Hi--this is the first time I'm posting to this forum. I had posted this question in the geranium forum but I don't think many people are going there. I was wondering if someone here could help. I have four copper windowboxes, all about four feet long, six to seven inches deep. I have each one planted with 3 purple million bells, 3 hot pink geraniums and two trailing false black-eyed susans. The boxes are on the second story and get full sun. Overall the boxes are filling in and looking great, but I'm starting to get the beginnings of yellowing on some of the geranium leaves. I do remove those leaves and dead-head the flowers regularly, but I'm wondering if I need to start feeding them. Last year I fed my containers about once every two weeks and it seemed to stress the plants out more than help.
Any suggestions would be very appreciated. Thank you! :)
Help with window boxes please
How much fertilizer were you using last year? Your containers will definitely to better if you fertilize them, but you should follow the package instructions on how much to use and how often to use it, could be last year you were either using too much or using it too often, but if you use the proper amount then you should be fine. Or if you were following the directions last year, then try cutting either the amount in half or do it once a month instead of every 2 wks and see if that helps. That being said, there are plenty of other things that could cause leaves to turn yellow, watering issues being a fairly common one so it wouldn't hurt to check and make sure you're watering properly, next time you were planning to water stick your finger down a couple inches into the container and see how it feels--if it's really wet then you're watering too much and should cut back, but if it's bone dry then you need to water more often.
Thanks ecrane3--I usually try to let the boxes really dry out because I know that geraniums (pelaragoniums I guess) don't like it to be too wet. I was using MiracleGro last year but I think I may try something different, something a little more balanced. Any suggestions?
Before you change your fertilizer, I'd check your watering. On a hot summer day especially once the plants have grown a lot and their roots are filling up a lot of the container they typically need pretty frequent watering, so I wonder if you haven't maybe been letting them dry out too much. If they're pretty dried out that could make them more easy to burn with fertilizer, so I'd make sure they're being watered nice and thoroughly. While Miracle Gro might not be the ideal fertilizer for every situation, it's a reasonable one and shouldn't damage your plants if it's used according to the directions, and if the plants weren't under stress from something else.
Ecrane--I think you are right. I might be letting them get too dry. I just watered them two days ago, felt the soil today and it's dry. I'm going to have to check on them everyday from now on. I'll give them all a good drink tomorrow, feed them the day after and take it from there.
I really appreciate your input--I think your advice will really help. Thanks! :)
You'd be really surprised how quickly containers can dry out especially if they're really full of plants--people who live in hotter climates than you do often have to water their containers a couple times a day to keep their plants happy! Hopefully your plants will perk up in no time with a little more water!
I have some containers that get water twice a day from an auto system (and I use Osmocote fertilizer w/trace elements).
Niere,
From your description of the size of your window boxes and the plants your using I would think that you could water them daily without creating any problems. Containers dry out very fast when the days are long and when they are in full sun.
This message was edited Jul 8, 2008 6:30 AM
Dale--your plants are beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing. :)
I just watered my plants and I think they should be fine for me to feed them tomorrow morning. As a general rule I don't like to water anything afternoon because then I worry about fungal issues. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. ;)
Best of luck, don't be afraid to fertilize & water more often in the long days of summer, live dangerously!
Another one of my jobs>
Wow--are those impatiens?? Those are the most glorious impatiens I've ever seen!
Yep, impatiens.
Here are some mixed cane begonia>
Here are some impatiens from Epcot, they are widely grown here in FL
Hi Dale, it's always a pleasure to bump into you and your container pictures! (A pleasure mixed with a little bit of envy, I admit....)
Niere, could you post a picture of your window box?
Carrie
Dale-those flowers are g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s!
I've never been to Florida, but I have to say it surprises me to see impatiens doing so well there. Doesn't the heat get to them? My impatiens do best in dappled sun or half day shade and that's up here in RI. Goes to show you what I know about flowers!
Carrie--I wish I could. Right now I'm posting from a laptop until we can get a new monitor for our regular computer and of course the camera set-up is connected to that one. As soon as I can get some pictures up I will. Thanks for asking! :)
This message was edited Jul 9, 2008 12:40 PM
Hi Carrie.
I would be lost without my computer. I lost my external modem for a few days. I felt lonely and cutoff. I have TV, but, it is such a bore.
Bougainvillea
This message was edited Jul 9, 2008 3:16 PM
Now, does bougainvillea really smell as fabulous as they say?
I don't have much of a sense of smell, but, no one has ever mentioned a scent.
I've never noticed a scent either and I've grown a bunch of different cultivars over the years--maybe whoever told you that had bougainvillea mixed up with something else?
Or I'm probably remembering wrong. GIGO - garbage in, garbage out - which should add up to compost!
Ahhhh, a fertile mind at work :-)
Xmas pot
Precisely. If only the Christmas tree picture would cool me down a little , , ,
Niere,
Put time release fertilizer in your window boxes. the plants get a little bit every time you water and you don't have to go to the trouble of lugging the can full of miracle gro up to the upper floor to fertilize. No muss, no fuss. I use it in all my window boxes and in all my house plants that go out for the summer. I like Osmacote, but there are others. you don't have to replace it for three months, which gets you throught the bulk of the summer.
Martha
Thanks for the suggestion Martha--I've never used time release fertilizer--is it too late to add it? I'm assuming not since you suggested I do it :) I just figured that would be the type of thing you would put in at the beginning of the growing season.
You know how I water my window boxes? I fill the watering can from the upstairs tub faucet. :D The can is too big to fit under any of the vanity sinks!
Btw, hoping to get the other computer set up soon so in a few days I should have some pictures to share. :)
We use a hose with a miraclegro thingie screwed on the end of it.- but any water soluble fertilizer could be mixed into your watering can, that must weigh a ton, though....
Bouganvillea does not have a fragrance but they are beautiful. One of my favorite childhood flowers, but I've not had luck with them in zone 7. Even taking them in the garage in the winter time, sometime they don't come back. In my country, the name of the flower translate to 'paper flowers' because we have craft papers that are thin and come in the same colors as the Bouganvillea.
you can put on time release fertilizer at any time after the weather and the soil get warm. Get yourself one of spring-like curly hoses and an adapter for your bathroom faucet. They come in kits with a spray nozzle. They are 50' long. No more lugging water. I have one attached to my laundry sink on my main floor and it gets all plants except those few that live in the living room in the winter. No more lugging water {which is what I do all day for a living!}.
Martha