Flower care will ensure blooms all summerlong

Just looking at those beautiful hanging flower baskets your family gave you for Mother’s Day makes you so relaxed and happy.

But you wonder how can you keep them looking like that all summer?

We need to do a couple of things to get the plants ready for a summer of blooming.

First, we need to see what type of basket the flowers are in. Is the basket plastic, recycled paper pulp, or is it in one of those baskets with the raffia pad lining the basket?

If it is plastic, we just need to keep it moist but not soaked. So make sure the pot drains when you water.

The paper pulp baskets need to be watched carefully, as they tend to dry out faster and they can tear and fall apart if they become too wet.

The raffia-pad basket also dries faster and should be watched. Make sure water does not collect inside the basket where your flowers are.

Depending on the size of the flowers, and the type of pot they are in, you could move them to a hanging basket that won’t dry out too fast and will hold up the entire summer. A plastic pot works well.

Next we need to know the light requirements of the plants. Are they high or low light?

If they are begonias or fuchsias, they need to be hung in a low-light area like a porch or the north side of the house with no direct sunlight.

If they are beautiful petunias or a combination of flowers, they will need to be where they can get at least eight hours of sunlight.

Deadheading (the removal of dead flowers) needs to be done every few days to promote continuous flowering. Annuals need fertilizing every three weeks with a 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 fertilizer.

Now we can sit back and enjoy the beautiful flowers and visiting hummingbirds, knowing we will be enjoying the flowers and birds throughout the summer.