Hanging Basket Watering Tips - Garden Gate Magazine

Water your hanging baskets smarter

It's true: Hanging baskets can dry out quickly. And they can be difficult to rewet. Here's a tip to help get your hanging baskets back in shape when they get too dry, and a way to take advantage of all the water that inevitably runs through the liner when you do water.

What to do when your hanging basket gets too dry

Hanging baskets dry out quickly in the heat of summer and may even need daily watering if it's really hot and windy. But it's easy to get busy and forget. If your plants are wilted and water runs right through the basket when you try to water it, it may need a good soak.

Take the basket down and set it in a pan or bucket of water. Can't find a pan or bucket the right size? A new oil drain pan is the perfect width and depth to accommodate most baskets and a few gallons of water. Plus, you can find plastic ones, like the one here, for less than $15 at most automotive stores. Let the basket soak for 10 to 15 minutes to rehydrate. It's easy to tell when it's time to remove it — the potting mix will look darker and if you push your finger into the mix, and it will feel damp.

Hanging Basket Accesories: Hanging Flower Baskets with Natural Coconut Liner Orbit Watering Wand 14-Inch Coir Hanging basket Liner Replacements Shepherds Hooks 48-Inch

Best place for your hanging basket

Hanging baskets can go anywhere, from a shepherds hook out in the yard to up against the house. It’s ideal, though, if, when you water, excess water, can dribble out onto a bed, border or cluster of containers below. But make sure water doesn’t drip onto patio furniture, so you don’t have any extra messes to wipe up.

Tool tip

Try using a watering wand attachment to make it even easier to reach those hanging baskets in hard to reach places to make sure they are watered thoroughly.

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Make watering hanging baskets even easier

You can find a lot of products at your local garden center that make watering and caring for a hanging baskets easier. This pulley is a great solution to avoid lifting heavy watering cans or reaching with a hose. With the pulley in place, just lower the basket for watering, then lift it back up into place.