Can you help me figure out what I am doing wrong with my tubs and hanging baskets? They are never as big and beautiful as my friends’. The ones I plant myself don’t fill in completely. Even the ones I buy already fully grown deteriorate after a month or two. I have good success with the flowers I plant in the ground.
Container plants do have different growing requirements than plants in the ground. When soil is placed in a container, it holds twice as much water after draining. This leaves less room for air space. Roots need air (oxygen) and moisture to thrive.
Potting soils are made with coarser materials, so there are larger spaces for air holes. Potting soils vary in quality. Some do not drain well enough for good growth. The best potting soils are made with peat moss, vermiculite and perlite or sponge rock. These materials are light in weight and have lots of air space, and hold plenty of moisture. Sand and bark dust are often used in potting soils. Sand often contains finer silt and clay particles which reduce air-holding capacity. Bark is OK as long as there is also some peat or vermiculite or both.
Containers must be watered more frequently than garden plants. When water drains through them, it dissolves fertilizer which is lost with the drain water. It sounds like your plants are suffering from a shortage of fertilizer. Container plants need a lot more fertilizer than plants in the ground. Liquid fertilizer can be applied every time you irrigate or at least once a week using rates recommended on the fertilizer container.
