Expert: Long Island Gardener - 3/21/2007

Question
My containers are narrow and throughout the years I've put in petuna's - to no luck - they are dead by July.  What would you suggest (low maintenance)that would look great in these hanging containers and will last all summer long?  I do NOT have a green thumb!

Answer
Robin, I think you should give Petunias another shot.

But let's go over the procedures for Petunias.

I love Petunias.  They are cheap, summer-bright, easy, virtually foolproof.  Everything around them looks 10 times better next to Petunias.

But they do have needs like everybody else:

1.  FULL SUN.  This is not negotiable.
2.  FULL SUN.
3.  FULL SUN.

If you have those 3 things, Robin -- hahaha -- you have what you need.

To get it right you have to remember 3 things:

1.  Let them dry out between waterings.  They should be totlaly dry.
2.  NEVER fertilize them.  The soil should be sandy.  They will make lots of leaves and no flowers if the soil is too rich or if you fertilize them.
3.  Cut the blooms off at the end of the stem as soon as they start to fade.  You can use a scissors.  Don't worry about being too careful.  These just need a few leaves at the base and they will branch and bloom.

Let me know if you don't have what it takes for those.

Now, about your thumb...

There is no such thing as a brown thumb, Robin.  No gardener knows what s/he is doing all the time.  We make a lot of mistakes, Robin -- a LOT of mistakes.  We kill things right and left.  They die for no reason we can understand.  Sometimes we get it.  Sometimes not.  With the experience behind us, we get better.  I repeat:  THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BROWN THUMB.

YOUR THUMB IS GREEN!!!!

Especially since you have made mistakes.  Nothing greener than that, Robin.  You have experience!  Terrific!!!!

Now let's discuss Plan B.

If you do not have Full Sun and if you think you just have ot spend a lot of time and money fertilizing and watering, these are not the plants for you.

Containers are great for Geraniums, but you need full sun for those too.  And Geraniums are tricky because they can't dry out too much.  But they are the quintessential Summer Potted Plant, one of the favorites of window boxes for a hundred years.

I am still going back to those Petunias.  Are you maybe mixing these up with Pansies or something else?

Because for low maintenance, it does not get better than Petunias.  Maintenance is going to have to include watering no matter what you grow.  Hot summers can bake out a pot or a planter pretty quickly.  You can set up an automatic watering system for insurance, but the Petunias will still have to dry out if they're going to bloom.  You don't want them to dessicate -- just be dry when you water them again.  You can do it 2x every 3 days -- Day #1 in the morning, Day #2 at the end of the day, Day #3 skip and then you start over.  Unless you get a solid heat wave in which case daily watering is best.

If you have a heavy hand with the watering can, try some miniature Dahlias.  They last forever, offer vivid color and are very easy to grow.  Slow-release Fertilizer applied just once a month will take care of that all summer.  It is better to under-fertilize than to over do it.  Keep a pair of scissors in the planter and use it to cut off a bloom that is past its prime.  The new ones will open faster and there won't be energy wasted on making seeds from the old bloom.

Some amateurs think this cutting hurts the plant.  It doesn't.

If you do not have the sun you need for Geraniums, Dahlias or Petunias, there are Begonias and there are Impatiens.

Both are low maintenance, just water daily instead of the 1-2-3  schedule above.  They don't need as much sun and they bloom right up to the first frost of autumn.

Any questions?