| QUESTION |
ANSWER |
| Question: Is it O.K. to keep my geraniums that I purchased in the garage until I am ready to plant them? |
Answer: Unless you are able to plant the next morning, this is definitely not a good idea. Our geraniums are grown under high light conditions, and if they are kept in the dark for more than a day they will start to turn yellow and abort flower buds. This will delay flowering for up to four weeks in some cases. If you must delay planting it is best to move them out into full light during the day and put them back in the garage only if there is a danger of frost at night.
|
| Question: Our automatic sprinkler system covers the area where the planters and baskets are. Do they still need regular hand watering? |
Answer: Yes!!! The number one cause of basket /planter failure is without a doubt lack of sufficient regular water. Lawn sprinkler systems are designed to water the ground only, and unless your system has special provisions for container drip irrigation these pots will not receive enough water. |
| Question: Should I still hand water my baskets & planters even though it rained last night? |
Answer: Absolutely. The actual amount of water that gets in a container during a rain is very small in comparison to the amount required. The pots should at the very least be checked for wetness and hand watered accordingly. |
| Question: How do I know when to water? I feel the surface of the soil in the pot and it always feels moist. |
Answer : Even when the pot ball is very dry, the surface will almost always feel moist. The only sure way to guage water requirement is to lift the pot and check by weight how much water is present. Water the container fully (by watering several times) and feel the weight of the pot. Use this weight as a reference for future waterings.
|
| Question: Is it possible to overwater my basket or planter? |
Answer: The containers we use have plenty of drainage holes to allow excess water to drain away, so overwatering is rarely a problem during normal weather conditions. The only caution about overwatering would be that in the case of prolonged cool wet weather they would not require a lot of water. It is best to use the weight of the pot as a guide and if they are heavy, leave them alone. |
| Question: I love my Pendula Begonia baskets, but they always get some brown stems that fall out on the porch. What am I doing wrong? |
Answer: All Begonia species are susceptible to what is known as crown or stem rot. This is usually caused by not allowing the plant to dry down sufficiently between waterings. Begonias should be watered thoroughly when the pots get light ,(dry), and allowed to dry down between waterings, This does not mean to allow them to dry down to distress, but the idea is to not keep them constantly wet. The worst cases of this occur when people who can ' t decide when to water just dribble a little in every day, thus making the surface of the pot constantly wet. This condition creates a perfect environment for the growth of the stem rot causing fungi, and next thing you know you have pieces of your basket on the porch.
|
| Question: What is the difference between a " cut " geranium and a " seed " geranium? |
Answer: Cut geraniums, or Zonal geraniums, as they are sometimes called, are grown from cuttings and seed geraniums are grown from seed. The plant breeders have worked for years to develop today ' s cut geraniums to have heavy, well branched, plants with very large flower heads. Seed geraniums on the other hand have a larger number of smaller flower heads, thus giving a good show of colour in the garden but lacking the impact of the larger flowered cut geranium in a basket or container. Price difference is also a consideration when deciding which to use. The cuttings we buy to grow our geraniums are all patented varieties, which means we must pay royalties to the breeder, and they are all virus indexed and certified disease free. This makes the cut geranium much more expensive to produce than the seed geranium and is therefore higher priced. Generally we recommend seed geraniums for use in flower beds where many plants are needed and economy is a factor and cut geraniums in containers for the impact of the larger flower heads. |
| Question: Why, when I plant New Guinea Impatiens out in my flower beds do they go down in a wilt, even though I water the bed thoroughly? |
Answer: The problem here stems from the fact that when you have just planted the pots they have not had time to root into the bed yet. You may be watering the soil adequately but at this time the plant is still only living from the pot ball. At the point where the plant starts to wilt, this small pot ball in most cases will be bone dry even though the surrounding soil may be quite moist. It is important that you direct the water right at the base of the plant for about the first two weeks after planting to ensure that the pot ball soaks up adequate moisture. It is a good idea to rough up the root ball a bit with your hands too, prior to planting to speed up the rooting out process. |
| Question: Is it important to use fertilizer, and which kind is the best for containers? |
Answer : Container plants are grown within a closed system. This means that all the things that the plants need to grow must be supplied by the application of some sort of fertilizer solution. In the last few years we have seen some new formulations of fertilizer coming into use that have improved performance of plants grown in containers. Back in the days where a lot of real soil was used in potting mixes the use of high phosphate fertilizers became the feed of choice. Now that all potting mixes used in greenhouses are soilless there has been a move away from the emphasis on phosphate. The use of lower phosphate fertilizers when used with soilless potting mixes reduces the problems related to phosphate build up, that occurs over time when the older formulations, such as
Miracle Gro T 15- 30 -15 are used. We recommend feeding new 24- 12 -17 premium water soluble from
Proven Winners T at half the recommended rate, fed each week instead of the full rate every two weeks. This would be one of the supplied scoops of fertilizer mixed with two gallons of water , (ie: Large green plastic watering can). The solution is applied as you would a normal watering ensuring some drainage out the bottom of the container. The only caution would be to never fertilize a plant when it is dried out, or when the weather is extremely hot. |
- Frequently Asked Questions 