I live in an apartment, and I have a balcony. This is the first time I have ever grown plants in pots.
The year began well. I planted four o'clock seeds and morning glory seeds, and bought sets of sweet peas and coleus. I also bought three planters of pansies, and one big planter with geraniums, dracena, and some kind of vine, and two hanging baskets of petunias.
The large planter, the petunias, and the pansies have thrived. In fact, I am amazed that the pansies have lasted this long.
But, here we are into July and some of the plants look terrible ! The four o'clocks looked healthy to begin with, but now they look pale. Some of the leaves are dry, and some are yellow - too wet. The morning glories just never took off. The look pale too. And, finally, the sweet peas - which were blooming beautifully when I bought them - aren't setting buds anymore.
I have watered and dead headed and fertilized. What went wrong ?
What Happened ?
Sometimes yellowing can be due to an iron definiency. Do the plants have adequate draininge?
I wouldn't necessarily worry about the sweet peas, they're a cool weather plant so once the heat of summer comes they do tend to shut down blooming. For the others it would help if you could post some pics, there are a bunch of things that can cause yellowing leaves. Watering issues are always a prime suspect but over and under-watering can cause similar symptoms, so I'd check by sticking your finger down a couple inches into your soil--if it feels really wet then you need to back off on the watering, but if it's feeling really dry then you need to water more often. All containers are not going to be equal in terms of how often they need to be watered--a hanging basket that is lined with moss and absolutely stuffed full of plants is going to need to be watered way more frequently than a pot with a couple of plants in it. And it's important to water deeply when you do water--if you see that it's dry and just splash a little water across the top, that may not be enough to really thoroughly wet the potting mix all throughout the container, you need to give it a good thorough soaking instead (once potting mix dries out, it takes a bit of effort to re-wet it, if you don't then the water will find a few channels through the potting mix and run out the bottom of the pot so you think you're done, but if you actually look at the soil an inch or two under the surface, hardly any of it is wet). I've had that happen to me on several occasions--I've run into plants that were staying alive but always looking a little sickly and yellowish and not growing at all, and when I take a close look at things it turns out they haven't been getting enough water because I wasn't watering deeply and making sure the potting mix really got wet all the way through.
ecrane3, although watering may not be Countrymom's problem, I'm glad you made the comments about watering. "Watering" doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. I don't try to have houseplants, partly because most plants need the humidity and light OUTSIDE, but mainly because watering them properly is such a hassle. To use your expression, splashing a little water on the top of a container does little good. I am a watering fool. When I water a container plant, I don't stop until water is pouring out the drain holes, and you can hardly do that indoors.
Thanks for the input, everyone. The pots are self-watering, but I pretty much ignore that. I bought them because they fit my decor. Because of the false bottom, the plants do have adequate drainage - I think....
I use a water meter to determine the plant's need. It is windy up here on the 5th floor, and I find some plants - like the big hanging baskets - dry out every day. Others don't.
I use Miracle Grow fertilizing spikes once a month like the directions say. Would that give the plants the iron they need ?
I have never grown sweet peas before. We did have a long cool spring, and they did very well. But, now we are having 80* days. My balcony is on the top floor, so it gets no shade. I guess the sweet peas are just done.
Any suggestions about what plants would do better and last all summer ?
Nasturtiums grow quickly from seeds and cannot get enough sun. I have some seeds I can send you. Hyacinth Bean Vines like the sun too, but need a good bit of room to grow up. I have some of those too.
As far as the iron goes, you can get deactivated charcoal at gardening centers pretty cheap, or get amendments from www.sprayngrow.com that help boots minerals. I love their products. I am going to Lowe's later. I will see if they have anything there too.
Country, can you post a few pics to show us what you're talking about? I have a balcony garden too, though mine has a roof. That makes a difference. But still, pictures would help.
Here is a picture of the four o'clocks, poor little things...
And here are the sweet peas and morning glories.
The fertilizer spikes are a good marketing tool, but they concentrate the fertilizer in one spot, and if you have to water frequently that releases so much fertilizer (every time you water) there is a possibility of burn, and if the plant is succulent and the weather is cooler and you don't water very often, then the plants may not get ENOUGH fertilizer.
I use Miracle Grow Blossom Booster about twice a month in a dilution by about 1/3. Your plants look good to me. Maybe they could use a shot of something.
jlp222 - Thanks for the offer of nasturtium seeds. It is mid season here in Ohio, so I don't think seeds have time to grow and bloom before it gets cold again.
I think everyone's suggestions that it may be nutrients lacking in the soil sounds right to me. The spikes are so easy to use, but I can see where they might not work that well.
I'll give the Miracle Grow Blossom Booster a try and see what happens.
I have gardened perennials on 3 acres for over 40 years. I've never done much with annuals, except for one bunch of coleus each year. I never grew plants in containers, either, so this is a whole new experience for me.
Like they say, everything old is new again.
Thanks !
I'll be asking questions about perennials! I'm just starting to grow something more than clematis. I don't know anything. For instance, I have some Purple Robe asters, second year in the pot. I remember being advised when I bought them that they should be pinched to make them fuller. So this year they were growing happily and I didn't know whether I should pinch them. They already looked full to me. But I figured I'd pinch them, so I did that just a couple of weeks ago. I have no idea of that's what I should do or not. Any answers for me, country?
revclaus - I was pretty sure you should pinch back asters, but I searched just to be sure. This is what I found -
Asters can be treated much like mums and pinched several times before 4th of July. Pinching after mid July may delay flowering. Or just cut asters back by one half in early to mid June. Asters can get tall and floppy so pinching or cutting back may reduce the need for staking.
Credit goes to -
Sandra Mason
Unit Educator, Horticulture & Environment
slmason@uiuc.edu
I just realized who you are ! You are the nice lady on the perennial forum who posted pictures of your beautiful balcony ! I didn't have the money to invest in, and possibly loose, perennials this summer - still trying to sell our house - but hopefully I will be able to try some next summer.
Here's a Miracle Grow question - how much of the Blossom Booster do I water on the plants ?
four o'clocks can be very difficult to grow in a pot. They have a huge, huge root system! Huge tubers.
Country, just water as usual with the solution.
Thank you for the kind words! Hope I didn't whack off the flowers on my asters.
If you do want to grow 4 oclocks in pots try limelight. Much more compact and very pretty foliage and thin to only one or two for a pot that size.