leaves and flowers. Thanks.