Adorn's tips to maintain beautiful flowers all summer long
It's mid-summer and that means your plants are fully established and ready for some maintenance to ensure a gorgeous look for the rest of summer.
Pruning your plants - Do some of your plants need a haircut? If you have ever used margarita sweet potato vine in a pot before, you totally know what we're talking about. Typically late June is when we need to give our sweet potato vine plant babies their first haircuts. We don't like this aggressive plant to crowd out the other plants or get too long. It grows like crazy so we end up giving it haircuts twice a month. The purple and variegated types of sweet potato vine don't grow as profusely so we don't have to trim them back as often. Even though the margarita variety needs more maintenance, we still adore it for its pop of chartreuse color and fullness. Other trailing plants that we like to prune if they get too long are dichondra silver falls and licorice plant. Do be careful not to trim off too much all at once. A good rule of thumb is to trim less than 1/3 of the plant.
Deadheading your plants - There are some flowers that won't automatically fall off when they die. If you remove the flowers (deadhead) after they are spent they will produce more flowers and look a lot better. Geraniums are one of those types of flowering plants and you should remove the entire stem where the flower grew. Some types of petunias also don't automatically release their flowers. We look for spent petunia flowers that are still clinging on and we remove them when we water daily. It may take a little work but it sure makes the container garden look fresh when you've finished.
Fertilization - We add in a slow release fertilizer into the potting soil when we plant but still recommend giving your flowering plants an extra boost during during the last half of summer. We use Jack's Blossom Booster once a week to keep those blooms going strong. It is a water soluble fertilizer that you mix into your watering can and use once every 7 to 14 days. We've had amazing results with this miracle product.
Garden pests - It wouldn't be summer without outdoor pests right? Unfortunately sometimes those bugs get into our container gardens so you should get in the habit of checking your plants daily. Be on the lookout for actual bugs that you see on the flowers, underside of leaves or tiny holes in the leaves that the bugs have chewed through. If you detect anything like this it's best to to take action asap before the plants start to fail. We are big fans of an insecticide called Eight which kills over 130 insects. Every year we battle bugs on hibiscus blooms and spraying with Eight a few times a week over two weeks will usually take care of the creepy crawlies. We recommend Neem Oil as a great option for clients who prefer to use an organic product or if you are using it on or near herbs and veggies. If you want a fun way to get young kids interested in gardening, release live ladybugs in your garden. Julie has done this every summer for the last 13 years with her boys. The lady bugs will eat aphids, mealy bugs and other insects. How about that for a fun pest management project for the whole family!
Regular watering - If we can leave you with three words of wisdom as we enter into the dog days of summer...WATER YOUR POTS! Seriously. We like to water first thing in the morning so the plants don't bake all day. Sorry to deliver this news, but you may need to water TWICE a day if your plants are in the full sun all day, especially if it is windy since the wind dries out the soil. If your plants are in the shade you may only need to water every other day or once every three days. Just pay attention to them. Are they wilting or getting crispy? If so, that's the plants saying, "More water please!"
Pollinator-friendly annual flowers
Let's talk about the birds and the bees...and butterflies! It's so easy to create a pollinator-friendly environment in your yard by including a few nectar and pollen packed plants in your container gardens. Here is a brief list of annual flowers that we use in our container gardens.
Alyssum - attracts bees
Calibrachoa - attracts hummingbirds
Canna - attracts butterflies
Dipladenia/Mandevilla - attract hummingbirds and bees (pictured above)
Lantana - attracts butterflies
Lavender - attracts bees and butterflies
Petunia - attracts hummingbirds
Zinnia - attracts bees and butterflies
By using a few of these in our yards, we are all doing our part to attract and support native birds, butterflies and bees.
Let Adorn Help You
We all love pretty pots but not necessarily the upkeep, right? Especially in the heat of the summer! Let us know if you'd like to outsource the summer maintenance of your outdoor planters. Once a month, in July and August we'll pay your container gardens a visit to fertilize, deadhead, trim and treat for garden pests as needed. Our residential and commercial clients REALLY enjoy this monthly service! Let us know if we can help you maintain gorgeous planters all summer long.
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