Expert: Long Island Gardener - 8/22/2007

Question
Hello,
I am a first time gardener. So I'll need all the ABCs of growing annuals. I am planning to buy petunias or impatiens from a garden center. And I want to transfer them to hanging baskets in my patio. Please give me step by step instructions for handling this.
Thanks in advance.

Answer
Gardening Basics: Sun plus Water.  That takes care of 99 percent of any Gardening you need to know.

Best thing about Annuals is that even if you screw it up, the whole season is only a few months long.  At the end of the year, you're exactly the same place you would be if you were a Master Gardener with a PhD in Botany.

Petunias and Impatiens -- piece of cake.

Biggest mistake people make with these is giving them TOO MUCH water.  The ONLY watering rule you need to know is that you SOAK a plant, then let it dry out.  Get that right and you have watering down.

Petunias MUST dry out or they will be miserable.  Impatiens are a little more forgiving.  If you get these right, you can bring them indoors and try growing them all winter in the window.  This is a great way to get acquainted with the Number 1 Gardening Beast, Spidermites.  But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Petunias need TONS of light.  If your front porch is outdoors facing East, West or North, you probably don't have the Sunlight you need for these to do well there.  There is no way to compensate for this.  You cannot give it more water to make up for the lack of Sun.

Think about what kind of Sun you need to get a Tan.  That's what Petunias need daily.  Enough Sun that will Burn you without Coppertone.

Impatiens need less light and grow very well in shade.  They have a kind of Chlorophyll that does not work in high heat and light levels.  That's completely different from Petunias.

Both plants need to be watched daily to stay healthy.  Remove flowers as they finish blooming.  You can use a scissors or a fingernail.  When petunias get 6 inches tall, cut the stalk back to 3 or 4 inches to trigger branching off to the side and keep them from getting long and spindly.

Do not fertilize.  Do not treat for bugs.  Plant in Sun or Semishade and just add water.  Like I said, piece of cake.